People v Perfecto

GR L-18463
October 4, 1922
Petitioner: State
Respondent: Gregorio Perfecto, editor of La Nacion

Facts: The respondent had written an editorial against the Philippine Senate and its members in connection with the disappearance of certain documents. He was prosecuted under Art 256 of the Spanish Penal Code which states that ‘any person who, by writing, shall defame, abuse, or insult any Minister of the Crown, or other person in authority”.

Issue: Is Article 256 of the Spanish Penal Code still in force?

Held: Article 256 of the Spanish Penal Code is now not in force because it was abrogated when Spain ceded the Philippines to American sovereignty. It is a general principle of public law that on acquisition of territory, the previous political relations of the ceded region are totally abrogated, wherein the term ‘political’ refers to the laws being used to regulate relations of the sovereign with the inhabitants of its territory.