Miguel Mulet v. People

Summary

Miguel Mulet was prosecuted for violating the Usury Law through a series of loan transactions beginning in 1928. Starting with a P200 loan at 30% interest to Anastacio Cuizon, Mulet executed multiple deeds of sale with pacto de retro as security, escalating the amounts from P260 to P550 through capitalized usurious interest rates reaching 50% annually. The Supreme Court En Banc affirmed his conviction but modified the remedy, finding that the final property transfer was sustained only by accumulated usurious interests, rendering it null under Civil Code Article 1275. Instead of monetary restitution, the Court ordered Mulet to return the properties (assessed at P1,630) to Cuizon within thirty days or pay their assessed value with legal interest, recognizing that Cuizon had already paid P405 on the original P200 loan.