FACTS:
– On 27 October 1905 the steamer Don Engracio arrived in Manila carrying two Chinese nationals, Tan Gee and Luis Ortiz de Taranco Vy Chavo.
– Upon disembarkation the Customs Secret‑Police agent Juan Silerio stopped them and demanded that Tan Gee produce his certificate of entry. Tan Gee declared he had none.
– Ortiz de Taranco offered Silerio ₱40 (in various bank‑notes) as a bribe to allow Tan Gee to proceed without being taken before the customs authorities.
– Silerio nevertheless escorted Tan Gee to the customs officials and later reported the attempted bribe. The money was deposited in the custom‑house and later placed under court control.
– The trial court (Court of First Instance, Manila) found both accused guilty of bribery under Article 387 of the Penal Code (in relation to Article 383) and sentenced each to three months’ imprisonment, a fine of US $400, and one‑half the costs. The judgment also ordered confiscation of the ₱40 offered as a bribe.

ISSUE:
1. Whether the offense charged and punished by the trial court was correctly classified as “bribery” under the Customs Administrative Act (Section 333), or whether it should be treated as the general criminal offense of bribery/attempted bribery under the Penal Code.
2. What penalty is proper for an attempted bribe directed at a public official (the customs secret‑service agent) who, although performing duties under the Customs Act, was also acting as a public officer enforcing Act No. 702 of the Philippine Commission (the anti‑Chinese immigration law).

RULING:
– The Supreme Court held that the attempted bribe was not committed for the purpose of influencing a customs official in the performance of duties specifically prescribed by the Customs Administrative Act; rather, it was aimed at a public officer (the secret‑service agent) enforcing the anti‑Chinese immigration statute. Consequently, the trial court’s reliance on Section 333 of the Customs Administrative Act was erroneous.
– The act constituted attempted bribery under Articles 387‑383 of the Penal Code. Under the Penal Code, attempted bribery is punished only by a fine (per Articles 83 and 94), not by imprisonment which is reserved for the consummated crime of bribery (Articles 66 and 92).
– The Supreme Court reversed the conviction and sentence of imprisonment and re‑condemned Luis Ortiz de Taranco Vy Chavo of attempted bribery, imposing:
a fine of ₱60,
confiscation of the ₱40 offered as the bribe, and
* payment of one‑half of the costs of both instances.

– The judgment was to be entered after ten days, and the case remanded to the lower court for appropriate execution.

Thus, the appellate court clarified that an attempted bribe to a public officer, even when that officer is a customs secret‑service agent, falls under the general provisions of the Penal Code and carries a lesser penalty than a completed bribery offense.