Daily Serving of Legal Matters

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: ...

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...

A client sought a legal advice with regards to his son.  Allegedly, his son was killed sometime in the 1990.  Granting without accepting that the facts of the case qualify it into a crime of murder, can it still be filed today? Before answering the question on whether or not the crime could still be filed today, the provision of the on prescription of crimes may enlighten the issue. "Prescription of crimes. - Crimes punishable by death, reclusion perpetua or reclusion temporal shall prescribe in twenty years. Crimes punishable by other afflictive penalties shall prescribe in fifteen years. Those punishable by correctional penalty shall prescribe in ten years; with the exception of those punishable by arresto mayor, which shall prescribe in five years. The crimes of libel or other similar offenses shall prescribe in one year. The offenses of oral defamation and slander by deed shall prescribe in six months. Light offenses prescribe in two months. ...

I remember someone said that "killing of the child before birth is abortion and killing of the child after birth is murder". We are already aware of the fact that is is abortion if the child is killed before he/she is being born.  But what about killing of the child after birth, would this be called a murder? It is not always the case.