G.R. No. 31563 , January 16, 1930
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS vs. LUCIANO BARROGA Y SALGADO

FACTS

The defendant-appellant, Luciano Barroga y Salgado, was convicted of the crime of falsification of a private document. He was sentenced to imprisonment and ordered to indemnify the Compañia General de Tabacos de Filipinas. Barroga admitted to preparing the falsified documents with full knowledge of their falsity but claimed he did so based on data provided by his immediate chief, the deceased Baldomero Fernandez, and that he was merely following the latter’s instructions.

ISSUE

Whether the defendant-appellant’s claim that he acted in obedience to the instructions of his superior exempts him from criminal liability for the crime of falsification of a private document.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. The Court held that even assuming the instructions were given by the superior, such instructions were not lawful. For obedience to a superior’s order to exempt one from criminal liability, the order must be lawful and the superior must be acting within the scope of authority. A subordinate is not obliged to obey an unlawful order, especially when it contravenes a prohibitive law. The Court cited the principle that between a general duty to obey a superior and a specific law that prohibits the act commanded, the latter prevails. Furthermore, the Court found that the evidence did not sufficiently prove that the data or instructions actually came from the alleged superior, Baldomero Fernandez. Therefore, the defense of due obedience to a superior was unavailing, and the appellant was correctly held criminally liable.