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    Ursua Vs CA Case Digest

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    Angelica Garces
    Ursua was charged with bribery and asked his lawyer to get a copy of the complaint. His lawyer's messenger couldn't go, so Ursua went instead, signing in under the messenger's name "Oscar Perez". He was convicted of using an alias illegally. The Supreme Court overturned the conviction, finding that Ursua used the name once, not in a business transaction or to conceal his identity, which were the evils the law sought to prevent. Applying the law strictly in this case would lead to absurdity not intended by lawmakers.

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    Ursua Vs CA Case Digest

    Uploaded by

    Angelica Garces
    2K views2 pages
    Ursua was charged with bribery and asked his lawyer to get a copy of the complaint. His lawyer's messenger couldn't go, so Ursua went instead, signing in under the messenger's name "Oscar Perez". He was convicted of using an alias illegally. The Supreme Court overturned the conviction, finding that Ursua used the name once, not in a business transaction or to conceal his identity, which were the evils the law sought to prevent. Applying the law strictly in this case would lead to absurdity not intended by lawmakers.

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    Ursua vs CA Case Digest

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    Ursua was charged with bribery and asked his lawyer to get a copy of the complaint. His lawyer's messenger couldn't go, so Ursua went instead, signing in under the messenger's name "Oscar Perez". He was convicted of using an alias illegally. The Supreme Court overturned the conviction, finding that Ursua used the name once, not in a business transaction or to conceal his identity, which were the evils the law sought to prevent. Applying the law strictly in this case would lead to absurdity not intended by lawmakers.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    2K views2 pages

    Ursua Vs CA Case Digest

    Uploaded by

    Angelica Garces
    Ursua was charged with bribery and asked his lawyer to get a copy of the complaint. His lawyer's messenger couldn't go, so Ursua went instead, signing in under the messenger's name "Oscar Perez". He was convicted of using an alias illegally. The Supreme Court overturned the conviction, finding that Ursua used the name once, not in a business transaction or to conceal his identity, which were the evils the law sought to prevent. Applying the law strictly in this case would lead to absurdity not intended by lawmakers.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
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    256 SCRA 149 – Statutory Construction – Purpose of a Law


    Civil Law – Application of Laws – Interpretation of Laws
    In 1989, Cesario Ursua was charged with bribery and dishonesty. His lawyer then asked
    him to get a copy of the complaint against him from the Office of the Ombudsman. His
    lawyer asked him that because the law firm’s messenger, a certain Oscar Perez, was
    unable to go to the Ombudsman.
    Before going to the Ombudsman, Ursua talked to Perez. He revealed to him that he feels
    uncomfortable asking for a copy of the complaint because he is the respondent in the said
    case. Perez then told him than he can go there as “Oscar Perez” so that he does not have
    to reveal his true identity.
    At the Office of the Ombudsman, Ursua signed the logbook there as “Oscar Perez”. When
    he was handed a copy of the complaint, he signed the receipt as “Oscar Perez”. However, a
    staff of the Ombudsman was able to learn that he was in fact Cesario Ursua. The staff then
    recommended that a criminal case be filed against Ursua. Eventually, Ursua was sentenced
    to three years in prison for violating C.A. No. 142, as amended, otherwise known as “An Act
    To Regulate The Use Of Aliases”.
    ISSUE: Whether or not Cesario Ursua’s conviction is proper.
    HELD: No. Ursua should be acquitted. The Supreme Court ruled that a strict application of
    C.A. No. 142, as amended, in this case only leads to absurdity – something which could not
    have been intended by the lawmakers.
    Under C.A. No. 142, as amended, save for some instances, a person is not allowed to use
    a name or an alias other than his registered name or that which he was baptized. Under the
    law, what makes the use of alias illegal is the fact that it is being used habitually and
    publicly in business transactions without prior authorization by competent authority. In this
    case, Ursua merely used the name “Oscar Perez” once, it was not used in a business
    transaction, the use of the name was with the consent of Oscar Perez himself, and even if
    he used a different name, in this instance, he was not even required to disclose his identity
    at the Office of the Ombudsman. When he was requesting a copy of the complaint, he need
    not disclose his identity because the complaint is a public record open to the public.
    In short, the evils sought to be avoided by the C.A. No. 142 was not brought about when
    Ursua used a name other than his name. A strict application of the law is not warranted.
    When Ursua used the name of Oscar Perez, no fraud was committed; there was no crime
    committed punishable under C.A. No. 142. The purpose of the law is to punish evils defined
    therein so when no such evil was produced by Ursua’s act, said law need not be applied

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