Digest of

RECENT DECISIONS
of the Philippine Supreme Court
th I talumn is presented a dig-cst of current
These decisions have not yet been published
pecinlly those rendered in. division, will not
I'Ort.l
I AL

LAW-Ho:\lICIDE-SEC-

HOT SUFFICIENT

TO CONSTITUTE

IOUS INTENT.-P.
P. I. v. Ang
, alia. Yusay and Co Sang alias
KI. G. R. No. 37007, June 21,
Margarito Ocat went out to
D his boat to catch fish. About
ur later Ocat received a shot in
right forearm.
He shouted
., did you shoot me", and comrowing toward the shore.
D the boat was close to the shore
r hot was fired which hit
n the left side of the abdoThere being no proof of mond treachery, the question
to one of whether or not
u ed is to be convicted of
homicide or of homicide
h reckless imprudence. R eld:
n conceive of one recklessly
ng in such a manner as to
d another, but the principles
govern reckless imprudence
then apply when the person
d gives evidence of his prebut nevertheless another shot
with fatal result. Malicious
ay have been lacking in the
n lance, but cannot be preto have been lacking in the
instance.
(In division of
Malcolm, J.; Concurring
Santos, Vickers, Imperial,
S 'eled by SANTIAGO C. GRE-

G~EFf'ECT

OF

WR:>NG

PosRoberto
Dimalanta
vs.
ap, Flol'encia Galang ami
o SlIll'lIdor, defendants;
l' doro ,t:CrcadIJ, intervenor
I e, G. R . .vo.. '36876, March

PI' ON 0.'

TilE

RIGHT

OF

cases of general intel"est to prac

in the Official Gazette. and many
so appear because not selected for

24, 1933.-The
spouses Sixto Lacap
and Florencia
Galang
mortgaged
their house on October 12, 1929' to
the plaintiff, Roberto Dimalanta, to.
secure the repayment
of a loan of
P1,600.00 within one year without
interest.
The house in question was
built on the registered land of Leonardo
Guison
Pablo.
Plaintiff's
mortgage was recorded in the book
of records of chattel mortgages for
the city of Manila.
On January 14,
1930, said spouses sold the house in
question to Victoriano Salvador un. del' pacto de retro for a period of
one year without m.entioning
the'
first mortgage.
Again,' on November 3, 1930, said spouses sold the
same house to Eliodoro Mercado under pacto de retro within six months
without mentioning
that the house
had been previously
mortgaged
to
plaintiff
and sold under pacto de
retro to Victorino Salvador.
Said
spouses
abandoned
the house on
November 1930, and Eliodoro Mercado took possession of it. Plaintiff
contended that the trial court erred
in ruling that his inscription
and
registry in the book of chattel mortgages
was
without
legal
value.
Reid.
Appellant's
contention
is
clearly without merit.
Appellant's
mortgage was not registered
or recorded in accordance with the law,
and is, therefore,
ineffective
as to
third persons.
There be.ingno valid
mortgage
on the house, Eliodoro
Mercado being the first one to take
possession in good faith is entitled
to the same.
(Division of Three,
per Vickers, J.; concurring Villamor,
Ostrand, JJ.) Briefed
by SANTIAGO
C.

GREGORIO.

RECOGNITIONOF NATURAL CHILD.

CRIMINALLAW-LlBEL--THE
DE'SE THAT THE PUBLICATION TIME WITHIN WHICH TO BRING TH
ACTION.-Intestate
of Martin
d
WAS PRIVILEGED.-P. P. I. v. Fidel
Guzman, j'epresented by the adminis
Ryes, G. R. No. 37456, June 23,
tl'atrix Pilm' Hen'era, vs. Higino d
19J3.-Facts:
Appellant
was the
Guzman, et al. G. R. No. 35995
director and editor of "El MensaMarch
23, 1933.-Action
to hav
jero" in which the libelous article
Martin
d~ Guzman
recognized
a.
'V'nero Para Comprar Votos' was
natural child of Eugenia de Guzmar
published.
The article was pubin order to share in the propert~
H hed in the heat of political camleft by the latter.
Eugenia de Guz
paign preceding the general
elecman died in 1924. Martin de Guz
tions. Appellant's
candidate
who
man was born on November
10
~as Benito Soliven was opposed by
1901, and was, therefore,
23 year
Elpidio Quirino, whose principal
old when his mother died. Applyin
leader was the complaining witn~ss
article
137 of the Civil Code th
question is, whether Martin not haVi
herein. The article in question coning exercised the corresponding
a
vEyed the impression
that money
tion during his lifetime for a jud
was given to the offended party for
of his condition a
\legal purposes. It represented
Ru- . cial declaration
a natural
child of Eugenia de Gu
bio as a corrupt and unscrupulous
man, could still have such right
person.
Appellant, however, contransmit
the same to his heir
t nded that the publicati)n was priHeld:
This question must be a
vileged. Held:
The contention
is
sw.ered in the. negative: first, becau
without merit. The freedom of the
the mother died while Martin
w
pI' ss consists in the right to print
already
of legal age; and secon
and publish any statement
whatbecause it does not appear that a
ever without subjection to the pretel' the death of the mother, a d
vious censorship of the government.
cument which ':las unknown befo
It docs not mean immunity
from
was discovered in which Martin w
~iIlful abuses of that
freedom,
expressly
acknowledged.
(In di
hich, if permitted to go unrebuked,
sion, per Villamor,
J.; Villa-Relj
would soon make the license of an
Vickers,
Imperial,
Butte, JJ., co
unre trained press even more odious
cuning).
Briefed by SANTIAGO \
to the people than would be the inGREGORIO.
t rf rence of government
with the
pre ion of opinion.
Certainly
a
ATTEMPTED BRIBERY-WHAT
PI
moment's 1'( flection will convince
NALTY WILL BE IMPOSED.-People
(
n~ur.e approaching the subject with
the Philippine
Islands,
Plaintif
n op"n mind that no public service
Appellee vs. Alfl'edo LegaS1Ji, D
i I' n<Jere<Jby the publication
in a
jendant-Appr:llant,
G. R. No. 378
Al))iI1933.-The defendant
was co
II paper of defamatory
statements
victed in the lower court of attem
I hich arc false and were publishsd,
ed bribery under Article 210 in I
n t from a sense of duty, but to
lation with Article
51 of the
J atify the personal
spite and anivi3ed Penal Code and sentenced h'
ity of the writer
against
the
to suffer seven days of An'esto 1
1 n
defamed.
(In division of
nOl' and to pay a fine of P2.00 wi
h e, per Abad Santos, J.; Concursubsidiary
imprisonment
in case
, Street and Imperial,
JJ.)
insolvency
and to pay costs.
f d &y SA:\TIAGOC. GREGORIJ.

nt appealed. Held:
Under
graph 3, Article 210 of the RePenal Code, the offender shall
r the penalties of An'esto Main its minimum and maximum
s and a fine of not less than
value of the gift and not more
D three times such value.
The
ty applicable to the accused
ty of attempted bribery is two
less than tha t prescrib~d
n ummated offenses. Accordto Article 9 of the Revised Penal
Ie s grave felonies are those
ell the law punishes with penalhich in their maximum period
rrectional in accordance with
Ie 25 of the Revised Penal
and in the scale of penalties
ing to Article 25 the followare correctional penalties:
PriC rrectionat, Arresto Mayor,
i nand Distierro. But Ar26 provides that a fine, if it
not exceed P6000 but is not
han P200 is a correctional peTherefore, the penalty apble to an offender guilty of an
pted bribery is a fine of not
than P200 nor more than 1'600
a further fine based on the
of the gift. Accused sentenced
y a fine of P203 with subsidiary
nmcnt in case of insolvency.
Di i ion, Per Vickers, J.; Street
antos, JJ.;
concurring.)
f d by J1IEROTEO R. VILLAROSA.
U NY-WHAT
PRIVILEGED

CHARGES
IN

ARE

POLITICAL

RES-The People of the Phile Islull(l.~, Plaintiff-Appellee

C cllio de la VictoTia, DefendantUunt, G. R. Nos. 37275 & 37270.
!il, 193.1.-The defendant in
urse of his political speech
rted that Governor Cuenco deed the municipality of Sibonga
piece of land and misapprothe money which the appelher-in-Iaw had paid to him

for the Hijos del Pueblo.

Both of
these facts were proven not to be
true.
The appellant contends that
the words spoken were privileged
and constitutes no offense under the
law.
Held:
The fact that these
statements were made in the course
of a heated political campaign does
not make that privileged.
The freedom of speech secured by the fundamental law in these Islands does
not justify aspersions of this character.
It is clear that the statements made by the appellant were
actuated by malice.
Comment and
criticism of public men and of their
moral fitness for office are only pri~
vileged when made in good faith.
(In Division, Per Street, J.; Santos
and
Vickers,
JJ.,
concurring.)
BTiefed by HIEROTEO R. VILLAROSA.
CRIMINAL
SION

PROCEDURE--SUSPEN-

OF SENTENCE

OF MINOR

DELIN-

of the PhiliptJine
Islands, Plaintiff-Appellee,
vs. Santos et al., Defendant-A1Jpellant,
G.
R. No. 37391,., A1Jril 17, 1933.-It
appeared
that the defendant
was
less than 18 years of age on the
date when he inflicted the. injuries
charged against him.
A sentence
was passed convicting him of serious physical injuries and ordering
for the suspension of the sentence
and that the appellant be confinEd
in an institution
to be designated
by the Commissioner of the Public
Welfare until he reaches the age of
majority.
The defendant appealed.
Held:
It is error for the lower
court to pronounce sentence, before
suspendng the proceedings and committing the appellant to the custody
of a proper institution or person designated for the custody of minors.
It is furthel' necessary for the trial
court to designate a particular
person or institution to w,hom the custcdy of the appellant should be committed aftel' hearing the public welQUENTs.-People

CRl~lI:"AL LAW-ATTMPTED RAPE:

-FACTS NOT SUFFICIE:-;'TTO CONSTIT:':TS.-P.
P. T. VS. Mauro Ramosalias Ul'ong, G. R. No. 872g4, June
g, 1.!138.-Appellant
went to the
house of the offended party, a girI
years and finding her I
CRlMlN"AL
LAW-SEXTUPLE HOMI- of fourteen
her," held her
CIDETHROUGHRECKLESS NEGLIG- alone, app.roached
hand, and as she refused to follow
CE-DEGREEOF CARE TO BE Exhim downstairs, the accused suddenERCISED
BY TEACHERAND SCOUTlIfASly embraced, kissed, and touched theftIL-P. P. T. V8. R!llJl3'rto Gl'egol"io
breasts of the girl and attempted to' I
taL, G. R. No. 87875, June 22,
raise her skirt. Trial court convict- .
1983.-Tbe Boy Scouts of Aparri
ed appellant
for attempted
t'ape.;
Ind some students of the Cagayan
Held:
Error.
Facts aforementioned
IUey Institute ot-ganized an exdo Dot constitute
the crime of ateunion. to Linao, Aparri, and Baltempted rape but that of acts of laI teras under the lea~ership of the
sciviousness.
(In Division, Per Im- .
appellant who was a teacher of the
perial, J.; Street, Santos, J J., conn titute and Assistant Scoutmaster.
curring.)
Bl'iefed by F. C. DINO. I
Permission was granted by the diI
rector of the institute provided that
CO:"TEMPT OF COURT-Po P. T. vs.1
the weatfter would permit.
A
GeTfrudis
Aquino,
C1-ispin de lo
launch and a bW'allgayan
were
Ton'e; G. R. No. 36472, June 21,
1938.-In
an order
of dismissaT,.
used. To reach Linao from Aparri,
Judge Samson of the Court of First
two routes were available, one of
Instance, Albay, called the attention,
hich was through the mouth of the
of the justice of the peace of DaCagayan River and another through
raga, Albay, Crispin de la Torre, to
I stream in the interior.
The first
the fact that in preliminary
invesroute was taken inspite of the fact
I
tigations it was not necessary to rethat tlte first typhoon sjgnal was up
qdre the presence of accused per-'
Ind there were strong waves at the
sons when the latter had renounced
mouth of the river. Upon reaching
the preliminary
investigation.
In
the mouth of the river, the launch
the dispositive
part of the order,
capsized and six Boy Scouts were
the Judge admonished de la Torre tol
drowned. Held: In his capacity as

fire commISSIOner and the appelnt himself or person representinghrn. (In Division, Per Street, d.;
ntos and VIckers JJ., concurring.)
Briefed by HIEROTEOR. VILLAROSA.

teacher and Assistant Scoutmaster

It was incumbent upon the appellant
to look :lfter the safety of the stud nts and boy scouts under his supervision ,,;th the diligence of a
ood father of a family. In permitIng that the voyage
be made
n spite of the bad weather and in
c 00 ing the dangerous route instead
f the safe one, apliellant was guilty
f extuple homicide through l'eck)
negligence.
(In Division, Per
I penal, J.; Street, Santos, 'JJ.,
ncurring.)
Briefed
by F. C. DI-

o.

study further in detail the law with

reference
to preliminary'
investigations.
The order was published in
the "Heraldo
Bicol," a local dailY.!
Later the same paper published a
letter addressed
to the editor and
signed by De laTone
wherein hE
attributed
the action of Judge Samson to lack of equanimity
on thE
part of said Judge in his official proceedings, and that the order wa~
"un verdadero exabrupto
sino obr~
de despecho mal comprimido."
H
also asserted that the publication 0
the order was due to the desire O'

Judge to numiliate him; that

a tion of the Judge was "inapiate, abusive, and was due to
per motive. HeUl; De la
e was guilty of contempt. 11nS e. 228 of tne Administrative
the Judge of the Court of
; In tance is enjoined to exerat all times a supervision over
ju tices of tbe peace witbin his
iet. The suggestion tbat tne
of contempt cannot be used
the proceeding in wbich tbe
i nable publication bad
its
'n was already concluded, bas
rc '. It was enougn that tn"!
'atian tended to discredit tbe
about a matter decided by it
In respect to whien t1le appelwas subject to tne supervision
he COllrt. Affirmed. (In Div!, PCI' Street, J.; Malcolm,
Osa, Santos, Vickers, JJ., {;oncur.)
I d by F. C. DIl~O.
C'-'JlLI::

LAW-MERCHA'I'T

JUDICIAL

PERSONALITY

DEOF

\ T l.E PAR'fNERSHIP-Es'l\'p

PosalIIaTch 31,
. Emilio Boada, Pedro Boada,
Jo e Boada, were partners of
('alalanes de Pedro BOlida",
nregistered me1'cantile partnerdoing business in the PhilipI lands for fifteen years -and as
h paid the Internal Reven"Je
but Emilio Boadn has not
I ny tax. The partnership wa~
I d :mu merged into the corlion known as "Boada, Castro
r I~af:cl"to which Emilio sold
in 'rest. The issue is:
Was
"liD Boada a merchant and thereubjected to pay the merchant
,f I',? Held: "A single ad does
n titute a merchant.
In conI tion of the Code of Como 'J a merchant is one who
s various acts
of como 0 *. It will be seen that a
f:milio

Boaria vs. Juan

G. R. No. 36994,

'mercbant'
in order to be sUbjected
to tbe necess"ity of paying the tax,
nlUst be "'engaged' in tbe "sale, barter, or excbange of personal property" *.* *. To be 'engliged' as the
word is used here, a person must
be occupied "Cir emplayed In tbe sale,
barter,
etc. of personal property."
Whitaker
vs. Rafferty
(38 Phil.
5U8). The 'Eure"au of Internal
Revenue, haVing considered 'Los Catalanes de Pedro 'Eoada' as t~glstered
pal'tnersnip
for purposes of taxation Is now esto'pped from alleging
th1it S'ald partnersb1'P bas no jurIdical personality because It bas not
been registered.
Affirll1'ed.(In
Di
~"'isjun, Pel' Ostrand,
J:; Villamor,
"Villareal, Vickers, ImperIal, JJ., con
'cu1'1"ing). Br"iefed hyP. C. bINo.
'THEPl'-CON'f'ESSIONsREPUlnA"'rEO

P. 1.

AT'I'HETRIAL-P.

Nicomedes

Fmgata,

1)S.

Agmttfa,

Pedro

n:nd

Andres Mal'iano, G. R. No. 37711,

Ma1'ch 1"7, 1933.-Ap'Peal
from a
judjp11ent of convlc'tion based largely
on defendants'
comes-,;ions ";~hich.
tbey re'Pudiat2d at the trIal.
Defendants
testified
that they llave
been subjected to wrious l'orms of
abuse and Violence corroboratea
by
the testImony of tht Municipal PreSident, of 'a physlcian
lmd of an
ocular witness
to the abuse 'and
violence.
ReId:
The evl.dence of
maltreatment
lS strong
but
the
evidence independ,mt cf th," confessions, points to the guilt of Lh" ,
fendantsAffirmed.
:Per Butte, J.;
Thos. Street, and Jose A. Santos.,
JJ., concurring.
Briefed
by D. 'Us
LUNA.

FORCIllLE
FAILURE

W:rrH

TO

THE

ENTRY

AND

INCORPORATE

REtORD

OF

D:';'I't\INER/.!;VIUbSC1;

'fIlE

CAS}")

AppE. ..'L.-Ciriaco
Lapuz
us.
Paulino
Candelaria,
R.
G. No.
36359 Jla1'ch 21, 1933.-An
action of
forcible entry and detainer.
DisUPON

wed by the justice of the peace

due to failure of plaintiff to prove
that defendant had deprived him of
the possession of the land through
force, intmidation or fraud.
Upon
appeal to the Court of First Intance judgment was rendered in
favor of the plaintiff.
The defendant appealed assigning three errors
a having been committed by the
court. Held:
An examination of
the record of the case has revealed
that no evidence, whether oral or
documentary, is attached
thereto.
We are, therefore, unable to pass
upon the merit of the errors asigned, and following a long line of
precedents (Olsen vs. Matson, Lord,
and Belser Co. 19 PhiL, 102; Blum
vs. Barretto 19 PhiL, 161; De Guzman vs. Fernandez 41 PhiL, 7; Director of Lands vs. Aguas 41 PhiL,
35) we have to accept the findings
of fact made by the trial court.
Affirmed. Per J. Santos, J.; Avancena and Street, JJ., concurring.
Briefed by D. DE LUNA.

the appellant surprised his wife i

the act of committing adultery.
B~
because the appellant
was an il~
terate and voluntarily
surrender~
himself to the authorities, the jUd(
ment is modified reducing the pena
ty to 12 years and one day of l'
clusion temporal.
Modified:
P
Santos, J.; Avanceii.a, Street, 0
trand,
Butte,
J J.,
Briefed by D. DE LUNA.
ACTIO:-f BASED ON ART.

No. 496
MAKE

AS

38

OF A

AMENDED-FAILURE'

ASSIGNMENT

OF

ERROR-~

cente Arceo et al., vs. Agu.stin C

brera, G. R. No. 36452, Ma1'ch :1
1933.-The
plaintiffs
seek to ha'
the defendant declared trustee of
Torrens Title for the use and bell
fit of the plaintiffs, or in the aIt~
native, to pay the plaintiffs the Sl
of pW,oOO.OO as damages.
It is i
leged that the defendant obtained
Torrens Title to a tract of land ~
longing to the plaintiffs
by mea
of fraud.
The Court below render
judgment in favor of the defenda
PARRICIDE-DEFENSE,
MITIGATION,
based on two grounds:
first-t
EXCUSE OR JUSTIFICATIO:-f.-P.
P. I.
plaintiffs
railed
to
prove
fraud
i
v. Feliciano Embaliclo, G. R. No.
leged to have been committed by ii
37.17.9, March 18, 1933.-The
appeldefendant in obtaining the certificJ
lant was charged with the crime of
of title, and, second, the defenda
parricide. He admits having killed
had acquired title to the land
his wife, but claims that he surprised
question by prescription.
PlaintiJ
her in the act of committing adulappealed.
Held: On this appeal, t
tery. Lower court found him guilty
appellants
make no assignment
of the crime of parricide under art.
error with relation
to the findi
2J6 of the Revised Penal Code and
and determination
of the Court 1
entenced him to suffer cadena per:
low that the defendant had acquil
peilla.
On his appeal he contends
title to the land involved by p
that he should have been sentenced
scription, and there is no discussi
in accordance with art. 247 (Imposof that question in the appeIIan
ing the penalty of distien'o upon the
brief. This omission is fatal to t
hu band who kills his spouse while
appeal aI!d the judgment
must
committing adultery.)
Held:
l\1ataffirmed with costs against the
ters of defense, mitigation, excuse
pellants.
Per Butte, J.; Avance
or justification must appear by preStreet,
Ostrand
and Santos,
p nderance of evidence.
The evidconcurring.
Briefed by D. DE Lu
ence pre,;cnted fails to show that

AL LAW-ABATEME:'IT

OF

AS DEF~:-ISE TO PROSECUCACSI.G DA~IAGE TO PROP-

P. P. I. vs. Angel Fabo, G. R.

0, April 5, 1933.-A court
109 volley-ball was estaby the principal of the elehool on a lot belonging
guous to a church. While
h pl'iest was conducting
ervice, the noise made by
rs and spectators in said
riered with his functions.
d certain posts, metal rings
to be taken away from said
He was prosecuted for the
i causing damage to propd convicted by the Court of
I tance. Held:
Such interwith the religious service
unjustifiable nuisance.
It
CuIfor the accused to abate
nee. If any damage was
d liability is redressible if
a civil action only. DefendId be acquitted. Pel' Street,
d anto' and Imperial, JJ.,
8,; {ul by A. ARANA.s.

no witness to present.
Per Avanceiia, J.; Vickers and Imperial, J J.,
concur.
BTiefed by A. ARANA.s.
CRIMINAL

C&-4UDICIAL

DISCRETION

OF

AGGRAVATE\':;

TREACHERY

AND

I. VS. Castor
Cinco and COTnelio Me11diola, G. R.
No. 87504, J1l11e 28, 1983.-Castor
Cinco shot Rosalia
Atienza
one
night, causing
the latter's
death.
The trial judge found the qualifying circumstance
of treachery
and
the further
aggravating
circumstance of nocturnity.
Held:
The
crime committed
is murder,
the
homicide having been qualified by
treachery.
The circumstance of nocturnity cannot however betaken as
a further aggravating
circumstance
inasmuch as that is already included
in the circumstance
of treachery.
Per Malcolm, J.; Street, Abad Santos, Hull, and Imperial, JJ., concur.
Bj'iefed by A. ARANAS.
N<JCTURNITY-P.

CRIMINAL

P.

LAW-Ar'ULTERY-AG-

GRAVATING CmCUMSTANCE

OF DWEL-

Pacita Val71wria
and Rustico
Turnanda,
G. R. No.
37008, April, 1988.-Rustico
Tumanda, entered the bedroom of Pac ita
Valmoria and her husband, who was
away.
Tumanda and Valmoria cohabited
carnally
and in this act
were surprised by the offended party, the husband of Pacita Valmoria.
Held:
The aggravating
circumstance
of dwelling
must
be
taken into consideration in imposing
the penalty in this prosecution for
adultery against Rustico Tumanda.
Per Imperial, J.; Street and Abad
Santos, JJ:, concur.
BTiefed by A.
LING--P.

1. VS .lICl/(ricio Reyes, G. R.
5, April 6, 1933.-Defendhi criminal case was infore trial that he could ask
lory process to summon
he might want to presmanifested that he had
. After the evidence of
ution was terminated, the
moved fo..suspension of the
n order that he could have
present a witness.
The
nied this motion.
Held:
r of the court denying the
. n oC the trial as asked by
lIant ill order to present his
I not erroneous, taking
into
that when appellant was
d that he could ask for comploce s against his with manifested that he had

LAW

CIRCUMSTANCES

P.

T.

VS.

ARANAS.

CRnlINAL

LAW-ARsON-WHEN

P. T. VS. Gregorio
Naiiaidego,
G. R. No. 27887, May
.9, 1988.-Facts:
The defendant in
this case set fire to the house of
CONSUl\UIATED-P.

Francisco ~Iaraig, which was at that

time occupied by eight (8) persons.
The fire was
immediately
extinguished and the damage
was
estimated at P330.
Held:
Altho
the damages caused to the house of
the offended party was insignificant due to the fact that the fire was
promptly discovered and extinguishtrl the defendant \vas properly found
guilty of the consumated crime of
arson, because for the commission
of the crime, it is not necessary that
the building be destroyed but it is
sufficient if the offender shall set
fire to it. (In division. Per Vickers
J.; Street, Ostrand, Santos, and Imperial, JJ., concurring.)
Briefed by
ANTONIO

C.

sumption of payment but that pr

sumption is rebutt;lble
and not su
ficient to sustain
a demurrer.
the tax has not been paid, it mi
well be however,
that
after
f
lapse of 6 years, the accused did n
know that he was delinquent
in f
payment
of the tax when he a
Sllm:d office, especially
when it
not alleged that he failed to Pi
any cedula for any year subseque
to 1926, but that is a case to
proved in the course of the tri;
Case re!nanded for further
procee
i!1gs.
(In division, Per Vickers,
Street, Ostrand,
Santos and Imr
rial, JJ., concurring.)
B1"iefed
ANTO~IO
C. MASAQUEL.

l\!ASAQUEL.
CERTIORARI:

VIOLATIO:-I

OF

DELI. 'QUE:-ICY IN

ELECTION
THE

CEDULA TAX-EFFECT

PAYMENT
OF

CATlON-

LAWOF

PRESCRIP-

TlO. -P. P. I. vs. Rodl-igo A. Daza,

G. R. No. 38027, May 28, 1938.-Facts: The defendant in this case
was prosecuted for violation of sec.
407 in relation with sec. 2659 of the
Election Law, Act 3387, in that h"
took possession of the office of the
municipal president of Sumarraga,
Samar, to which he had been duly
elected, without having first satisfied his delinquency in the payment
of his cedula tax for the year 1923.
Defendant interposed
a demurre""
"hich was sustained by lower CO~ll":,
holding that the lapse of the precriptive period of five years, as pr>
vidcd for in Act 3763 referring
b
the period of prescription
for all
violation of laws administered
by
the Bureau of Internal
Revenae.
creates a presumption
of payment,
altha no record of such payment is
to be found and that such a leT g
and unexplained delay in prosec.]ting thr proceedings will defeat the
right of the state to collect the tax.
Held: The rule relied upon by :h,
trial judge only gives rise to a pre-

WHEN

SUMMONS

By

PUBl

NECESSARY-Pet

R. Nelson vs. Hon. Servillano

PI
ton, Jz:dge of the COU1"t of Fi1
Instance
of Albay, The She1"iff
Rizal, and Marion E. Ma,tin, G.
No. 88987, May 11, 1988.-Fact
On February
19, 1932, Marion
Martin instituted
the civil case ~
5616 in the Court of First Instan
of Albay for the recovery' of PI!
225.00. On 'February
23, 1932 Jud,
Servillano Platon, ordered that NI
son be summoned by publication
f
the reason that the residence as w
as 'the \...-hereabouts
of the latt
were unknown.
Said order requi
ing Nelson to appear before the sa
Court of First Instance of Albay I
June 16, 1932, at 8 :00 A.M. and
answer the complaint
filed by Ma
tin, was published for three com
cutive weeks, once a week in f
"Heraldo
Bicol".
Nelson
havil
failed to appear
or to answer t
complaint
filed against
him on t
date set forth in the order abo
mentioned,
he was 'declared
to
in default
and judgment
was
tered against him.
Issue:
Did the court acquire jur
diction over the person of the

'elson, by virtue of the

ve stated? Held: It clearly
from the facts above stated
action instituted by Marone "in personam" for the
matter of which did not reither real or personal propelson should have been
with .a personal summons
publication * * *. The rest judge did not and could
acquired jurisdiction
over
on of ,'elson inasmuch as
plaint filed was a mere acI' the recovery of money and
I' of the respondent
judge
that the petitioner be sumby publication, was, therenwarranted.
. (In division.
p rial J., Street, Ostrand,
nd Vickers, JJ., concurring.)
by Amo"IO
C. MASAQUEL.
EFFECT

OF

SUBSEQUENT

AC&IF.F.l,IESTOF REI:IIBURSEMENT
, II '.\1, LIAIlIUTY.-The

TO

Peok Philippine Islands, PlainII c, VB. Flora Quingpua,

I-Appellant,
G. R. N.J.
Aplil 17, 1.9.J3.-1t appeared
complainant delivered to
ndant a certain amount of
o he sold by the latter on
tonIlmi!:sion. But the
defendant
tl rn over the proceeds of
n I' je"elry.
There was a
nt agreement between the
by virtue of which the det delivered to the complaincurity for the payment of
Ii ation of the defendant.
So long as the appellant has
Iy di. posed of the jewelry, she
. 'nally responsible therefor,
t I' what arrangement
was
ntly made to indemnify
nded party.
Such arrangeuld only affect the civil
of the accused.
The same
Id in the case of P. P. I. vs.
, 42 Phil. 75, that the reimt of the amount embezzled

exempts the accused only from civil

liability because estafa is a public
offense
and should be prosecuted
and punished even though the injury to the private
person be remedied.
(In Division,
Per Vickers,
J.; Street and Imperial, JJ.; concurring.)
Briefed by HIEROTEO R. VILLAROSA.

Asusos
TY

OF

DESHONESTOS-PROBABILI-

TESTIMONIAL

EVIDENCE-P.

P. I .. Pla:nliff
and Appellee vs. Paulino Lozadct, Defendant
and Appellant. G. R. No. 37764, April 12, 193.'1.
-The
offended
party,
a girl of
fifteen, and the accused, a boy of
fo:'rleen,
were pupils of the same
school. There is a sharp conflict in
the testimony of the witnesses as to
what occurred on the afternoon
of
December 9, 1931. According to the
o:::fer.ded party
and her servant,
the accused without warning
grabbed the offended
party and kissed
her a!1d fondled her breasts.
On
the other hand, the accused and his
\\'itnesses maintained
that when the
accused met the offended
girl, he
greeted her by saying, "Good after1100n, Miss Cortes"; that the offended party apparently
angered by the
salutation,
called the accused "negro", "chongo", and "mono", and begun to beat him with her parasol;
that
the accused pushed
the offended girl to free himself from the
barbed wire fence behind him. Held:
It was error for the trial judge to
consider as improbable
that the offended girl should have called the
accused "negro", "chongo", "mono".
That under the circumstances
of the
case, the story of the defence
is
more probable than that of the prosecution for if the offended
party
was a proud girl and regarded
herself as superiol' to the accused, who
",as dark and homely and poor, it
is not difficult to believe that the
offended party regarded the accused
as presumptuous
and resented
his

of addrEssing her.
(Division
r e, Per Vickers, J., Santos, and
rial, JJ., concurring.)
Briefed

Eo J. A.
LAw-People
of the
pine Islcl7lds, Plaintiff and Ap, 118. Ricardo de los Santos,
ant and A]Jpel/ant, G. R. No.
, Jllne 7, 1.?33.-The inform acharges marcious damage to
ty but the trial court found
app llant guilty under sec. 45
the Irrigation Law.
The dent dh'erted the water from an
fon dike belonging to the
mment.
The defence is that
perforation was not malicious
was made only fOl"the pUl"pose
relieving the overflow over the
dant's palay. Held:
The deant is guilty of misdemeanor
eel in section 45 in relation to
n 47 of Act No. 2152. Section
not require that the internee with the dike should be ma '0 exception can be taken
e fact that the conviction was
r a different provision from
t more particularly contemplatIn the statute concerning malidamage to property, for the
ation charges all the elements
tRined in the misdemeanor defined
tion 45 of Act. No. 2152."
. ion of three, per Street, J.,
to and Imperial, JJ., concu1'.) Briefeel by E. J. A.
IGATION

10 ES

GRAVES--SUFFICIENCY

I E.CE-P. P. I., Plaintiff

and
II e vs. Ci"ilICO Ramos, Defe'lldd .4ppcllant, G. R. :Vo. 37750,
10, 19J.l.-The
accused was
i d of Jc,:;iones graves in the
court. The evidence fully S11Sthe findings that the accused
ted the injuries complained of.
er, as to the duration of the
I treatment or of the pel"iod
pacity, the only evidence
d is the m(:di~al certificate

given by the physician who treated

the injured party in the hospital.
The medical
certificate
estimated
that the lesions would require from
30 to 35 days to heal. Held:
"The
forgoing
is clearly insufficient
to
snstain a finding that the offended
party was incapacitated
for more
than thirty days for the work in
which he was habitually
engaged.
The crime committed by the accused
must therefore be classified as lesiones 'I1lenos glaves."
(Division of
three, per Vickers, J., Street and
Santos. JJ., concurring.)
Briefed
by E. J. A.
BIGAMy-WHEN
NOT RAISED

A GoOD DEFENCE

IN THE

TION IS VALID

FIRST

IN THE

PROSECU-

SECOND PRO-

se;cuTf()N-People
of the Philippine
Islands, Plaintiff
and Appellee
vs.
!1'ineo San Jose, Defendant
and Appellant. G. R. No. 37229, June 10,
1933.-The
defendant lawfully contracted his first marriage on December 6, 1903. As absolute decl;ee of
divorce was granted on September
16, 1908 although at that time the
law did not authorize the granting
of divorce a vinculis.
Appellant then
married for the second time, and on
January
10( 1910, he was convicted
of bigamy.
Having served his sentence, he contracted
a third marriage 011July 5, 1925 when his first
wife was stilI living.
Held:
"The
1:e1'm of the civil decree of divoJ"Ce
was absolute and under the conditions the appellant
perhaps had a
right to believe that his marriage
was lawful. It is true that the same
defence
existed
against
the first
prosecution but as that occurred on
the very heels of the divorce, the
defence was not raised, and the fact
that he bas served one sentence
already is something against the repetition of the penalty."
Defendant
acquitted.
(Division of three, per
Street, J., Santos and Imperial, JJ.,
concurring.)
Briefed by E. J. A.