Gumabon vs.

Director of the Bureau of Prisoners

January 30, 1971
No. L-30026

Mario Gumabon, et al, petitioners

vs.
The Director of the Bureau of Prisons, respondent

Facts:
a. Petitioners who were serving their sentence of life imprisonment for the
complex crimes of rebellion with murder and other crimes seek the retroactive
application of the Hernandez doctrine which was promulgated after their
conviction.
b. The Hernandez ruling negated the existence of the crime charged stating that
rebellion cannot be complexed with other crimes. Thus, the accused in the
Hernandez case was sentenced only to 10 years of imprisonment.

Issue: WON the retroactive effect of the Hernandex doctrine can be applied to the
petitioners

Held: Yes. Both the civil code and the revised penal code allow retroactive application.
As stated in Article 2 of the Revised Penal Code, “Penal laws shall have a retroactive
effect in so far as they favor the person guilty of a felony, who is not a habitual criminal.”
Thus, one effect of repeal of penal law is that if the repeal makes the penalty lighter in
the new law, the new law shall be applied, except when the offender is a habitual
delinquent.