Recidivism, quasi-recidivism, reiteracion and habitual delinquency are distinguished as follows:
Crimes Committed:
In recidivism, the previous and the present crimes belong to the same category in the Revised Penal Code. In quasi-recidivism, it does not matter what kind of crimes the previous and the present ones are.
In reiteracion, the previous crime has the same or higher penalty than the present crime, or the two previous crimes have lower penalty than the present crime.
In habitual delinquency, the previous, subsequent and present crimes must be one of these: serious or less serious physical injuries, theft, robbery, estafa or falsification of document.
Period of Time
In quasi-recidivism and reiteracion, the date of commission of the present crime is important. In quasi-recidivism, the offender committed the present crime before or while serving his sentence for the previous crime. In reiteracion, the offender committed the present crime after serving his sentence for previous crime/s.
In recidivism, the date of trial of the present crime in relation to date of conviction of his previous crime is important. In recidivism, the offender was on trial for the present crime when he was convicted by final judgment of the previous crime.
In habitual delinquency, the date of conviction of the subsequent or present crime in relation to the date of his last release or conviction is important. (People v. Morales, G.R. No. 42924, March 12, 1985) In habitual delinquency, the offender was found guilty of the second crime within 10 years after conviction or release of the first crime; then, he was found guilty of the third crime within 10 years after conviction or release of the second crime; and so on and so forth.
Number of Crimes Committed
In recidivism and quasi-recidivism, there must be at least two crimes. In reiteracion, there must be at least two crimes; but if the penalty for the previous crimes is lower than that for the present crime, there must be at least three crimes. In habitual delinquency, there must be at least three crimes.
As to effects in relation to the penalty
Recidivism and reiteracion are ordinary aggravating circumstances, which increase the penalty for the present crime to its maximum period unless they are balanced by a mitigating circumstance. Quasi-recidivism is a special aggravating circumstance, which increases the penalty for the present crime to its maximum period regardless of the presence of a mitigating circumstance. Habitual delinquency is an extraordinary or special aggravating circumstance, which adds a penalty on top of the principal penalty for the present crime. This is not affected by the offset rule.
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