Daily Serving of Legal Matters

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...

As reported in ABS-CBN news webpage on November 6, 2014, an 11-year old girl was shot and killed by her mother's live-in partner in Asingan, Pangasinan. Is this an example of a parricide crime? According to Article 246 of the Revised Penal Code, a parricide is committed by any person who shall kill his father, mother, or child, whether legitimate or illegitimate, or any of his ascendants, or descendants, or his spouse, and shall be punished by the penalty of reclusion perpetua to death. In the news reported by ABS-CBN, who was killed by the alleged actor was the child of his live-in partner.  Said child was not the alleged killer's child. Hence, no parricide was committed. If not parricide, what crime did the allegd killer has committed? Generally, the crime committed allegedly was homicide.  However it may be qualified into murder considering the disparity of strength, that may be explained in the age and gender differences, between the alleged killer and the victim. Note: ...

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,...

This photo was taken from bing images. As I scrolled the page of ABS-CBNnews.com, it was one of the news that caught my attention.  I have pasted herein the whole information as posted in the said webpage. MANILA - A newborn baby was found dead on a vacant lot in Barangay 86 in Caloocan City Tuesday. The baby's umbilical cord was still attached to her body, and her placenta was also found in the area. Residents said they still heard the baby cry early in the morning while it was raining. Barangay officials immediately went to a nearby house, where they found a bleeding woman, who denied that the baby was her daughter. The woman, however, eventually went to the barangay hall and admitted that she left her daughter outside to die. She added that she lied because she was scared. The suspect was then brought to a hospital for treatment. Authorities said the woman may be charged with parricide. -- report from Doland Castro, ABS-CBN News Legall...

This is a page created by netizens in seeking justice for the slain daughter.  Image was taken from the page of ABS-CBNnews.com. This is the news that shattered the whole nation this week.  A father slashed the throat of his very own daughter and then he even posted the picture of his dead daughter to his Facebook account.  Accordingly, he (the father) had an earlier altercation with his wife over the internet that led to the brutal death of their child.  The wife is working abroad.  You may read the whole story at ABS-CBNnews.com. In this situation, the crime that the father is charged of is PARRICIDE.  It is parricide because of the relationship of the offender to the victim. According to the Revised Penal Code: Article 246:  Parricide - Any person who shall kill his father, mother, or child, whether legitimate or illegitimate, or any of his ascendants, or descendants, or his spouse, shall be guilty of parricide and shall be punis...

Atty. Alma Mallonga and Florencia Cornejo.  Photo taken from google. The legal drama of Vhong Navarro-Cedric Lee and Deniece Cornejo has ramified anew.  This time is between the grandmother of the Deniece Cornejo and Vhong Navarro's lawyer Atty. Alma Mallonga. Allegedly, Florencia Cornejo claimed that she was pushed by Mallonga after she saw her wearing a shirt that says, "Justice for Deniece, Jail the Rapist" (ABS-CBNnews.com). So what constitutes the crime of grave coercion? The Revised Penal Code defines the crime of grave coercion as: Article 286.  Grave Coercions. - The penalty of arresto mayor and a fine not exceeding 500 pesos shall be imposed upon any person, who without authority of law, shall, by means of violence, prevent another from doing something not prohibited by law, or compel him to do something against his will, whether it be right or wrong. If the coercion be committed for the purpose of compelling another to perform any relig...

A public service message by arangkada.  A photo grabbed from google images. On May 19, 2014, a train rammed a passenger jeepney in Sampaloc, Manila resulting to one death and 6 persons injured. Initial investigation showed that a railway crossing signal warned vehicles that a train was approaching, but the jeepney still crossed the road.  The jeepney driver, who was also injured, reeked of alcohol when he was brought to the hospital, police said (ABS-CBN News.Com). Admittedly, drunk and/or drugged drivers resulted to many road accidents in the country.  Lives and limbs were lost, not to mention the million of pesos worth of properties damaged, due to these accidents. Coincidentally, the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Republic Act Number 10586 or otherwise known as the "Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act of 2013". So what is the act punished in R.A. No. 10586? Basically, what is punished in SECTION 5 of this act is the driving of a motor...