Crimes against The Elements of Treason are:
National Security
Article 114 .
TREASON
- Is a breach of allegiance
to a government, committed
by a person who owes
allegiance to it…
1. That the offender is a Filipino citizen or an
alien residing in the Philippines;
2.That there is war in which the Philippines is
involved; and
3. That the offender either:
a. Levies war against the Government, or
b. Adherence to the enemies, giving them aid
or comfort.
A. Laurel vs. Misa
Issue:
G.R. No. L-409 1. Is the allegiance of
January 30, 1947 Filipinos suspended during
enemy occupation?
“Defense of Suspended
2. Whether or not Laurel is
Allegiance not
guilty of treason?
Accepted”
Facts:
Ruling:
Anastacio Laurel filed a petition
• No, the allegiance of Filipinos is not suspended
for habeas corpus and argued that a
Filipino who adhered to the enemy, during enemy occupation.
giving the latter aid and comfort,
during their (Japanese) • A citizen or subject owes absolute and
occupation, cannot be prosecuted for permanent allegiance, which consists of fidelity
the crime of treason under Article
and obedience, to his government or sovereign.
114 of the RPC for reason:
This kind of allegiance should not be confused
(1) that the sovereignty of the
with the qualified and temporary allegiance whom
Philippines and, consequently, the
a foreigner owes to the government or sovereign of
correlative allegiance of Filipinos at
the time were suspended; (2) that the territory wherein he resides, so long as he
there was a change of sovereignty remains there, in return for the protection he
over the Philippines upon the receives, and which consists in the obedience to
Proclamation of the Philippines the laws of the government or sovereign.
republic.
 • Sovereignty itself is not suspended and subsists during
Ruling: enemy occupation; what may be suspended is the
• This absolute and permanent
exercise of the rights of sovereignty, the same being
allegiance of citizens is not passed temporarily to the occupant; that the subsistence
abrogated or severed by the enemy of the sovereignty of the legitimate government in a
occupation, because the sovereignty territory occupied by the military forces of the enemy
of the government or sovereign de during the war, “although the former is in fact prevented
jure is not transferred thereby to the from exercising the supremacy over them” is one of the
occupier, as held in Kim Cham vs. “rules of international law of our times.”
Valdez Tan Keh, and that it cannot be
• In effect, the allegiance of the citizens to their legitimate
suspended without putting it out of
existence or divesting said government government or sovereign subsists, hence, there is no
thereof. such thing as suspended allegiance as theorized by
Laurel.
• Hence, Anastacio Laurel can be prosecuted for the crime
of treason.
Laurel vs. Misa
• Separate Dissenting Opinion:
PARAS, J., dissenting:
During the long period of Japanese occupation, all the political laws of the Philippines were suspended.
This is full harmony with the generally accepted principles of the international law adopted by our
Constitution(Article II, section 3) as a part of the law of the Nation.
In much the same way, we should hold that no treason could have been committed during the Japanese
military occupation against the United States or the Commonwealth Government, because article 114 of the
Revised Penal Code was not then in force. Nor may this penal provision be applied upon its revival at the
time of the reoccupation of the Philippines by virtue of the principle of postliminium, because of the
constitutional inhibition against any ex post facto law and because, under article 22 of the Revised Penal
Code, criminal laws shall have a retroactive effect only in so far as they favor the accused. Why did we
refuse to enforce the Constitution, more essential to sovereignty than article 114 of the Revised Penal Code
in the aforesaid of Peralta vs. Director of Prisons if, as alleged by the majority, the suspension was good only
as to the military occupant?

• Reporter: Ermeline J. Tampus-2.5JD