THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, plaintiff-appellant,

vs.
WONG CHENG (alias WONG CHUN), defendant-appellee.

Attorney-General Villa-Real for appellant.

Eduardo Gutierrez Repide for appellee.

GR. No. L-18924, October 19, 1922

ROMUALDEZ, J.:
Facts: In this appeal the Attorney-General urges the revocation of the order of the Court of First
Instance of Manila, sustaining the demurrer presented by the defendant to the information that
initiated this case and in which the appellee is accused of having illegally smoked opium, aboard
the merchant vessel Changsa of English nationality while said vessel was anchored in Manila
Bay two and a half miles from the shores of the city.The respondent is accused of having
illegally smoked opium, aboard the merchant vessel Changsa of English nationality while said
vessel was anchored in Manila Bay two and a half miles from the shores of the city. In addition,
the Lower court dismissed the case
Issues: Whether or not the Philippine has jurisdiction over the crime committed aboard merchant
vessels anchored in our jurisdiction waters.
Ruling: Yes. Philippine courts have jurisdiction over crimes constituting a breach of public
order aboard merchant vessels anchored in Philippine jurisdictional waters. Smoking
opium aboard an English vessel while anchored two and one – half miles in Manila Bay
constitutes a breach of public order, because the primary object of the law in punishing the use
of opium is to protect the inhabitants of this country against the disastrous effects entailed by the
use of such drug. And to smoke opium within our territorial, even though aboard a foreign
merchant ship, is certainly a breach of public order here established, because it causes such drug
to produce pernicious effects within our territory.