G.R. No. L-10564; August 6, 1915
THE UNITED STATES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. TOMAS MACABABBAG and MARIA BALISI, defendants-appellants.

FACTS:
The defendants, Tomas Macababbag and Maria Balisi, were charged with the crime of amancebamiento (concubinage). The complaint alleged that for about five months prior to July 11, 1914, in Tuguegarao, Cagayan, Tomas Macababbag, while legally married to Dominga Bulaqui, willfully and unlawfully took Maria Balisi into the conjugal home and kept her there as his mistress, with gross insult to his wife and in violation of law. After trial, both were found guilty under Article 437 of the Penal Code. Tomas Macababbag was sentenced to prision correccional for two years and four months, and Maria Balisi was sentenced to destierro (banishment) for the same period, requiring her to remain at least 25 kilometers from the center of Tuguegarao. Both appealed.

ISSUE:
Whether the evidence presented during the trial was sufficient to prove the defendants’ guilt of the crime of concubinage under Article 437 of the Penal Code, particularly in the absence of alleged “scandalous circumstances.”

RULING:
The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s judgment. The appellants’ argument that “scandalous circumstances” are a necessary element for the crime of concubinage under Article 437 is incorrect. The Court clarified that under Article 437, a married man who keeps a mistress in the conjugal dwelling itself is guilty of concubinage regardless of whether the act created a public scandal. The requirement of “scandalous circumstances” applies only when the mistress is kept in a place other than the conjugal home. In this case, since the evidence established that Maria Balisi was kept in the conjugal dwelling, the crime was complete without proof of scandal. The Court found no reason to modify the sentence after a careful examination of the evidence. The penalties imposed by the lower court were affirmed.