Daily Serving of Legal Matters

COMELEC or Commissions on Elections will start it registration of voters for 2016 elections as early as  May 6, 2014. Said early start of registration should be taken advantage of by the first-time voters and previously voters will have their biometrics taken for a speedier process, the COMELEC says. One may not have to take the entire day off from work.  In fact, if one registers in the first few months, in a matter of 10 minutes, it is already done. If work is really a hindrance for some, they would not be worrying it anymore.  Comelec will also have their offices open on Sundays to accommodate more registrants.  Offices will be open from 8 am to 5 pm and will be closed only on either Friday or Saturday. Who may register? 1.  A Filipino citizen 2.  Not otherwise disqualified by law 3.  A resident of the Philippines for at least 1 year. 4.  Must have resided in the place, city or the municipality where he intends ...

Pnoy and Barack Obama.  Photo grabbed from google. This Q and A of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement signed recently by the governments of the Philippines and the United States of America is taken from the website of the Departement of Foreign Affairs.  The author of this blog does not claim ownership the same.  Credit is due to the Department of Foreign Affairs.  1. What is the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA)? The EDCA is an agreement between the Philippines and the United States which is envisioned to advance the implementation of the Philippine-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT). 2. What purpose does the EDCA serve? The EDCA is designed to promote the following between the Philippines and its defense treaty ally the United States: Interoperability Capacity building towards AFP modernization Strengthening AFP for external defense Maritime security Maritime domain awareness Humanitarian assistance and disaster resp...

An image grabbed from Bing IMAGES As reported recently by the Department of Health, there are almost 500 new cases of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) - which could lead to the fatal Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), the highest number recorded I one month, the department said on Thursday (May 1, 2014).  For more information about this news, you may read its entirety at  http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/598960/march-saw-biggest-spike-in-hiv-cases#ixzz30dZOrwrI . Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a disease that recognizes no territorial, social, political and economic boundaries for which there is no known cure, thus, it is the duty of the State to prevent and control the spread of this disease. In this connection, the government has enacted a law for the purpose of preventing and controlling the spread of AIDS.  This law is Republic Act Number 8504 or otherwise known as the Philippine AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 1998. W...

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. ...

On Wednesday, April 30, the Philippine government has officially launched the e-subpoena system aimed at helping secure better attendance of police witnesses in criminal cases. The e-Subpoena, which was approved by the SC en banc, is a Web-based system designed to prevent delay in disposition of cases caused by non-attendance of PNP witnesses. Based on initial information, it appears that the online system will only be used by the courts to send e-subpoena to police personnel and not to private litigants in court. The electronic system, an initiative of the Justice Sector Coordinating Council, will be piloted at the Quezon City trial courts and in PNP stations in the city. In a  report , the Philippine Daily Inquirer said the e-Subpoena process starts with the clerk of court sending the details of the subpoena via the Internet to a police unit where a police witness is assigned. “The Chief of Police of that unit will then acknowledge the subpoena, print a co...