The defendant in this case is charged with a violation of the Election Law,  committed as follows:

"That the  said accused voluntarily, unlawfully and knowingly caused his name to be entered  in the  electoral list prepared by the electoral board of inspectors of the  said municipality of Piddig, for  the last general  elections  held on November 2, 1909,  which entry was made on October 2, 1909, the accused knowing that he was not entitled to be a voter of the said municipality, and for such purpose did knowingly swear to a false oath before one of the members of the said board, inasmuch as he stated therein that he was qualified to be a voter as being the owner of real estate to the value of P500, knowing that he did not have such qualification - acts committed in violation of the said Election Law."

To prove the charge made, the prosecution presented the registration oath subscribed by the accused and a certified copy of the resolution of the provincial board of Ilocos Norte approving, on  appeal, that passed  by the board of election inspectors of the municipality of Piddig whereby  the said accused was excluded from the list of voters of the municipality mentioned.  No  other  evidence  was  presented  by the prosecution.

The ground that the provincial board of Ilocos Norte had for approving  and confirming the exclusion of the herein accused from the list of voters prepared and  determined upon by the board of election inspectors of the municipality of Piddig, is set forth literally as follows in the aforementioned certified copy:

"Whereas the private  documents  and new declarations of ownership of property, not properly prepared, which were presented by Leoncio Manuel, should not have been accepted, and  though they be accepted with the public instruments, he would still be delinquent in the payment of last year's land tax, on account of no assessment having  been made of the properties referred to by some of the said instruments, which  circumstance constitutes a sufficient reason for  not permitting him to vote."

As is seen, the provincial board of Ilocos Norte does not categorically affirm that the accused does  not own real estate to the value of P500, which is the concrete fact that constitutes the  alleged falsity of the oath taken by him as a voter.  On the contrary, it implicitly allows the inference that the documents presented before it by the said accused prove, if admitted, that he is the owner of real estate worth that amount or more.  What is certain is that the decision of the aforementioned provincial board was not grounded on  a contrary fact; that is, on the fact of  his not having real estate of the value of P500, but on that other fact, which certainly has no importance in this cause because it was not charged in the complaint, namely, that the accused was delinquent in the payment of his ,land tax.  The resolution of the provincial  board of Ilocos  Norte contains, then, nothing which may corroborate  the  certainty of the  act prosecuted in this case.  Moreover, whatever  might have been the opinion of the said board with regard to the amount of the real estate owned by the  accused,  it would not by itself be sufficient to  prove  in a conclusive manner that the value of the property referred to did not actually reach P500, or,  that the accused did  not have holdings in  the amount required  by law to enable him to be a voter.  This fact must be proved by  direct and positive evidence, and not  by  the mere  opinions upon  or weight  given  to other facts, however authorized they in themselves may be, except when vested  with a  judicial character.  The documents presented by the prosecution do not sufficiently prove that the accused swore falsely on his  taking oath that he was the owner of real estate of the value of P500.   He, therefore, has a perfect right to  an acquittal.

The judgment  is reversed and the  defendant acquitted, with the costs of both  instances de oficio.  So ordered.

Johnson, Carson, and Moreland, JJ., concur.