Daily Serving of Legal Matters

A photo of Vhong Navarro, Cedric Lee and Deniece Cornejo taken from google.com. Another twist in the real legal drama of Vhong Navarro-Cedric Lee-Deniece Cornejo teleserye has unfurled on Monday, September 15, 2014.  Accused Cedric Lee, Deniece Cornejo and Simeon Raz, Jr. were allowed to post bail in the amount of Five Hundred Thousand (P500,000.00) for each of them in the decision handed by Taguig Regional Trial Court on the petition to fix bail filed by the accused in a Serious Illegal Detention case filed by Actor-It's Showtime Host Vhong Navarro. Said decision brought shock to Navarro's camp and as well as to most netizens following the case.  In contrast, it was a heaven-sent decision on the part of the accused. Although, the criminal case faced by the accused is a serious illegal detention and this case is a non-bailable offense considering that it is a capital offense. A capital offense is one on which, under the law existing at the time of its commiss

Credit goes to google.com for this image. It is not uncommon to us that most of the criminal cases filed in courts, before they reached a full-blown trial stage, they were settled by the parties. As a consequence, those cases were dismissed. Is this really the case?  Criminal Cases, can they be settled? It is not.  They cannot be settled. A criminal case, when filed in court, it is not the victim who would stand as the complainant against the offender or the accused.  It is the people for that matter, for instance People of the Philippines, that files the case in court.  The victim, on the other hand, would only serve as a complaining witness/es to prove the allegation. In short, it is the State which files any criminal case.  Because of this, a criminal case filed in court is deemed not for settlement.  The State cannot just enter into compromise between the accused criminal without jeopardizing the welfare of its citizenry.   However, the State cannot pr

This image is taken from google.com. I remember when I was in grade school, I would write something on the front page of my notebooks saying "Real Property of Urbano T. Mante, Jr." to have a sort of a mark that those notebooks were mine.  Sometimes my classmate would ask me to change it to "Personal Property" because those notebooks were personally owned by me.  So, I would sometimes interchange Real to Personal Property. However in law school, I learned that real and personal property are two different things. The Civil Code of the Philippines, particularly Articles 414-418, discusses the differences between real and personal property. Real property is also known as IMMOVABLE property while personal property is called as MOVABLE property. As the names suggest, immovable property is basically stationary and cannot be moved or transferred to another place.  On the other hand, movable property refers to the property that can be moved with ease.

This photo is taken from google.com. Today is the promulgation of one of the criminal cases I handle. I was not able to sleep well last night because of it.  I really do not have an inkling what that judgment would be.  Would this be favorable or prejudicial to my client?  That would be entirely within the wisdom of the  Honorable Judge to determine the guilt of my client beyond reasonable doubt. According to the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedures, particularly in Section 1 of Rule 120, judgment is defined as the adjudication by the court that the accused is guilty or not guilty of the offense charged and the imposition on him of the proper penalty and civil liability, if any.  It must be written in the official language, personally and directly prepared by the judge and signed by him and shall contain clearly and distinctly a statement of the facts and the law upon which it is based. Simply stated, the court shall determine whether the accused is guilty or not of the o

A photo of actor Billy Crawford when he was arrested for the crime of malicious mischief taken from google.com. What has disturbed the seemingly good image of It's Showtime Host Billy Joe Crawford was the filing of several criminal charges against him.  Allegedly, Crawford caused damage to the sliding door of one of the police stations in Taguig City last weekend. One of these criminal cases is MALICIOUS MISCHIEF. For the common people, this post would discuss what Malicious Mischief is. The Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, particularly Article 327, provides who are liable for malicious mischief.  Accordingly, any person who shall deliberately cause to the property of another any damage not falling within the definition of an arson case, shall be guilty of malicious mischief. So, any damage caused by one person to another property is already a malicious mischief, provided that said damage shall not be qualified as ARSON.  Arson, on the other hand, is causin

This image is taken from google.com. Before providing any legal advice, below is the situation where this post is basically anchored upon. Mr. and Mrs. T are lawfully married.  One day, Mr. T, without any valid reason, left their conjugal dwelling.  Mrs. T, a loving and understanding wife, searched every nook and corner to find her husband.  After 2 years of searching, Mrs. T found out that Mr. T and their best friend Lady L have lived as husband and wife in a remote barangay of the south. When Mrs. T discovered the relationship of her husband and Lady L, she got furious and almost killed the two.  Despite such discovery, Mrs. T did not file any criminal case against Mr. T and Lady L. One year after, Mr. L went back to their conjugal dwelling and sought the forgiveness of Mrs. T.  As loving as she was, Mrs. T forgave Mr. T and they lived again under the same roof.  However, after how many months, their relationship was tested again. At this juncture, Mrs. T asked