Daily Serving of Legal Matters

Espionage has been defined as offense of gathering, transmitting, or losing information respecting the national defense with intent or reason to believe that the information is to be used to the injury of the Republic of the Philippines or to the advantage of any foreign nation. (See the opening sentence of Section 1 and other sections of Commonwealth Act No. 616) Article 117 of the Revised Penal Code provides: Art. 117. Espionage. - The penalty of prision correccional shall be inflicted upon any person who : 1.  Without authority therefor, enters a warship, fort, or naval or military establishment or reservation to obtain any information, plans, photographs, or other data of a confidential nature relative to the defense of the Philippine Archipelago; or 2.  Being in possession, by reason of the public office he holds, of the articles, data, or information referred to in the preceding paragraph, discloses their contents to a representative of a foreign nation. The penalty nex...

In the criminal cases I handled, most of them were dismissed provisionally.  Provisional in the sense that such dismissal is not permanent yet. When a case is dismissed provisionally, the private complainant has the right to refile the same case again against the accused without violating the double jeopardy right of the accused. In cases falling within the jurisdiction of a Municipal Trial Court, the private complainant has the right to refile the same case within one (1) year from the date of the order of the dismissal.  In the Regional Trial Court cases, the private complainant has the right to refile within a period of two (2) years. If the private complainant does not refile the case within the period mentioned above, the dismissal shall become permanent. If the dismissal is already permanent, refiling can no longer be made because it would violate the double jeopardy right of the accused. Be it noted that any provisional dismissal shall have an explicit consent of the a...

Photo of Cedric Lee taken from ABS-CBNnews.com Cedric Lee strikes again.  When the case of Grave Coercion was heard for mediation, actor-host Vhong Navarro was not present.  It was Vhong Navarro who filed against Cedric Lee, Bernice Lee, Deniece Cornejo, Simeon "Zimmer" Raz, Jr., Ferdinand Guerrero, Jed Fernandez and Jose Calma for Grave Coercion in the controversial and highly sensationalized mauling of the actor-host last January 22, 2014. Vhong Navarro was absent during the mediation hearing of the grave coercion case. Cedric Lee when asked for his comment after the hearing, he said: "Hindi dumating 'yung rapist, e. May nire-rape pa sa ibang lugar." He also said no when asked if he is open to have a settlement with Navarro. With the utterance of Cedric Lee against Vhong Navarro, what would be its legal consequence, if any? The act of Cedric Lee in calling Vhong Navarro allegedly of a rapist may constitute the crime of slander. Sla...

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...