Daily Serving of Legal Matters

Photo credit to www.philstar.com Today, December 30, the entire nation celebrates the martyrdom of our National Hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal. In this regard, Republic Act Number 229 was enacted on June 9, 1948 prohibiting some acts on every 30th day of December. What are prohibited on December 30? COCKFIGHTING, HORSE RACING AND JAI-ALAI are prohibited on this day. Photo credit to www.todayifoundout.com via Google. Photo credit to www.horsesurvey2012.com via Google. Photo credit to www.casino.org via Google. Any person violating this act shall be punished with a fine not exceeding two hundred pesos or by imprisonment not exceeding 6 months or both.  In case the violator is the mayor of a municipality or a chartered city, he shall suffer an additional punishment of suspension from his office for a period of one month. Aside from the prohibited acts mentioned above, the Philippine flag shall be at half mast in all vessels and public building...

A photo of Sen. Binay sourced from www.senate.gov.ph via Google. It is a repost article published in the website of the Senate of the Philippines. It is one of the press releases of www.senate.gov.ph on December 18, 2014.  The blogger does not claim ownership of the article. Luxurious lifestyle of high-profile convicts sign of jail officials' incompetence Senator Nancy Binay is calling for a nationwide audit of jail facilities in the country after a raid on New Bilibid Prison exposed the extravagant of high-profile convicts while in detention. The lady senator believes that the fault lies in the system inside prison facilities of the country and shows lack of hands on management from officials. "Paulit-ulit na lang ito and they are still not changing the system. They are not doing enough actual inspection of these facilities kaya naman sadyang inaabuso ito ng mga convicts. Paanong 'di makakalusot ang mga kalabisang ito sa mga opisyal kung talagang mapagmatyag sila," B...

This photo is taken from www.thefilipinoaustralian.com via Google. Good news for Filipinos who receive  balikbayan  boxes from abroad: the Bureau of Customs (BOC) will no longer collect the import processing fee of P250 for packages arriving in the country’s ports. BOC has waived the import processing fee for packages sent by sea freight through Customs Administrative Order (CAO) No. 08-2014 which took effect last 15 November. “ No amount shall be collected as import processing fee on any importation filed through informal entry ,” Commissioner John P. Sevilla said in the recent order. “ The BOC shall cease to collect the import processing fee ,” he added. Courtesy of www.pinoy-ofw.com through Google. In the same order, he reduced the “amount of Documentary Stamp Tax for Informal Entry” from P265 to P15. He said that an amount of P15 shall be collected from each importation filed through the informal entry. Around 5.5M balikbayan boxes are shipped to the country every year and...

This photo is taken from dabawenyonglumad.wordpress.com via Google. Every time the airplane touches down in the tarmac of Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao City, a flight stewardess would be quick to remind all the passengers that Davao City is a no-smoking place.  Of course at first, it is hard to follow such rule.  However, when the same has become successful, a lot of places in the country are seen following it. Our country has actually enacted a law which is Republic Act Number 9211 or otherwise known as "The Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003.  This law has actually banned smoking in the public places. Accordingly, public places refer to enclosed or confined areas of all hospitals, medical clinics, schools, public transportation terminals and offices, and buildings such as private and public offices, recreational places, shopping malls, movie houses, hotels, restaurants, and the like. This photo is taken from www.who.int through Google. As pro...

A photo of a lotto outlet thronged with bettors.  It is taken from romblonngayon.blogspot.com through Google. Last Two is  an illegal numbers game where the winning combination is derived from the last two (2) numbers of the first prize of the winning Sweepstakes ticket which comes out during the weekly draw of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), and its variants. Today, last two is not only derived from the weekly draw of PCSO but from the popular LOTTO games. As a matter of fact, sometimes the queue would be likened to a box-office hit movie because these games really draw a magnitude of people. However, not all people hooked with lotto games would find themselves betting in authorized lotto outlets.  Most of them would bet on illegal numbers games of last two and most often than not in persons called collectors of last two. Another picture of lotto outlet taken from www.interaksyon.com via Google. Who are bettors? Bettor ("Mananaya", "Tayador" or va...

A picture above showing Sec. Roxas falls from a motorcycle as posted in www.philstar.com. Presidential Hopeful DILG Secretary Mar Roxas is again in the hot seat today.  He was photographed driving a motorcycle in one of the devastated areas of Samar wrought by Super Typhoon Ruby (International Name: Hagupit) sans a HELMET early week of December 2014. The photo of Mar Roxas abuzzes the social media with most of the netizens expressed their disappointments to what Roxas failed to do.  Of course, the Palace defended Roxas and urged the people to just focus on what Roxas reasons why he was in the area in the first place. What, if there is any, DILG Sec. Mar Roxas has violated? As early as March 23, 2010, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed into law Republic Act Number 10054 or otherwise known as the "Motorcycle Helmet Act of 2009". Section 3 of R.A. No. 10054 states that: "Mandatory Use of Motorcycle Helmets - All motorcycle riders, including drivers and back riders, sh...

A picture of public high school graduates taken from newsinfo.inquirer.net via google. Only months since I posted about a bill which was dubbed as the "Iskolar ng Bayan Act of 2014", the proposed measure was enacted into law. It is now called as Republic Act Number 10648. Basically, this act shall provide scholarship grants to top graduates of all public high schools in State Universities and Colleges. This act covers all public high school students belonging to the top ten (10) of the graduating class who enroll in SUCs as freshmen.  Top 15 Universities of the Philippines in 2011.  Taken from betterphils.blogspot.com through google. A public high school with more than five hundred (500) graduates shall be entitled to one (1) additional scholarship slot in SUCs for every five hundred (500) graduates. The additional slots shall be given to graduates whose ranks immediately follow the top ten (10) students and who will enroll in SUCs after meeting the admission requirem...

A photo grabbed from google.com Planning to have a grand vacation this 2014? It is not yet too late. You could still enjoy 2014 before it closes its curtain. Another photo grabbed from google.com Before 2014 ends, it gives us a very loooong holidays. So, better check them out. Proclamation No. 655, series of 2013 declared the following regular holidays in 2014: December 24         - Special Non-Working Day (Wednesday) December 25         - Christmas Day (Thursday) December 26         - Special Non-Working Day (Friday) December 30         - Rizal Day (Tuesday) December 31         - Last Day of the Year (Wednesday) This photo was taken from google.com Hence, you may file your leave of absence on December 29, 2014 for you to enjoy your 9 worry-free, stress-free and family days. It is indeed a happy and long holidays for us. Merry Christma...

A photo grabbed from yahoo.com It is indeed a Merry Christmas for our unsung heroes, the Military Veterans.   On November 27, 2014, President Benigno S. Aquino III has signed into law Republic Act Number 10649 increasing the burial assistance of our veterans from Ten Thousand Pesos to Twenty Thousand Pesos. For this purpose, it amended Republic Act Number 6948 otherwise known as "An Act Standardizing and Upgrading the Benefits for Military Veterans and Their Dependents". Another photo grabbed from yahoo.com Accordingly, section 20 of R.A. 6948 has been amended, thus: "Unless the person who defrayed the expenses for the funeral of a deceased veteran is entitled to a similar benefit from the United States Government, he or she shall be given Twenty Thousand (P20,000.00) Pesos as burial assistance upon application therefor in due form which shall be filed within two (2) years from the death of the veteran concerned." Source:  http://www...

This a repost from the website of abs-cbnNEWS.com.  Said article was originally posted on 04/21/2010 4:17 PM | Updated as of 04/22/2010 4:44 PM. MANILA, Philippines - "Life is short, have an affair." That is the slogan of  AshleyMadison.com , an online dating service that provides a platform for those who wish to cheat on their partners. The Toronto-based website, which takes its name from the 2 most popular female names in 2001, claims to have some 5.7 million members worldwide. It seems to be attracting more males than females, though -- Ashley Madison said about 70% of their members are men. Just like most social networking sites, members of Ashley Madison can send and receive messages, gifts and photos, among others. They need "credits," which are purchased by real money, to initiate contact. A 30-minute chat session, for instance, costs 30 credits while a teddy bear web gift is worth 20 credits. "To purchase credits and upgrade your account so you can star...

A photo grabbed from google.com This post was sourced from the website of the Official Gazette of the Philippines.  It is the Q and A of the most awaited pay of every employee, the 13th Month Pay. Q:  What is 13th month pay? A:  13th month pay is a form of monetary benefit equivalent to the monthly basic compensation received by an employee, computed pro-rata according to the number of months within a year that the employee has rendered service to the employer. Q: Who are required to pay the 13th month pay? A: All establishments regardless of the number of employees are required to pay their rank-and-file employees the 13th month pay. A grabbed photo from google.com Q: Who are entitled to receive the 13th month pay? A: All rank-and-file employees regardless of the nature of their employment, and irrespective of the methods by which they are paid, provided they worked for at least one month during a calendar year. Q:  How is 13t...

A photo of Sen. Angara grabbed from google.com This is the transcript of Senator Angara’s interview on the proposed increase of tax exemption from P30,000 to P82,000.  Credit goes to the Senate of the Philippines which published this on its website senate.gov.ph on November 21, 2014. QUESTION: Sir na-pass na po sa second reading yung pag-raise ng tax exemption. Who and how many will benefit? Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara: Well, yung magbe-benefit dito siyempre yung medyo malaki yung bonus kasi in-increase natin from P30,000 to P82,000. Ang computation namin anywhere from 250,000 to maybe 480,000 taxpayers or members of the working class. QUESTION: Sir mahahabol po pa ba ito for this year? SJEA: Well, definitely sa Senate palagay ko kayang ihabol na maipasa this year but alam naman natin yung proseso ng pagbalangkas ng isang batas ay maraming dinadaanan. After third reading ng Senado dadaan pa ng bicameral conference yan tapos pupunta pa sa Malakanyang para sa pi...

N When you were in Manila, especially if you ride a taxi, you would have bad experiences, if not the worst one.  It would be common to contract a taxi driver, especially on rush hours, at a higher rate otherwise you would be denied. Most of the taxi drivers would deny any passenger for the following reasons, inter alia: 1. Traffic; and 2. Relatively Short Distance Good news that this situation was taken into consideration by our lawmakers.  Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago has proposed a bill in the senate that would provide protection to our riding public.  In return, this measure would hopefully deter the abuses done of our taxi drivers. This bill is the Senate Bill Number 1206 and shall be known as the “Taxi Passenger Bill of Rights Act”. Accordingly, these are the rights of a taxi passenger, to wit: 1. Be picked up and transported to their stated destination by any available on duty taxi driver, subject to applicable traffic regulation; 2. A fare meter duly ca...

A letter was sent to me via email.  To give an advice  to her and as well as to provide information to all  all the readers, I publish this post.  Of course, I would be maintaining the confidentiality of the sender. Dear Sir: Among my five children, there is one that I could consider him as a black sheep.  Could I deprive him any of my property?  Please enlighten me with this. Yours, Mrs. M Before answering the query of Mrs. M, please be informed of some of the terminologies provided in the Civil Code of the Philippines which are necessary in this case. First to be defined is a LEGITIME. Article 886 of the above-mentioned Civil Code defines what legitime is.  Accordingly, a legitime is that part of the testator’s property which he cannot dispose of because the law has reserved it for certain heirs who are, therefore, called compulsory heirs. A testator is a person who makes a will.   Who are the compulsory heirs? Article 887 of the Civil Code enum...

Jommy Teotico, a Pinoy Fear Factor winner, was arrested for allegedly using marijuana in their residence in Laguna. However, Teotico countered that he was using marijuana only for his Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).  He added that he had proof to show that such use was recommended by his psychiatrist (ABS-CBNnews.com, November 11, 2014). Marijuana is one of the illegal drugs defined in Republic Act Number 9165 or otherwise known as the "Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002".  Thus, Cannabis or commonly known as "Marijuana" or "Indian Hemp" or by its any other name. – Embraces every kind, class, genus, or specie of the plant   Cannabis sativa L.  including, but not limited to,   Cannabis americana ,   hashish, bhang, guaza, churrus   and   ganjab , and embraces every kind, class and character of marijuana, whether dried or fresh and flowering, flowering or fruiting tops, or any part or portion of the plant and seeds thereof, a...