G.R. No. and Date: G.R. No. L-12724; August 10, 1917
Case Title: The United States, plaintiff-appellee, vs. Margarita Feliciano, defendant-appellant.

FACTS:
Felix Atacador filed a complaint against his wife, Margarita Feliciano, and Pedro Velasquez, charging them with adultery. The case against Velasquez was dismissed during his separate trial upon motion of the prosecution. Margarita Feliciano was subsequently tried, found guilty, and sentenced to prision correccional for three years, six months, and twenty-one days. She appealed, raising four assignments of error, including the claim that the dismissal of the case against Velasquez should also result in her acquittal, and challenging the competency of her husband’s testimony regarding her pregnancy.

ISSUE:
1. Whether the dismissal of the case against the co-accused Pedro Velasquez necessitates the dismissal of the case against Margarita Feliciano.
2. Whether the husband was competent to testify against his wife regarding her pregnancy in an adultery case.
3. Whether the evidence presented was sufficient to sustain a conviction for adultery.

RULING:
1. On the dismissal of the co-accused: The Court held that the acquittal or dismissal of one accused in an adultery case does not necessarily result in the acquittal of the other. Citing U.S. v. Topiño and Guzman and Spanish jurisprudence, the Court explained that adultery, while requiring two persons, may not involve equal culpability (e.g., the man may not have known the woman was married). Thus, the dismissal against Velasquez did not bar Feliciano’s prosecution.
2. On the husband’s testimony: The Court noted that, generally, a husband may testify against his wife in adultery cases, as adultery is a crime against the husband under the Code of Civil Procedure. However, the Court declined to rule definitively on the admissibility of his testimony regarding pregnancy, as it was unnecessary to resolve the appeal.
3. On the sufficiency of evidence: The Court found strong circumstantial evidence sufficient to convict. Feliciano left her husband in February 1916 and lived with Velasquez from May to July 1916 in a rented house, where they were perceived as husband and wife. Evidence included a photograph showing intimacy and witness testimony that they were seen together in scant apparel and sleeping in the same bed. The Court concluded that carnal relations were established beyond reasonable doubt.

The judgment of the lower court was affirmed, with the addition of accessory penalties and costs.

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