GR L 11598; (January, 1959) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-11598; January 27, 1959
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. FEDERIC BUSTAMANTE, defendant-appellant.
FACTS
The defendant-appellant, Federico Bustamante, was legally married to Maria Perez on August 9, 1954. While this first marriage was still subsisting, he contracted a second marriage with Demetria Tibayan on September 16, 1955. The second marriage was solemnized by Francisco Nato, the Vice-Mayor of Mapandan, Pangasinan, who was acting as the mayor at that time because the elected mayor, Enrique Aquino, was on a one-month leave of absence. Bustamante lived with Demetria for about a month before returning to his first wife. Demetria later discovered the prior marriage, leading to the bigamy charge. Bustamante did not testify at his trial. He was convicted in the Court of First Instance and appealed, raising legal issues.
ISSUE
The main issue is whether Francisco Nato, the Vice-Mayor acting as Mayor, had the legal authority to solemnize the second marriage, and whether an error in the information regarding who solemnized the marriage is reversible.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. The Court ruled that when a Vice-Mayor assumes the powers and duties of the Mayor due to the latter’s absence or leave, the Vice-Mayor is vested with all the authority appurtenant to the office, including the power to solemnize marriages under Article 56 of the Civil Code. The distinction between “Acting Mayor” and “Vice-Mayor acting as Mayor” is immaterial for this purpose, as in both instances the official discharges the full duties of the office. The Court also held that the error in the information, which charged that the marriage was before the Justice of the Peace but the evidence showed it was before the acting mayor, was immaterial and not reversible. It is sufficient for a bigamy charge to allege that a second marriage was contracted while the first was undissolved. The penalty imposed by the lower court (an indeterminate sentence of 2 years, 4 months, and 1 day of prision correccional to 8 years and 1 day of prision mayor) was in accordance with the Indeterminate Sentence Law and was affirmed.