G.R. No. L-13288; September 25, 1918
THE UNITED STATES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. VALENTIN GINER CRUZ, defendant-appellant.

FACTS:
The defendant, Valentin Giner Cruz, a cochero (carriage driver), was charged with vagrancy under Section 733 of the Revised Ordinances of the City of Manila. The specific allegation was that he acted as a “pimp or procurer.” The evidence showed that he solicited an American soldier to ride in his rig to find a woman of loose morals and subsequently secured a prostitute for the soldier.

ISSUE:
Whether the defendant, by his actions, falls within the definition of a “pimp or procurer” under Section 733 of the Revised Ordinances of the City of Manila, thereby making him guilty of vagrancy.

RULING:
Yes. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of conviction. The Court held that the phrase “acts as pimp or procurer” in the ordinance is clear and stands alone; it does not require that the person have no visible means of support or be an agent for a keeper of a house of prostitution. The terms “pimp” and “procurer” are synonymous and refer to one who provides gratification for the lust of others. The legislative intent in adding this phrase to the new ordinances was to suppress the vile traffic in human flesh, and this intent must be effectuated. The defendant’s act of soliciting a customer and securing a prostitute squarely fits this definition. The testimony of a single witness, if credible and sufficient to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, is adequate to support a conviction. The penalty of three months’ imprisonment imposed by the lower courts, being within the limits allowed by the ordinance, was affirmed.