GR 38215 16; (December, 1933) (Digest)
G.R. No. 38215 , 38216. December 22, 1933.
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, plaintiff-appellant, vs. FAUSTINO RIVERA, defendant-appellee.
FACTS
The defendant-appellee, Faustino Rivera, filed a sworn complaint before the Justice of the Peace of Lucena, Tayabas, accusing Domingo Vito and Felisa Moreno of the crime of theft. The complaint was docketed as Criminal Case No. 6543. After trial, the justice of the peace dismissed the theft case for lack of evidence. Subsequently, separate informations were filed against Rivera for violating Article 363 of the Revised Penal Code (Inculpación de un inocente or Incriminating an Innocent Person). The informations alleged that Rivera, by filing the sworn theft complaint, executed an act that directly tended to incriminate an innocent person. Rivera demurred to the informations, arguing the facts alleged did not constitute the crime under Article 363. The Court of First Instance sustained the demurrer and dismissed the cases, prompting the government’s appeal.
ISSUE
Whether the act of filing a sworn criminal complaint that is later dismissed for lack of evidence constitutes the crime of “incriminating an innocent person” under Article 363 of the Revised Penal Code.
RULING
No. The Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of the cases. The Court held that Article 363 of the Revised Penal Code does not penalize the act of filing a false sworn complaint or false accusation. The crime defined under Article 363 is the “incrimination of an innocent person” by means of an act that directly tends to incriminate, such as planting evidence or similar machinations, provided the act does not constitute perjury or false testimony. The act of filing a sworn complaint, even if false, falls under the concept of false testimony or perjury (Article 183) if made under oath, or libel (Article 353) if made publicly, but not under Article 363. Since the informations specifically alleged the act of filing a sworn complaint as the basis for the charge under Article 363, they did not state an offense punishable under that article. The Court noted that the old crime of acusación o denuncia falsa (false accusation) under the Spanish Penal Code was not carried over into the Revised Penal Code.
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