Case Digest (G.R. No. 145226)
Facts:
Petitioner Lucio Morigo y Cacho was charged with and convicted of bigamy (Art. 349) by the Regional Trial Court of Bohol for marrying Maria Jececha Limbago on October 4, 1992 while allegedly still married to Lucia Barrete (married August 30, 1990); the RTC sentenced him and the Court of Appeals affirmed on October 21, 1999 and denied reconsideration on September 25, 2000. While the criminal appeal was pending, the RTC in Civil Case No. 6020 rendered a decision on October 23, 1997 declaring the marriage between Lucio Morigo y Cacho and Lucia Barrete void ab initio for lack of a solemnizing officer, and that decision became final and executory.
Issues:
- Whether the Court of Appeals erred in failing to apply the rule that criminal intent is an indispensable requisite in crimes under the Revised Penal Code.
- Whether the Court of Appeals erred in applying the presumption of knowledge of the law in this case.
- Whether all circumstances favoring the innocence of the accused were properly taken into account.
Ruling:
The petition was GRANTED. The Supreme Court REVERSED and SET ASIDE the Court of Appeals decision dated October 21, 1999 and its September 25, 2000 resolution, and ACQUITTED Lucio Morigo y Cacho of the charge of bigamy on the ground that his guilt was not proven with moral certainty. The Court did not decide the merits of petitioner’s defense of good faith or lack of criminal intent as those issues became moot.
Ratio:
The Court applied the elements of bigamy as stated in Marbella-Bobis v. Bobis, principally that a prior valid marriage must exist. The RTC’s final judgment in Civil Case No. 6020 declared the first union void ab initio for failure to comply with the formal requisites of marriage under Article 3 and rendered it nonexistent under Article 4, so legally no first marriage existed when the second marriage was contracted. Because the essential element of a subsisting prior marriage was absent, the conviction for Article 349 could not be sustained; penal statutes were construed in favor of the accused.
Doctrine:
- The elements of bigamy require the existence of a prior marriage that has not been legally dissolved.
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