G.R. No. 922 - Pardo de Tavera vs. Garcia-Valdez

Complainant and Apellee: TRINIDAD H. PARDO DE TAVERA, acting in the capacity of private prosecutor.
Defendant and Appellant: VICENTE GARCIA VALDEZ.

The defendant was charged with the offense of injurias graves under articles 457 and 458 of the Penal Code, for which the lower court sentenced him to pay a fine of 4,000 pesetas, with subsidiary imprisonment if the fine was not fully paid.
Both the private prosecutor and the defendant appealed from the judgment of the lower court.
Despite the defendant’s failure to file a brief or appear at the argument, the appellate court decided to consider the case on its merits.

In September 1901, the defendant, then the editor of the periodical "Miau", published an article on September 15, 1901, in Manila.
The article contained grossly abusive language and unequivocal charges including:

Alleging that the private prosecutor had displayed cowardice during the murder of his mother and sister.
Asserting that the private prosecutor subsequently entered into intimate political relations with the assassin.
Other imputations and derogatory statements were made, but the opinion in this case focuses on the aforementioned allegations.

The offense of injurias graves under article 457 of the Penal Code is classified under four heads:

Imputing a crime not subject to prosecution de oficio.
Imputing a vice or moral shortcoming that could seriously injure reputation, credit, or interests.
Injurias commonly regarded as insulting due to their nature, occasion, or circumstances.
Injurias reasonably classified as grave given the roles and personal circumstances of the parties involved.

The published statements did not allege a crime or strictly a vice; however, they were designed to bring the private prosecutor into public obloquy and contempt.
The court found that the statements fell clearly within heads Nos. 3 and 4.

Article 458 of the Penal Code mandates that injurias graves made in writing and published publicly be punished with destierro (exile) in its medium to maximum degree and a fine ranging from 625 to 6,250 pesetas.
Act No. 277 of the United States Philippine Commission, which reformed the existing Spanish libel laws, provided a different scheme of punishment; however, its provisions applied only prospectively.
Section 13 of Act No. 277 preserved the applicability of the existing laws for pending actions or causes of action raised before its effect on October 24, 1901.
Article 22 of the Penal Code allowed for the retroactive application of penal laws favorable to the accused, but only to that advantage.

The lower court had, in part, reduced the penalty on the theory that the provisions of the subsequent Act No. 277 modified the punishment available under the Penal Code.
The appellate decision clarified that the proviso in Act No. 277 preserved the integrity of the earlier law for pending cases, meaning the full extent of the prescribed penalty under the Penal Code should apply.
Consideration was given to an argument that the private prosecutor’s official position might serve as an aggravating circumstance (under Penal Code, article 10, No. 20), yet the court treated it as a qualificative and not as a basis for a more severe penalty.

Whether the published statements clearly constitute injurias graves under articles 457 and 458 of the Penal Code.
How the classification under the four heads provided by article 457 applies to the facts of the case.

Whether the defendant’s non-appearance and failure to file a brief should result in dismissal or if the appeal should be considered on its merits.
The propriety of applying the provisions of Act No. 277 to an action that was pending at the time of its enactment, vis-à-vis the preservation clause in Section 13.

Whether the penalty imposed by the lower court—specifically the fine and subsidiary imprisonment—is consistent with the statutory provisions.
Whether the private prosecutor’s official status constitutes an aggravating circumstance under the Penal Code, thereby modifying the appropriate penalty.