Daily Serving of Legal Matters

What is a crime of treason? How it may be committed? Could it be committed anytime? A simple definition of treason is an act betraying one's country, especially by attempting to kill the sovereign or overthrow the government . (www.goggle.com) taken from  wallstreetrebel.com Article 114 of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines provides that: "Any Filipino citizen who levies war against the Philippines or adheres to her enemies, giving them aid or comfort within the Philippines or elsewhere, shall be punished by reclusion perpetua to death and shall pay a fine not to exceed 100,000 pesos. No persons shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses at least to the same overt act or on confession of the accused in open court. Likewise, an alien, residing in the Philippines, who commits acts of treason as defined in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be punished by reclusion temporal to death and shall pay a fine not to...

Hours after Davao City's night market was blasted on September 2, 2016, Friday, which claimed 14 lives and injured more than 60 others, Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte declared a State of Lawlessness in the island of Mindanao.  A lot of people were clueless as to what the state of lawlessness is.  Some have speculated that it might be the same as the MARTIAL LAW.   image taken from www.youtube.com The 1987 Philippine Constitution, specifically in Section 18 of Article VII, provides the power of the President as a Commander-in-Chief to call for a state of lawlessness or lawless violence.  What is given in the constitution is not the state of lawlessness but a state of lawless violence.   Thus, "The President shall be the Commander-in-Chief of all armed forces of the Philippines and whenever it becomes necessary, he may call out such armed forces to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion or rebellion." In essence, the armed forc...

image taken from www.pinterest.com What is a protection order? It is an order issued under Republic Act No. 9262 for the purpose of preventing further acts of violence against a woman or her child specified in this Act and granting other necessary relief.  The relief granted under a protection order serve the purpose of safeguarding the victim from further harm, minimizing any disruption in the victim's daily life, and facilitating the opportunity and ability of the victim to independently regain control over her life. What are the protection orders that may be issued? 1.  Barangay Protection Order (BPO) 2.  Temporary Protection Order (TPO) 3.  Permanent Protection Order (PPO) Who is the offended party of this Act? The following are the offended party: 1.  A woman who is:      a.  the wife of the offender;      b.  former wife of the offender;      c.  with whom...

taken from  www.liverpool.ac.uk As the term paternity leave suggests, it may be availed of only by the father in contrast with maternity leave.  The question that may be asked is can anyone avail of this leave? In accordance with Republic Act No. 8187 or also known as the "Paternity Leave Act of 1996", the definition of paternity leave provides the persons who can avail the same.  Thus: "Paternity Leave refers to the benefits granted to a married male employee allowing him not to report for work for seven (7) days but continues to earn the compensation therefor on the condition that his spouse has delivered a child or suffered a miscarriage for purposes of enabling him to effectively lend support to his wife in her period of recovery and/or in the nursing of the newly-born child." So, not all male employees can avail of the paternity leave.  Only those legally married male employees who are granted this kind of leave.   Hence, if a male e...

What is a Recto Law? It is an Installment Sales Law that provides remedies for the seller in the contract of sale of personal property by installments. It is embodied in Article 1484 of the Civil Code of the Philippines or the Republic Act No. 386 which amended Art. 1454 of the Civil Code of 1889. What is the coverage of the Recto Law? It covers: 1.  Contracts of Sale of personal property by installments. 2.  Contracts purporting to be leases of personal property with option to buy, when the lessor has deprived the lessee of the possession or enjoyment of the thing (PCI Leasing and Finance Inc. v. Giraffe-X Creative Imaging, Inc., G.R. No. 142618, July 12, 2007). What are the remedies for the seller under this law? As provided, the seller shall do: 1.  Exact fulfillment of the obligation, should the vendee fail to pay. The seller shall file specific performance in court to exact payment from the vendee.  As a gener...

Do you have a transaction involving the sale or financing real estate on installment payments or intend to enter this transaction sooner?  Then, this post is for you to be at least to have a grasp of what are your rights or how you would be protected against onerous and oppressive conditions. This post focuses on Maceda Law or the Republic Act Number 6552 or otherwise known as the "Realty Installment Buyer Act". Maceda Law got its moniker from the main proponent lawmaker himself, Senator Ernesto M. Maceda. What is the purpose of this Act? It is basically to protect buyers of real estate on installment payments against onerous and oppressive contracts. What is the coverage of this Act? It covers all transactions or contracts INVOLVING the sale or financing of real estate on installment payments, INCLUDING residential condominium apartments, where the buyer has paid at least two years installments. What are not covered by this Act? It does not ...

Just recently, a news was reported about a young student who used the Philippine flag as a mop in the school.  He was videoed having fun and was unmindful that he was already committing  an unlawful act.  Taken from  www.iweb.ph Under Section 34 of Republic Act No. 8491 or the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines: "It shall be prohibited a.  To mutilate, deface, defile, trample, on or cast contempt any act or omission casting dishonor or ridicule upon the flag over its surface; b.  xxxxxxx" As such the student may be penalized with a fine of not less than Five Thousand Pesos (P5,000.00) but not more than Twenty Thousand Pesos (P20,000.00), or by imprisonment for not more than one (1) year, or both such fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court. However, if the student committing the instant offense is below 15 years old, he shall have no liability following the provisions of Republic Act. No. 9344. For mo...

Image taken from www.illustrationsof.com I was appointed as counsel de oficio to represent an accused who was imprisoned since March 2014. Counsel de oficio is the attorney appointed by the court to an indigent criminal defendant  ( http://definitions.uslegal.com/c/counsel-de-officio/ ).  His case is still on its arraignment stage.      Arraignment is when the information or the complaint is read in the language or dialect known to the accused and then he would be asked whether he pleads guilty or not guilty. Image taken from www.dreamstime.com When I browsed the record of the case, the penalty that would be imposed is only prision mayor or imprisonment of 30 days and 1 day to 6 months.  So, the accused has already served the maximum penalty should he may be found guilty to the crime charged. In fact, his imprisonment is already beyond what is required by law. As stated section 16 of Rule 114 of Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure,...