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Summary of the Marcos v. Robredo Resolution (October 15, 2019)

Summary of the Marcos v. Robredo Resolution (October 15, 2019)

The Supreme Court, acting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, issued a resolution on October 15, 2019 which summarized everything that happened in the case so far.  This article summarizes the PET’s factual findings, and the issues relating to them. To avoid violation of sub judice restrictions, this article will just be a summary of the SC Resolution.

Background:

Bongbong Marcos challenged…

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Mobile Number Portability Law allows change of telcos without changing numbers

Mobile Number Portability Law allows change of telcos without changing numbers

In February 8, 2019, President Duterte signed into law the Mobile Number Portability Act. The law is Republic Act No. 11202, AN ACT REQUIRING MOBILE SERVICE PROVIDERS TO PROVIDE NATIONWIDE MOBILE PORTABILITY TO SUBSCRIBERS.

What is mobile number portability?

Mobile Number Portability or MNP allows a mobile postpaid or prepaid subscriber with no existing obligation (like a lock-in period) to keep…

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Statement of the National Privacy Commission on the Mobile Number Portability Act

Statement of the National Privacy Commission on the Mobile Number Portability Act

On February 20, 2019, the office of Privacy Commissioner Raymund Enriquez Liboro issued a statement from the National Privacy Commission with regard to the Republic Act No. 11202 or the Mobile Number Portability Act.

Under that law, a postpaid or prepaid cellphone subscriber with no existing financial obligation to the cellphone service provider can transfer providers while retaining his…

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The correct format for a Philippine address

The correct format for a Philippine address

There is an official and correct way of writing a Philippine address. And it is quite surprising that many do not know how to correctly write it down. Many law firms, businesses, organizations, and people in general, do not write their address correctly. In fact, they differ in the ways that they write them.

Many who know their zip code, write their address using the format of the United…

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Lowering the age of criminal liability or not?

Lowering the age of criminal liability or not?

Under the Revised Penal Code (which we had since the American times), the use of children for criminal acts was usually by syndicates that use them for begging in the streets or for drug delivery.

The Juvenile Justice Law (Republic Act No 9344) was enacted in 2006 to make things better for children caught in conflict of law. It was a law with a good purpose.

But when it came into effect,…

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Giving insufficient change is a criminal offense

Giving insufficient change is a criminal offense

Republic Act No. 10909 prohibits business establishments from giving insufficient, or no change to customers. It’s called the “No Shortchanging Act.” In September 2016, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) came out with the implementing rules for that law (DTI Department Administrative Order No. 16-03, series of 2016).

The law requires a business or government establishment to give exact…

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Trillanes won in RTC 148 because he presented evidence correctly

Trillanes won in RTC 148 because he presented evidence correctly

The Office of the President issued Proclamation 572, series of 2018 revoking the amnesty of Senator Sonny Trillanes because he allegedly did not file any application for amnesty and also because he did not make any admission of guilt to the crimes he committed (which was a condition for amnesty). The Department of Justice filed motions for issuing warrants of arrest in the two courts where his…

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Only the President can grant Amnesty

Only the President can grant Amnesty

Under the 1987 Constitution and our previous constitutions, only the President can grant amnesty, and only with the concurrence of Congress.

In law school, we all thought that this was a very clear principle, but the Trillianes amnesty issue came up. Now there are debates all over.

Can the President delegate the declaration of who will be covered by amnesty to the Secretary of the Department of…

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Issues in Proclamation 572 against Trillanes

Issues in Proclamation 572 against Trillanes

There are several issues for and against Senator Antonio Trillanes in Proclamation 572 issued by the President declaring his amnesty void ab initio. To understand it better, we have to go back to 2010 when President Noynoy Aquino issued the amnesty and when it was concurred in by the Legislature.

  Were the constitutional requirements of the amnesty met?

The constitutional requirements of the…

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Sereno reprimanded for legal ethics violations

Sereno reprimanded for legal ethics violations

This ends the national controversy some call Serenovella. The Supreme Court reprimanded Justice Maria Lourdes P.A. Sereno for legal ethics violations because of her statements in numerous speaking engagements. The statements implied that a judgment against her in her quo warranto case could only be motivated by a biased court.

At the end of Justice Sereno’s quo warranto case, the Supreme Court…

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Lawyers in searches and seizures - Obstruction of Justice?

Lawyers in searches and seizures – Obstruction of Justice?

Just recently, Makati police arrested three lawyers – Jan Vincent Sambrano Soliven, Lenie Rocel Elmido Rocha, and Romulo Bernard Bustamante Alarkon –  while they were documenting the how the police were implementing a search warrant in a popular bar they had tagged as a drug den. The police charged the lawyers with obstruction of justice, among other crimes.

The owner of the bar engaged their law…

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Precautionary hold departure orders (PHDO)

Precautionary hold departure orders (PHDO)

The Supreme Court issued new rules on precautionary hold departure orders (PHDO). The Rule on Precautionary Hold Departure Orders was approved by the Supreme Court on April 7, 2018. It will take effect 15 days after it is published in a newspaper of general circulation. In the meantime, the applications for hold departure orders pending before the trial courts under the old rules should still be…

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Breaking up legally: How not to be sued for breaking up

Breaking up legally: How not to be sued for breaking up

Statistics will show that it is highly improbable that your first romance would be your last. That means that most people would have broken up at least once in their lives. Breakups can leave lasting impressions. This post is about breaking up legally. It’s about how to break up without breaking any laws. And of course, how not to be sued for breaking up.

Breaking up is not punished by law, but…

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Social media & Privacy: Can you be sued for what you posted on Facebook?

Social media & Privacy: Can you be sued for what you posted on Facebook?

The Department of Justice noted a sharp increase in litigation involving social media since 2014. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are part of our lives. They have become primary sources of information for many of us and are part of the ways we interact with the world. One of the biggest concerns now is preventing or prosecuting social media litigation. Privacy settings play a key role.

So, YES,…

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Leave a legacy, not a burden

Leave a legacy, not a burden

A life insurance policy is one of the most useful tools of estate planning.

This always happens

It is a common story: a wife whose husband died of an illness needs to access conjugal funds kept in a joint bank account under their names. The bank is aware of the husband’s death, and will not let the grieving widow withdraw funds from the account to pay for her husband’s hospitalization and…