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    DIGEST - (5) People of The Philippines VS Simeon Ferrer

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    Dannielle Anne Caliosan
    The document summarizes a Supreme Court case from 1972 regarding the constitutionality of the Anti-Subversion Act. The Act outlaws the Communist Party of the Philippines and punishes membership in the party. The court ruled that the Act was not a bill of attainder because it did not inflict punishment without trial - the judiciary still needed to establish the guilt of the accused in court. The essence of a bill of attainder is the substitution of legislative determination of guilt for judicial determination.

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    DIGEST - (5) People of The Philippines VS Simeon Ferrer

    Uploaded by

    Dannielle Anne Caliosan
    16 views1 page
    The document summarizes a Supreme Court case from 1972 regarding the constitutionality of the Anti-Subversion Act. The Act outlaws the Communist Party of the Philippines and punishes membership in the party. The court ruled that the Act was not a bill of attainder because it did not inflict punishment without trial - the judiciary still needed to establish the guilt of the accused in court. The essence of a bill of attainder is the substitution of legislative determination of guilt for judicial determination.

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    DIGEST — (5) People of the Philippines VS Simeon Ferrer

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    The document summarizes a Supreme Court case from 1972 regarding the constitutionality of the Anti-Subversion Act. The Act outlaws the Communist Party of the Philippines and punishes membership in the party. The court ruled that the Act was not a bill of attainder because it did not inflict punishment without trial - the judiciary still needed to establish the guilt of the accused in court. The essence of a bill of attainder is the substitution of legislative determination of guilt for judicial determination.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    16 views1 page

    DIGEST - (5) People of The Philippines VS Simeon Ferrer

    Uploaded by

    Dannielle Anne Caliosan
    The document summarizes a Supreme Court case from 1972 regarding the constitutionality of the Anti-Subversion Act. The Act outlaws the Communist Party of the Philippines and punishes membership in the party. The court ruled that the Act was not a bill of attainder because it did not inflict punishment without trial - the judiciary still needed to establish the guilt of the accused in court. The essence of a bill of attainder is the substitution of legislative determination of guilt for judicial determination.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 1

    G.R. Nos. L-32613-14 December 27, 1972 PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, petitioner, vs.

    HON. SIMEON. FERRER (in his capacity as Judge of the Court of First Instance of Tarlac,
    Branch I)

    Facts:
    On March 5, 1970 a criminal complaint for violation of section 4 of the Anti-Subversion Act was
    filed against the respondent Feliciano Co in the Court of First Instance of Tarlac. That on or about
    May 1969 to December 5, 1969, he feloniously became an officer and/or ranking leader of the
    Communist Party of the Philippines, an outlawed and illegal organization aimed to overthrow the
    Government of the Philippines by means of force, violence, deceit, subversion, or any other illegal
    means for the purpose of establishing in the Philippines a totalitarian regime and placing the
    government under the control and domination of an alien power, by being an instructor in the Mao
    Tse Tung University, the training school of recruits of the New People's Army, the military arm
    of the said Communist Party of the Philippines. Respondent argued that the Anti-Subversion Act
    is a bill of attainder.

    Issue:
    Whether or not the Anti-Subversion Act, which outlaws the Communist Party of the Philippines
    and other "subversive associations," and punishes any person who "knowingly, willfully and by
    overt acts affiliates himself with, becomes or remains a member" of the Party or of any other
    similar "subversive" organization, is a bill of attainder.

    Ruling:
    No, because a bill of attainder is a legislative act which inflicts punishment without trial. Its essence
    is the substitution of a legislative for a judicial determination of guilt. In the case at bar, the
    judiciary still needs to establish the guilt of the accused.

    Ratio Decidendi:
    • If it were a bill of attainder, it would be unnecessary to charge the communists in Court
    since the law alone can suffice to secure their punishment. However, the government still
    has to prove at the trial that the accused joined the party knowingly, willfully, and by overt
    acts, knowing its subversive character.
    • Overt acts constitute an element of membership.

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