Case Digest (G.R. No. 21049)
Facts:
The People of the Philippine Islands v. Isaac Perez, G.R. No. 21049, December 22, 1923, the Supreme Court En Banc, Malcolm, J., writing for the Court.The prosecution (plaintiff-appellee) charged Isaac Perez (defendant-appellant), municipal secretary of Pilar, Sorsogon, with violating Article 256 of the Penal Code for having, on April 1, 1922, uttered in the presidencia of Pilar in a public discussion words urging Filipinos to "use bolos for cutting off Governor‑General Wood's head" because, as Perez said, Wood had "killed our independence." Fortunato Lodovice is identified in the record as the person with whom Perez argued; several local public officers and residents witnessed the incident.
The information alleged that Perez knowingly insulted Governor‑General Leonard Wood, a person in authority, by publicly uttering the quoted phrases and charged contravention of Article 256 of the Penal Code. At trial before the Court of First Instance of Sorsogon the prosecution presented testimony from Juan Lumbao (municipal president), Higinio J. Angustia (justice of the peace; written statement), and Gregorio Cresencio, who related that Perez invited Filipinos to get bolos and cut off the Governor‑General's head and throw it into the sea. The defense produced three witnesses and Perez himself, who testified he intended merely to express that the Governor‑General should be removed and that he had used exaggerated language in the heat of political argument.
The trial judge found the prosecution witnesses credible, concluded Perez had made the threatening statements as charged, and convicted him under Article 256, sentencing him to two months and one day's imprisonment and costs. Perez appealed to the Supreme Court. The appeal presented primarily questions of la...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Is Article 256 of the Penal Code still in force and applicable to the alleged offense?
- Did Perez's utterances constitute sedition under Section 8 of Act No. 292 (the Treason and Sedition Law), as amended by Act No. 1692?
- May an accused be convicted of a graver offense than that designated in the information when the graver offense is described by...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
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Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)