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  • 1.PEOPLE V Perfecto

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    Victor Reyes
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    Fernando M. Guerrero discovered documents had disappeared from his office as Secretary of the Philippine Senate. An article criticizing the Senate was published by defendant Gregorio Perfecto. Perfecto was accused of violating Article 256 of the Spanish Penal Code, which punishes defaming or insulting government officials. The court ruled Article 256 was no longer in effect due to the change in sovereignty from Spain to the United States. As a general principle, laws regulating relations to a previous sovereign are abrogated. Additionally, the concept of "Minister of the Crown" no longer existed and the Philippine Libel Law had repealed parts of Article 256. Therefore, Perfecto was acquitted.

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    1.PEOPLE v Perfecto

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    Fernando M. Guerrero discovered documents had disappeared from his office as Secretary of the Philippine Senate. An article criticizing the Senate was published by defendant Gregorio Perfecto. Perfecto was accused of violating Article 256 of the Spanish Penal Code, which punishes defaming or insulting government officials. The court ruled Article 256 was no longer in effect due to the change in sovereignty from Spain to the United States. As a general principle, laws regulating relations to a previous sovereign are abrogated. Additionally, the concept of "Minister of the Crown" no longer existed and the Philippine Libel Law had repealed parts of Article 256. Therefore, Perfecto was acquitted.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    25 views1 page

    1.PEOPLE V Perfecto

    Uploaded by

    Victor Reyes
    Fernando M. Guerrero discovered documents had disappeared from his office as Secretary of the Philippine Senate. An article criticizing the Senate was published by defendant Gregorio Perfecto. Perfecto was accused of violating Article 256 of the Spanish Penal Code, which punishes defaming or insulting government officials. The court ruled Article 256 was no longer in effect due to the change in sovereignty from Spain to the United States. As a general principle, laws regulating relations to a previous sovereign are abrogated. Additionally, the concept of "Minister of the Crown" no longer existed and the Philippine Libel Law had repealed parts of Article 256. Therefore, Perfecto was acquitted.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    of 1

    PEOPLE v.

    PERFECTO,
    PHIL. 887 G. R. NO. L-18463, October 4, 1922 MALCOLM, J.:

    FACTS: Fernando M. Guerrero, the Secretary of the Philippine Senate, discovered that
    documents which consists of records of testimony given by witnesses in the
    investigation of oil companies had disappeared from his office. The day after he had
    informed the Senate body of the loss of documents in the session called by the
    Governor-General, an article against the Senate, which was edited by the herein
    defendant, Mr. Gregorio Perfecto, was published in the newspaper La Nacion. Mr.
    Perfecto was accused to have violated the Article 256 of the Spanish Penal Code (SPC)
    which punishes “any person who, by *** writing, shall defame, abuse, or insult, any
    Minister of the Crown or other person in authority”.

    ISSUE/S: Whether or not the Article 256 of the Spanish Penal Code (SPC) is still in
    effect despite the change of sovereignty from Spanish to United State.

    RULING: 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. "Political" is here
    used to denominate the laws regulating the relations sustained by the inhabitants to the
    sovereign, the Article 256 of the SPC is not in effect and cannot be applied in this case.
    First, the article was enacted to protect the Spanish officials who were representatives
    of the King. However, there are no longer Kings nor representatives of the Kings to
    protect at present and “Minister of the Crown” does not exist in the current government.
    Second, the Philippine Libel Law (Act No. 227) had repealed so much in the provision
    that relates to written defamation, abuse and insult in the SPC and based on the facts,
    the defendant violated neither of the two laws. Lastly, the change from Spanish to
    American sovereignty of the Philippines. As stated as a general principle of public law,
    the laws that regulates the relations of the inhabitants of the acquired territory to the
    previous sovereign are abrogated. Therefore, the judgment was reversed, and the
    defendant-appellant was acquitted.

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