Arnault Vs Nazareno

Jean Arnault vs Nazareno
Inquiry in Aid of Legislation
This case arose from the legislative inquiry into the acquisition by the Philippine Government of the
Buenavista and Tambobong estates sometime in 1949. Among the witnesses called to be examined by the
special committee created by a Senate resolution was Jean L. Arnault, a lawyer who delivered a partial of
the purchase price to a representative of the vendor. During the Senate investigation, Arnault refused to
reveal the identity of said representative, at the same time invoking his constitutional right against self-
incrimination. The Senate adopted a resolution committing Arnault to the custody of the Sergeant-at-Arms
and imprisoned until he shall have purged the contempt by revealing to the Senate . . . the name of the
person to whom he gave the P440,000, as well as answer other pertinent questions in connection therewith.
Arnault petitioned for a writ of Habeas Corpus
ISSUE: Can the senate impose penalty against those who refuse to answer its questions in a congressional
hearing in aid of legislation.
HELD: It is the inherent right of the Senate to impose penalty in carrying out their duty to conduct inquiry
in aid of legislation. But it must be herein established that a witness who refuses to answer a query by the
Committee may be detained during the term of the members imposing said penalty but the detention should
not be too long as to violate the witness right to due process of law.
Arnault vs Nazareno (G.R. No. L-3820)

Petition for habeas corpus to relieve petitioner Jean Arnault from confinement in the New Bilibid prison.
Denied.
FACTS: In the latter part of October, 1949, the Philippine Government, through the Rural Progress
Administration, bought two estates known as Buenavista and Tambobong for the sums of P4,500,000 and
P500,000, respectively. P1,000,000 was paid for the first sum and P 500,000 to the second sum both to
Ernest H. Burt, a nonresident American, thru his two attorney-in-fact in the Philippines, as represented by
Jean L. Arnault, for both estates respectively. However, Ernest H. Burt was not the original owner of the
estate. He bought the first from San Juan de Dios hospital and the second from the Philippine trust
company. In both instances, Burt was not able to pay the necessary amount of money to complete his
payments. As such, his contract with said owners were cancelled.
On September 4, 1947, the Philippine Trust Company sold, conveyed, and delivered the Tambobong
Estate to the Rural Progress Administration by an abolute deed of sale in consideration of the sum of
P750,000. The Philippine Government then, through the Secretary of Justice as Chairman of the Board of
Directors of the Rural Progress Administration and as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the
Philippine National Bank, from which the money was borrowed, accomplished the purchase of the two
estates in the latter part of October, 1949, as stated at the outset.
On February 27, 1950, the Senate adopted its Resolution No. 8, which created a special committee to
investigate the transactions surrounding the estates. The special committee created by the resolution
called and examined various witnesses, among the most important of whom was Jean L. Arnault. An
intriguing question which the committee sought to resolve was the apparent unnecessariness and
irregularity of the Governments paying to Burt the total sum of P1,500,000 for his alleged interest of
only P20,000 in the two estates, which he seemed to have forfeited anyway long before October, 1949.
The committee sought to determine who were responsible for and who benefited from the transaction at
the expense of the Government.
Arnault testified that two checks payable to Burt aggregating P1,500,000 were delivered to him on the
afternoon of October 29, 1949; that on the same date he opened a new account in the name of Ernest H.
Burt with the Philippine National Bank in which he deposited the two checks aggregating P1,500,000;
and that on the same occasion he drew on said account two checks; one for P500,000, which he
transferred to the account of the Associated Agencies, Inc., with the Philippine National Bank, and
another for P440,000 payable to cash, which he himself cashed.
It was the desire of the committee to determine the ultimate recipient of this sum of P440,000 that gave
rise to the present case. As Arnault resisted to name the recipient of the money, the senate then approved
a resolution that cited him for contempt. It is this resolution which brought him to jail and is being
contested in this petition.
Page 1 of 2
ISSUES:
1. WON the Senate has the power to punish Arnault for contempt for refusing to reveal the name of the
person to whom he gave the P440,000.
2. WON the Senate lacks authority to commit him for contempt for a term beyond its period of legislative
session, which ended on May 18, 1950.
3. WON the privilege against self incrimination protects the petitioner from being questioned.
HELD:
1. YES. Once an inquiry is admitted or established to be within the jurisdiction of a legislative body to
make, the investigating committee has the power to require a witness to answer any question pertinent to
that inquiry, subject of course to his constitutional right against self-incrimination. The inquiry, to be
within the jurisdiction of the legislative body to make, must be material or necessary to the exercise of a
power in it vested by the Constitution, such as to legislate, or to expel a Member; and every question
which the investigator is empowered to coerce a witness to answer must be material or pertinent to the
subject of the inquiry or investigation. The materiality of the question must be determined by its direct
relation to the subject of the inquiry and not by its indirect relation to any proposed or possible legislation.
The reason is, that the necessity or lack of necessity for legislative action and the form and character of
the action itself are determined by the sum total of the information to be gathered as a result of the
investigation, and not by a fraction of such information elicited from a single question.
2. NO. Senate is a continuing body and which does not cease to exist upon the periodical dissolution of
the Congress or of the House of Representatives. There is no limit as to time to the Senates power to
punish for contempt in cases where that power may constitutionally be exerted as in the present case.
Senate will not be disposed to exert the power beyond its proper bounds, i.e. abuse their power and keep
the witness in prison for life. If proper limitations are disregarded, Court is always open to those whose
rights might thus be transgressed.
3. NO. Court is satisfied that those answers of the witness to the important question, which is the name of
that person to whom witness gave the P440,000, were obviously false. His insistent claim before the bar
of the Senate that if he should reveal the name he would incriminate himself, necessarily implied that he
knew the name. Moreover, it is unbelievable that he gave P440,000 to a person to him unknown.
Testimony which is obviously false or evasive is equivalent to a refusal to testify and is punishable as
contempt, assuming that a refusal to testify would be so punishable. Since according to the witness
himself the transaction was legal, and that he gave the P440,000 to a representative of Burt in compliance
with the latters verbal instruction, Court found no basis upon which to sustain his claim that to reveal the
name of that person might incriminate him.
Page 2 of 2

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Jean Arnault vs Nazareno

Inquiry in Aid of Legislation

Arnault vs Nazareno (G.R. No. L-3820)

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