LMU-Legal Research

Art. 171, RPC

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Par. No. 4 Making untruthful statements in a narration of facts

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Note: The rule is that if the statements are not altogether false, there being some colourable
truth in such statements, the crime of falsification is not deemed to have been committed.
It is a settled doctrine that in falsification by an employee under par. 4 of Art. 171 which reads
by making untruthful statements in a narration of facts, the following elements must concur
(a) That the offender makes in a document , untruthful statements in a narration of facts; (b)
That he has legal obligation to disclose the truth of the facts narrated by him; (c) That the facts
narrated by the offender are absolutely false [U.S. v. Bayot, 10 Phil. 518]; and (d) That the
perversion of truth in the narration of facts was made with the wrongful intent of injuring a third
person. [U.S. v. Reyes, 1 Phil. 341]
Note: There is no falsification by one who acted in good faith.
The statement in the affidavit that the affiant was the owner of a banca which he had raised
from the bottom of the estero by virtue of a contract with the municipality and that it remained
unclaimed, is not falsification because he believed that he was entitled to its ownership. [U.S. v.
San Jose, 7 Phil. 604]
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Mere misdeclaration of the SALN does not automatically amount to dishonesty. Only when the
accumulated wealth becomes manifestly disproportionate to the employees income or other
sources of income and the public officer/employee fails to properly account or explain his other
sources of income, does he become susceptible to dishonesty [Salumbides v. Office of the
Ombudsman, G.R. No. 180917, April 23, 2010]
It is a judicial dictum that there is no falsification by one who acted in good faith (U. S.
vs. San Jose, 7 Phil. 604; People vs. Unico, et. al. C.A. O.G. 1681). Although the accused
altered a public document or made a misstatement or erroneous assertion therein, he would not
be guilty as long as he acted in good faith (Yanza, 107 Phil. 883; Vicente Arceo, 17 Phil. 592).
107 Phil. 888, 890-891 (1960)

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