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the Penal Code were likewise repealed.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Court of First Instance of

Bataan. Miranda, J.

95

[No. 11676. October 17, 1916.]

VOL. 35, OCTOBER 17, 1916. 95
THE UNITED STATES, plaintiff and appellee, vs. United States vs. Pablo.
ANDRES PABLO, defendant and appellant.
The facts are stated in the opinion of the court.
1. FALSE TESTIMONY; REPEAL OF ACT No. 1697; LAW Alfonso E. Mendoza for appellant.
NOW APPLICABLE.·By the mere interpretation of this Attorney-General Avanceña for appellee.
court in various decisions, Act No. 1697 was deemed to have TORRES, J.:
repealed certain articles of the Penal Code relative to false At about noon of the 21st of October, 1915, Andres
testimony, notwithstanding that the said Act did not Pablo, a policeman of the municipality of Balanga, went by
expressly repeal them; and as the final article and section of order of his chief to the barrio of Tuyo to raid a jueteng
the Administrative Code (Act No. 2657), paragraph 2, has game which, according to the information lodged, was being
totally repealed the said Act No. 1697, without stating that conducted in that place; but before the said officer arrived
the articles of the Penal Code relating to false testimony there the players, perhaps advised of his approach by a spy,
comprised within the term of perjury were likewise left and ran away; however, on his arrival at a vacant lot
repealed; and if it is undeniable that the community must the defendant there found Francisco Dato and, at a short
necessarily punish perjury or false testimony, and if it is distance away, a low table. After a search of the premises
impossible to conceive that crimes of, this kind may go he also found thereon a tambiolo (receptacle) and 37 bolas
immune and be freely committed without any punishment (balls). Notwithstanding that the officer had seen the men
at all, because the liberty to pervert the truth, in sworn Maximo Malicsi and Antonio Rodrigo leave the said lot, yet,
testimony for the very reason that it might save a guilty as at first he had seen no material proof that the game was
party from punishment, might also determine the conviction being played, he refrained from arresting them, and on
and punishment of an innocent party, the conclusion is leaving the place only arrested Francisco Dato, who had
inevitable that there must be some previous and preexisting remained there.
law which punishes perjury or false testimony·a In reporting to his chief what had occurred, the
punishment required by good morals and by the law, even in policeman presented a memorandum containing the
a society of mediocre culture, in order to avoid incalculable following statement: "In the barrio of Tuyo I raided a
harm and resultant disturbances which might affect public jueteng na bilat game, seized a tambiolo and bolas, and saw
order. the cabecillas Maximo Malicsi and Antonio Rodrigo and the
gambler Francisco Dato. I saw the two cabecillas escape."
2. ID. ; ID.; ID.·For the reasons above stated and in view of In consequence, chief of police Jose D. Reyes, on October
the provisions of Law 2, Title 2, Book 3, of the Novísima 22, 1915, filed a complaint in the court of the justice of the
Recopilación, the needs of society demand that articles 318 peace charging the said Rodrigo, Malicsi, and Dato with
to 324 of the Penal Code be deemed to be in force, inasmuch having gambled at jueteng, in violation of municipal
as the said Administrative Code, in repealing the said Act ordinance No. 5. As a result of this complaint the accused
on perjury, did not explicitly declare that the said articles of were arrested, but were afterwards admitted to bail.

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At the hearing of the case Francisco Dato pleaded guilty. court, the said accused, Andres Pablo, during the hearing
The other two accused, Maximo Malicsi and Antonio in the justice of the peace court of Balanga of the criminal
Rodrigo, pleaded not guilty; therefore, during the trial the cause No. 787, entitled The United States vs. Antonio
chief of police presented the memorandum exhibited by the Rodrigo and Maximo Malicsi, for violation of Municipal
policeman Andres Pablo, who testified under oath that on Ordinance No. 5 of the municipality of Balanga, did,
willfully, unlawfully and feloniously affirm and swear in
96
legal form before the justice of the peace court as follows:

97
96 PHILIPPINE REPORTS ANNOTATED
United States vs. Pablo.
VOL. 35, OCTOBER 17, 1916. 97
the date mentioned he and Tomas de Leon went to the said United States vs. Pablo.
barrio to raid a jueteng game, but that before they arrived
there they saw from afar that some persons started to run 'We did not there overtake the accused Antonio Rodrigo
toward the hills; that when witness and his companion and Maximo Malicsi, nor did we even see them run,' the
arrived at a vacant lot they saw Francisco Dato and a low said statement being utterly false, as the accused well
table there, and the table caused them to suspect that a knew that it was, and material to the decision of the said
jueteng game was being carried on; that in fact they did criminal cause No. 787, United States vs. Antonio Rodrigo
find on one side of the lot a tambiolo and 37 bolas, but that and Maximo Malicsi. An act committed with violation of
they did not see the accused Rodrigo and Malicsi on the law."
said lot, nor did they see them run; and that only The case came to trial and on December 28, 1915, the
afterwards did the witness learn that these latter were the court rendered judgment therein sentencing the defendant
cabecillas or ringleaders in the jueteng game, from to the penalty of two years' imprisonment, to pay a fine of
information given him by an unknown person. In view of P100 and, in case of insolvency, to the corresponding
this testimony by the police officer who made the arrest subsidiary imprisonment, and to pay the costs. The
and of the other evidence adduced at the trial the court defendant was also disqualified from thereafter holding
acquitted the defendants Antonio Rodrigo and Maximo any public office and from testifying in the courts of the
Malicsi and sentenced only Francisco Dato, as a gambler. Philippine Islands until the said disqualification should be
Before the case came to trial in the justice of the peace removed. From this judgment he appealed.
court the policeman Andres Pablo had an interview and Francisco Dato, on testifying as a witness, said that
conference with the accused Malicsi and Rodrigo in the when the policemen Andres Pablo and Tomas de Leon
house of Valentin Sioson. On this occasion he was arrived at the place where the jueteng was being played,
instructed not to testify against Malicsi and Rodrigo, and in they found the defendant gamblers, Malicsi and Rodrigo;
fact received through Gregorio Ganzon the sum of P5. that, prior to the hearing of the case in the justice of the
By reason of the foregoing and after making a peace court, Malicsi and Rodrigo ordered him to call Andres
preliminary investigation the provincial fiscal, on Pablo, who, together with witness, went to the house of
December 1, 1915, filed an information in the Court of First Valentin Sioson, where they held a conference; that witness
Instance of Bataan charging Andres Pablo with the crime pleaded guilty in the justice of the peace court, in
of perjury, under the provisions of section 3 of Act No. 1697. fulfilment of his part of an agreement made between
The following is an extract f rom the complaint: himself and his two coaccused, Malicsi and Rodrigo, who
"That on or about November 6, 1915, in the municipality promised him that they would support his family during
of Balanga, Bataan, P. I., and within the jurisdiction of this the time he might be a prisoner in jail; that Andres Pablo

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did not know that they were gamblers, because he did not From the facts above related, it is concluded that the
find them in the place where the game was in progress, but defendant Andres Pablo, who pleaded not guilty, falsely
that when- witness was being taken to the municipal testified under oath in the justice of the peace court of
building by the policemen he told them who the gamblers Balanga, Bataan, in saying that he had not seen the
were who had run away and whom Andres Pablo could alleged gamblers Maximo Malicsi and Antonio Rodrigo in
have seen. the place where, according to the complaint filed, the game
Maximo Malicsi corroborated the foregoing testimony of jueteng was being played and where the defendant and
and f urther stated that, on the arrival of the policemen his companion, the policeman Tomas de Leon, had found a
who made the arrest and while they were looking for the table, tambiolo and bolas, used in the game of jueteng,
tambiolo, he succeeded in escaping; that Andres Pablo had while it was proved at the trial that he did see them and
known him for a long time and could have arrested him did overtake them while they were still in the place where
the game was being played. But notwithstanding his
98
having seen them there, upon testifying in the cause
prosecuted against
98 PHILIPPINE REPORTS ANNOTATED
99
United States vs. Pablo.
VOL. 35, OCTOBER 17, 1916. 99
had he wished to do so; that prior to the hearing he and his
codefendants, Rodrigo and Dato, did in fact meet in the United States vs. Pablo.
house of Valentin Sioson, on which occasion they agreed
that they would give the policeman Andres Pablo P20, these men and another f or gambling, he stated that he had
provided witness and Rodrigo were excluded from the not seen them there, knowing that he was not telling the
charge; and that only P15 was delivered to the said Pablo, truth and was false to the oath he had taken, and he did so
through Gregorio Ganzon. This statement was corroborated willfully and deliberately on account of his agreement with
by the latter, though he said nothing about what amount of the men, Malicsi and Rodrigo, and in consideration of a
money he delivered to the policeman Pablo. bribe of P15 which he had received in payment for his false
The defendant Andres Pablo testified under oath that, testimony he afterwards gave.
on' his being asked by the justice of the peace how he could Francisco Dato and Gregorio Ganzon corroborated the
have seen Maximo Malicsi and Antonio Rodrigo, he replied assertion that the policeman Andres Pablo undertook to
that he did not see them at the place where the game was exclude the gamblers, Malicsi and Rodrigo, from the charge
being conducted nor did he see them run away from there, and from his testimony in consideration for P15 which he
for he only found the table, the tambiolo, the bolas, and received through Gregorio Ganzon.
Francisco Dato; that he did not surprise the game because Andres Pablo was charged with the crime of perjury and
the players ran away before he arrived on the lot where, was afterwards convicted under Act No. 1697, which
after fifteen minutes' search, he found only the tambiolo (according to the principle laid down by this court in
and the bolas; that on arriving at the place where the game various decisions that are already well-settled rules of law)
was played, they found only Francisco Dato and some repealed the provisions contained in articles 318 to 324 of
women in the street, and as Dato had already gone away, the Penal Code relative to false testimony.
witness' companion, the policeman Tomas de Leon, got on By the second paragraph of the final section of the last
his bicycle and went after him; and that he found the article of the Administrative Code, or Act No. 2657, there
tambiolo at a distance of about 6 meters from a low table was repealed, among the other statutes therein mentioned,
standing on the lot. the said Act No. 1697 relating to perjury, and the repealing

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clause of the said Administrative Code does not say under Penal Code relating to false testimony, comprised within
what other penal law in force the crime of false testimony, the term of perjury) did not expressly repeal the said
at least, if not that of perjury, shall be punished. articles of the Penal Code; and as the said final article of
Under these circumstances, may the crime of perjury or the Administrative Code, in totally repealing Act No. 1697,
of false testimony go unpunished, and is there no penal does not explicitly provide that the mentioned articles of
sanction whatever in this country for this crime? May the the Penal Code are also repealed, the will of the legislator
truth be f reely perverted in testimony given under oath not being expressly and clearly stated with respect to the
and which, for the very reason that it may save a guilty complete or partial repeal of the said articles of the Penal
person from punishment, may also result in the conviction Code, in the manner that it has totally repealed the said
and punishment of an innocent person? If all this is not Act No. 1697 relating to perjury; and, furthermore, as it is
possible and is not right before the law and good morals in imperative that society punish those of its members who
a society of even mediocre culture, it must be acknowledged are guilty of perjury or false testimony, and it cannot be
that it is imperatively necessary to punish the crime of conceived that these crimes should go unpunished or be
perjury or of false testimony·a crime which can produce freely committed without punishment of any kind, it must
incalculable and far-reaching harm to society and cause be conceded that there must be in this country some prior,
infinite disturbance of social order. preëxistent law that punishes perjury or false testimony.
There certainly are laws which deal with perjury or false
100
testimony, like Law 7 et seq. of Title 2, third Partida.

101
100 PHILIPPINE REPORTS ANNOTATED
United States vs. Pablo.
VOL. 35, OCTOBER 17, 1916. 101
The right of prosecution and punishment for a crime is one United States vs. Pablo.
of the attributes that by a natural law belongs to the
sovereign power instinctively charged by the common will However, since the Penal Code went into force, the crime of
of the members of society to look after, guard and defend false testimony has been punished under the said articles
the interests of the community, the individual and social of the said Code, which as we have already said, have not
rights and the liberties of every citizen and the guaranty of been specifically repealed by the said Act No. 1697, but,
the exercise of his rights. since its enactment, have not been applied, by the mere
The power to punish evildoers has never been attacked interpretation given to them by this court in its decisions;
or challenged, as the necessity for its existence has been yet, from the moment that Act was repealed by the
recognized even by the most backward peoples. At times Administrative Code, the needs of society have made it
the criticism has been made that certain penalties are necessary that the said articles 318 to 324 should be
cruel, barbarous, and atrocious; at others, that they are deemed to be in force, inasmuch as the Administrative
light and inadequate to the nature and gravity of the Code, in repealing the said Act relating to perjury, has not
offense, but the imposition of punishment is admitted to be explicitly provided that the said articles of the Penal Code
just by the whole human race, guided by their natural have likewise been repealed.
perception of right and wrong, and even barbarians and This manner of understanding and construing the
savages themselves, who are ignorant of all civilization, are statutes applicable to the crime of false testimony or
no exception. Notwithstanding that the said Act No. 1697 perjury is in harmony with the provision of Law 11, Title 2,
(which, as interpreted by this court in its decisions, was Book 3, of the Novísima Recopilación which says:
deemed to have repealed the aforementioned article of the "All the laws of the kingdom, not expressly repealed by

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other subsequent laws, must be literally obeyed and the instances. So ordered.
excuse that they are not in use cannot avail; for the
Catholic kings and their successors so ordered in numerous Johnson, Carson, Trent, and Araullo, JJ., concur.
laws, and so also have I ordered on different occasions, and Moreland, J., concurs in the result.
even though they were repealed, it is seen that they have
Judgment reversed; defendant convicted.
been revived by the decree which I issued in conformity
with them although they were not expressly designated. ________________
The council will be informed thereof and will take account
of the importance of the matter."
It is, then, assumed that the said articles of the Penal
Code are in force and are properly applicable to crimes of
false testimony. Therefore, in consideration of the fact that
in the case at bar the evidence shows it to have been duly
proven that the defendant, Andres Pablo, in testifying in © Copyright 2021 Central Book Supply, Inc. All rights reserved.
the cause prosecuted for gambling at jueteng, perverted the
truth, for the purpose of favoring the alleged gamblers,
Maximo Malicsi and Antonio Rodrigo, with the aggravating
circumstance of the crime being committed through bribery,
for it was also proved that the defendant Pablo received
P15 in order that he should make no mention of the

102

102 PHILIPPINE REPORTS ANNOTATED

United States vs. Perez and Perez.

said two alleged gamblers in his sworn testimony, whereby

he knowingly perverted the truth, we hold that, in the
commission of the crime of false testimony, there concurred
the aggravating circumstance of price or reward, No. 3 of
article 10 of the Code, with. no mitigating circumstance to
offset the effects of the said aggravating one; wherefore the
defendant has incurred the maximum period of the penalty
of arresto mayor in its maximum degree to prisión
correccional in its medium degree, and a fine.
For the foregoing reasons, we hereby reverse the
judgment appealed from and sentence Andres Pablo to the
penalty of two years four months and one day of prisión
correccional, to pay a fine of 1,000 pesetas, and, in case of
insolvency, to suffer the corresponding subsidiary
imprisonment, which shall not exceed one-third of the
principal penalty. He shall also pay the costs of both

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