G.R. No. L-62243 October 12, 1984
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, petitioner, vs. HON. REGINO VERIDIANO II and BENITO GO BIO, JR., respondents.

FACTS

Private respondent Benito Go Bio, Jr. was charged with violating Batas Pambansa Blg. 22 (the Bouncing Checks Law). The information alleged that in the second week of May 1979, he issued a check for P200,000.00, knowing he had insufficient funds, which was later dishonored upon presentment on September 26, 1979. Before arraignment, Go Bio, Jr. moved to quash the information, arguing it charged no offense because BP 22 was not yet effective when he issued the check in May 1979. The prosecution opposed, contending the offense was committed upon the check’s dishonor in September 1979, after the law’s effectivity.
Respondent Judge granted the motion to quash. He ruled that the date of the drawing and issuance of the check, not its maturity or dishonor, controls for determining criminal liability under BP 22. Since the check was issued in May 1979, prior to the law’s effectivity, no violation occurred. The prosecution filed this petition, arguing the law was published in the Official Gazette on April 9, 1979, and thus effective fifteen days later, before the check’s issuance.

ISSUE

Whether the respondent judge correctly dismissed the criminal case on the ground that the act of issuing the check occurred before Batas Pambansa Blg. 22 took effect.

RULING

The Supreme Court upheld the dismissal. The Court clarified that the decisive date for the offense under BP 22 is the act of making, drawing, and issuing a check without sufficient funds, not the subsequent date of its dishonor. The law’s title and provisions explicitly penalize the act of issuance.
Regarding effectivity, the Court found that while BP 22 was printed in the April 9, 1979 Official Gazette, a certification from the Government Printing Office established it was officially released for circulation only on June 14, 1979. The law’s effectivity clause states it takes effect “fifteen days after publication in the Official Gazette.” The term “publication” means making the law known to the public generally; the critical date is the actual release for circulation, not the printed date on the Gazette. Therefore, BP 22 became effective only on June 29, 1979.
Since the check was issued in May 1979, the act complained of occurred when there was no penal law yet in force prohibiting it. Consequently, Go Bio, Jr. could not be held liable for violating BP 22. The Court affirmed that penal laws cannot be applied retroactively, and no crime was committed under that statute at the time of the issuance.