001

THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, plaintiff-appellee, vs.

GREGORIO PERFECTOR, defendant-appellant.

G.R. No. L-18463 October 4, 1922

FACTS:
On August 20, 1920, the Secretary of the Philippine Senate, Fernando M.
Guerrero, discovered that certain documents which constituted the records of
testimony given by witnesses in the investigation of oil companies, had
disappeared from his office. Thereafter, on September 7, 1920, Gregorio
Perfecto, published an article on the newspaper La Nacion regarding such loss. It
stated therein that the perpetrators were in the Senate and thus, will never be
discovered. Simply, there was an official concealment. As a result, Perfecto was
charged of violation of Article 256 of the Spanish Penal Code. He was found
guilty by the Municipal Trial Court and again in the Court of First Instance of
Manila. Mr. Perfecto filed an appeal in the Supreme Court to dismiss the case on
the ground that Article 256 was not in force anymore.

ISSUE:
Whether article 256 of the Spanish Penal Code is still in force.

HELD:
No. Art. 256 of the Penal Code reads as follows: "Any person who, by
word, deed, or writing, shall defame, abuse, or insult any Minister of the Crown or
other person in authority, while engaged in the performance of official duties, or
by reason of such performance, provided that the offensive minister or person, or
the offensive writing be not addressed to him, shall suffer the penalty of arresto
mayor," that is, the defamation, abuse, or insult of any Minister of the Crown of
the Monarchy of Spain (for there could not be a Minister of the Crown in the
United States of America), or other person in authority in the Monarchy of Spain.

Article 256 of the SPC was enacted to protect Spanish officials as

representatives of the King. However, the Court explains that in the present case,
we no longer have Kings nor its representatives for the provision to protect.
Also,with the change of sovereignty over the Philippines from Spanish to
American, it means that the invoked provision of the SPC had been automatically
abrogated. Ministers of the Crown have no place under the American flag. The
Court determined Article 256 of the SPC to be political in nature for it is about
the relation of the State to its inhabitants, thus, the Court emphasized that it is a
general principle of the public law that on acquisition of territory, the previous
political relations of the ceded region are totally abrogated. Hence, Article 256 of
the SPC is considered no longer in force and cannot be applied to the present
case.

Judgment is REVERED and the defendant and appellant ACQUITTED.