Case Summary (G.R. No. 131903)
Petitioner
The United States prosecuted the offense under the applicable statute (Act No. 1508) and appealed to sustain the conviction and sentence imposed by the trial court.
Respondent
Rogaciano R. Rimon was the mortgagor who executed a chattel mortgage in favor of Jose Oliver to secure a debt and who subsequently removed the mortgaged property from the province without the mortgagee’s written consent, giving rise to the criminal charge.
Key Dates
Debt and execution of chattel mortgage: August 10, 1910.
Reported appellate decision: August 15, 1912.
Applicable Constitutional/Statutory Framework
Because the decision was rendered in 1912, the control and legal framework in force were those applicable to the Philippine Islands under the then existing insular government; the operative penal and property rules relied on Act No. 1508 (the Chattel Mortgage Law). The court’s ruling was made strictly on the basis of the statutory provisions quoted below.
Applicable Statutory Provisions
Section 9, Act No. 1508: No personal property upon which a chattel mortgage is in force shall be removed from the province in which it is located at the time of the execution of the mortgage without the written consent of the mortgagor and mortgagee, or their executors, administrators, or assigns.
Section 12, Act No. 1508: If a mortgagor violates either of the three last preceding sections he shall be fined a sum double the value of the property so wrongfully removed from the province, sold, pledged or mortgaged, one half to the use of the party injured and the other half to the use of the Treasury of the Philippine Islands, or he may be imprisoned for a period not exceeding six months, or punished by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.
Facts
On August 10, 1910, Rimon owed Jose Oliver P350 and executed a chattel mortgage on the piano identified as No. 20459 to secure that debt. Without the written consent of Oliver, Rimon removed the mortgaged piano from Manila and shipped it to Calivo, Province of Capiz. The mortgagee did not learn of the removal until the piano was already aboard the steamer bound for Calivo, at which point he could not obtain possession prior to the vessel’s departure.
Issue
Whether Rimon’s removal of the mortgaged chattel from the province where the mortgage was executed, without the mortgagee’s written consent, violated Sections 9 and 12 of Act No. 1508 and warranted the criminal conviction and penalty imposed by the trial court.
Ruling/Holding
The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence. The court held that the acts of removing the mortgaged property from the province without the mortgagee’s consent plainly violated Section 9, and that Section 12 provided the penal consequences for such a violation. The judgment of the lower court was upheld as being strictly in accordance with the law and the merits of the case.
Reasoning/Analysis
The statutory prohibition is clear and unconditional: a mortgagor may not remove mortgaged personal property from the province of its location at the time of the mortgage without the written consent of bot
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Citation and Case Data
- Reported at 23 Phil. 13.
- G.R. No. 6940.
- Decision date: August 15, 1912.
- Opinion authored by Justice Trent.
- Concurring justices: Arellano, C. J., Mapa, Johnson, and Carson, JJ.
Procedural Posture
- Defendant Rogaciano R. Rimon was criminally charged under section 9 of Act No. 1508 (the Chattel Mortgage Law).
- The trial court found the defendant guilty as charged.
- Sentence imposed: a fine of seven hundred pesos, the corresponding subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency, and payment of the costs of the cause.
- The defendant appealed from that judgment to the appellate tribunal, which rendered the decision being summarized.
Facts
- On August 10, 1910, Rogaciano R. Rimon was indebted to Jose Oliver in the sum of P350.
- On the same day, to secure payment of that debt, Rimon executed a chattel mortgage to Jose Oliver on piano No. 20459, mark Chassaigne Freres.
- After execution of the mortgage, and without the permission of the mortgagee (Jose Oliver), the defendant removed the piano from the city of Manila, where it was located at the time the mortgage was executed.
- The defendant sent the piano to Calivo, Province of Capiz.
- The mortgagee (Jose Oliver) knew nothing of the removal until he discovered that the piano was aboard the steamer billed for Calivo.
- By the time the mortgagee discovered the piano's shipment, it was too late to obtain possession of the piano before the sailing of the ship.
Statutory Provisions Quoted
- Section 9 of Act No. 1508:
- "Sec. 9. No personal property upon which a chattel mortgage is in force shall be removed from the province in which the same is located at the time of the execution of the mortgage without the written consent of the mortgagor and mortgagee, or their executors, administrators, or assigns."
- Section 12 of Act No. 1508:
- "SEC. 12. If a mortgagor violates either of the three last preceding sections