Answer
Exempting circumstances are grounds under Article 12 of the Revised Penal Code that free a person from criminal liability even though a crime was committed. They are: (1) insanity or imbecility, unless the person acted during a lucid interval; (2) minority, as governed by the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act; (3) accident without fault or intent while performing a lawful act; (4) acting under an irresistible force; (5) acting under an uncontrollable fear of an equal or greater injury; and (6) failing to perform an act required by law when prevented by a lawful or insuperable cause.
Unlike a justifying circumstance, an exempting circumstance concedes that the act is wrongful but holds that the actor incurred no criminal liability because he acted without freedom, intelligence, or intent. Civil liability generally remains (except in cases of accident and of lawful or insuperable cause). An accused who invokes an exempting circumstance must prove it, as it is in the nature of a confession and avoidance.