Daily Serving of Legal Matters

Because there is a need to review the 1987 Philippine Constitution to ensure that it is truly reflective of the needs, ideals, and aspirations of the Filipino people, and to ensure that the mandate of the people, as expressed thereon, is responsive to the changing times, Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed an Executive Order No. 10 on December 7, 2016 creating a Consultative Committee under the Office of the President which shall take effect immediately. Courtesy of Rex e-Store The Consultative Committee shall study, conduct consultations, and review the provisions of the 1987 Constitution including, but not limited to, the provisions on the structure and powers of the government, local governance, and economic policies. The Committee shall be composed of not more than twenty-five (25) members, including a Chairperson who shall preside over its deliberations.  The members shall, as far as practicable, represent the different sectors of the country...

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...

A photo of Archangel Lucifer, one of the 130 hopefules vying for Philippine President in 2016 Elections taken from www.scmp.com For information, there are 130 hopefuls filed their Certificates of Candidacy (COCs) for Philippine President in the May 2016 Elections.  It is considered as one of the 'record-breaker' according to the Commission on Elections (COMELEC). The COMELEC has the ministerial duty to accept the COC of any person vying for any position.  It has no power, based on its own judgment, to say that a certain candidate is not qualified to file a COC of a certain position.  Its act is purely ministerial and not discretionary one.  The Supreme Court of the Philippines has clearly demarcated the difference between discretionary and ministerial act in Mallari versus Banco Filipino Savings & Mortgage Bank, G.R. No. 157660, August 29, 2008.  Thus: "The distinction between a ministerial and discretionary act is well delineated. A pu...

Grabbed at mywealthdesire.com As early as this week, the Philippine boxing hero and Sarangani Representative Manny Pacquaio manifested his interest to seek for a seat in the Philippine Senate comes May 2016 elections. His fans were so excited of his decisions and hoping that he will eventually win as one of the twelve senators. But quite of number of his followers were also questioning his qualifications. It is of no secret that as the incumbent Representative of the lone district of Sarangani, he has attended so far 4 session days.  Although, Manny has promised that he will never repeat his performance in the House of Representative once he will win in the Senate. Taken at www.examiner.com What are the qualifications of a Senator? Is Manny qualified? Section 3 of Article VI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides the qualifications of a Senator.  Thus: "No person shall be a Senator unless he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, and, on the d...

Image courtesy of mb.com.ph Today, July 27, 2015, is the last State of the Nation Address (SONA) of the Philippine President Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III before the joint session of Congress. This is Pnoy's 6th and last SONA. Some of us might be wondering why SONA  shall take place on every 4th Monday of July.  Why not on the other date? Article VII of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, particularly Section 23, states that "The President shall address the Congress at the opening of its regular session.  He may also appear before it at any other time." When is the opening of the regular session of the Congress? Section 15 of Article VI of the same Constitution provides that "The Congress shall convene every year on the fourth Monday of July for its regular session, unless a different date is fixed by law, and shall continue to be in session for such number of days as it may be determined until thirty days before the opening ...

Less than a year from now, the Philippines would have a new person manning the steering wheel of the government.  Either he/she would be heading us to prosperity or to damnation.  It really depends upon the people who would wisely vote. As early as today, television ads and social media are eaten largely with the people who are hoping to become the president of the dear Republic.  The names like Duterte, Roxas, Binay, Lacson, Poe and others are sprouting everywhere.  Even the Philippine pride Manny Pacquiao was introduced in one of his boxing bouts at the next president of the country. The question now that may be asked is are they qualified for the highest position of the land? Article VII of the 1987 Philippine Constitution has the answer. Section 2 of the aforementioned article states that: "No person may be elected President unless (1) he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, (2) a registered voter, (3) able to read and write, (4) at least forty (40) year...

It is of common knowledge that once a case is filed in court, especially criminal case, against a person, he must be represented with a counsel or a lawyer. To be represented with a counsel is one of the fundamental rights of the accused. There are two types of counsels representing an accused in court.  These are counsel de parte and counsel de oficio. Counsel de parte is the counsel of choice of the accused engaged by him to represent him in court.  It is in line with his constitutional right to have a competent and independent counsel preferably of his own choice. Most often than not, this counsel de parte is a private practitioner and his legal services are not for gratis. However, if the accused cannot afford the services of a counsel, he must be provided with one. This counsel provided by court to defend the accused is known as counsel de oficio. As provided in the Revised Rules of Court of the Philippines, it is a duty of the court to inform the accused of his right to ...

In one of the courts here in General Santos City (where I am appearing as a defense lawyer), some of the cases I inherited were tried in absentia. Trial in Absentia in the sense that trials were had in the absence of the accused. Is this not a violation of the right of the accused to be present during trials? “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall be presumed innocent until the contrary is proved, and shall enjoy the right to be heard by himself and counsel, to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against him, to have a speedy, impartial, and public trial, to meet the witnesses face to face, and to have compulsory process to secure the attendance of witnesses and the production of evidence in his behalf.” (Section 14, paragraph 2, Article III, 1987 Philippine Constitution) Due process requires for the accused to be present in all of the stages of the criminal proceeding. “However, after arraignment, trial may proceed notwithstanding the absence of the accused...

Amidst the cry of militant-minority-bloc Members of the House of Representatives to impeach President Benigno S. Aquino III or PNOY, some of PNOY's supporters launched a fan page on a social media calling for his reelection.   This photo was taken from a fan page supporting PNOY for his reelection at https://www.facebook.com/wesupportyoupinoy/photos_stream Accordingly, PNOY is successful in leading our country to the straight path (daang matuwid).  Thus, they would like him to continue what he has started. However, it is provided in the 1987 Philippine Constitution that the President shall have only one term.  Thus: "The President shall not be eligible for any reelection". Thus, despite the clamor of PNOY's supporters to urge him to run again as President, he is barred by no less than the highest law of the land.  It is our very constitution that bars PNOY from running as President.  However, if he runs for another position other th...

Just before Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III delivered his 5th State of the Nation Address, a militant-minority-bloc of members of the Lower House or the House of Representatives has endorsed an IMPEACHMENT COMPLAINT against him.  Would this impeachment complaint succeed?  It would be another story. A picture of Impeach Pres. Aquino movement taken from newsinfo.inquirer.net This post would discuss how to impeach a public officer.  Of course, the discussion is basically based on what the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment tells us that impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as criminal or civil punishment.  In the Philippines, to impeach a public official simply means to to remove from office. In the 1987 Philippine Constitution, the followin...

My client asked me if she could file a criminal case to a person who has borrowed a sum of P90,000.00 from her. Her situation is very common to all of us.  Thus, I post this advice here to at least inform who would be reading this. First, you cannot file a CRIMINAL CASE against your borrower. There is no criminal ground to indict the borrower.  As a matter of fact, it is no less than our very own Constitution that provides that no person shall be imprisoned for debt. Second, what you could file to your borrower is only a CIVIL CASE.  It is simply a collection of a sum of money.  These are the steps on how to lodge a collection case against your borrower. 1.  Make it sure that you have all the documents showing the indebtedness of the person and the same shall be due and demandable. 2.  Make a written demand to your borrower providing him some time to pay his debt, otherwise, you would file a case against him. 3.  If the borrower will not pay, lodge a f...

Philippine Laws do not warrant DIVORCE in the country.  It is enshrined in the 1987 Philippine Constitution that: "Marriage, as an inviolable social institution, is the foundation of the family and shall be protected by the State.  Hence, the State recognizes the Filipino family as the foundation of the nation.  Accordingly, it shall strengthen its solidarity and actively promote its total development." What is not warranted in our laws is the ABSOLUTE DIVORCE that is enjoyed by people in the some foreign States.  Although we do not have this ABSOLUTE DIVORCE, but our laws provide instances on which a PARTIAL DIVORCE may be sought.  This PARTIAL DIVORCE is known in the country as ANNULMENT. In the Philippines, a marriage may be declared null and void or be annulled depending on the grounds attendant to the situation. In this post, what would be discussed are those marriages that are void from the beginning and the procedures on declaring the ab...

Considering that March is touted as Women's Month, it is just very timely to post something for the benefit of all women especially when it comes to legal matters.  In fact, it is written in the 1987 Philippine Constitution that the State shall protect working women, thus:   "The State shall protect working women by providing safe and healthful working conditions, taking into account their maternal functions, and such facilities and opportunities that will enhance their welfare and enable them to realize their full potential in the service of the nation."   Hence, I have reposted here a Q & A on Magna Carta of Women originally posted on the website of the Philippine Statistic Office on March 15, 2010. Credits are due to them.  For more information, please visit http://www.census.gov.ph/content/q-magna-carta-women-republic-act-no-9710.   What is Magna Carta of Women (Republic Act No. 9710)?   The Magna Carta of Women is comprehensive women’s hu...

I have already defined the meaning of the accused in my previous post re: Respondent Versus Accused Versus Convict.  So if you would like to know what I am mentioning is all about, please read the said post. An accused is not yet a convict.  In the Philippine justice system, an accused is PRESUMED INNOCENT until proven otherwise.  Meaning, no matter how guilty the accused may appear, he is still innocent until the prosecution can prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.