Daily Serving of Legal Matters

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,...