Legal Insights
Plain-language guides and case briefs on Philippine law — researched from the firm's law library of 184,000+ statutes, Supreme Court decisions, and agency issuances, and written so non-lawyers can understand and act on them.
Dissolution of Preliminary Injunction When Dismissal Trumps Pending Appeal
A preliminary injunction ends automatically when the trial court dismisses the main case, even if an appeal is pending. Here's why.
Due Process, Jurisdiction, and Provisional Remedies in Philippine Criminal Law
A look at Villamor v. People on due process, jurisdiction, and provisional remedies in Philippine criminal procedure.
Positive Identification Prevails Over Alibi in Philippine Murder Conviction
How the Supreme Court affirmed a murder conviction, ruling that credible eyewitness identification outweighs the inherently weak defense of alibi.
Rape of a Mentally Retarded Person: Court Upholds Conviction and Justice
The Supreme Court affirms the rape conviction of a man who sexually assaulted a mentally retarded woman, clarifying the rules on consent, evidence, and penalties.
Protecting the Innocent: The Vital Role of Testimony and Medical Evidence in Statutory Rape Cases
The Supreme Court affirms a qualified rape conviction, explaining how a child victim's credible testimony and medical findings secure justice.
Circumstantial Evidence in Rape Cases: Proving Guilt Beyond Reasonable Doubt
The Supreme Court explains how circumstantial evidence can establish rape beyond reasonable doubt, even when the victim was unconscious during the assault.
Supreme Court on Sandiganbayan Appeals: Credibility Findings Bind Review
Learn how the Supreme Court limits appeals from the Sandiganbayan to questions of law, and why witness credibility findings are conclusive.
Employer Control Determines Employment Status: The PLDT Security Guard Case
When a security agency's contract ends but guards remain at their posts under the principal's direction, an employer-employee relationship may arise.
Possession vs. Sale: Proving the Distinction in Drug Cases
The Supreme Court clarifies why illegal sale and illegal possession of drugs are separate crimes requiring distinct proof, acquitting on one charge.
Compromise Agreements Enforceability Hinges on Fulfilled Conditions
When a court-approved compromise agreement's conditions remain unfulfilled, the original obligation revives and execution may proceed.
Silence Is Not Acquiescence: Delayed Reporting in Philippine Rape Cases
Why a rape victim's delayed report and vague words like "ginalaw" do not weaken a conviction, explained through a Supreme Court ruling.
Unreliable Identification Conviction Quashed DUE TO Flawed Witness Testimony
Explore how flawed witness testimony undermines drug convictions, examining the Supreme Court's ruling on unreliable identification.
Marital Cohabitation and Consensual Acts: Rape and Acts of Lasciviousness in Philippine Law
The Supreme Court clarifies when cohabitation does not imply consent, and how rape and acts of lasciviousness are distinguished in Philippine criminal law.
Breach of Trust and Confidence: Upholding Termination of Supervisory Employees in the Philippines
Philippine Supreme Court ruling on valid dismissal of supervisory employees for breach of trust and confidence in Coca-Cola Bottlers case.
When Retirement Moots a Disapproved Appointment: CSC vs. Tahanlangit
Explaining the Supreme Court ruling that optional retirement during the appeal period renders a CSC appointment disapproval moot.
Accountability FOR ALL Establishing Conspiracy IN Robbery With Homicide
A conviction for robbery with homicide does not require each conspirator to wield the weapon. Presence and common purpose suffice.
Diligence Required Enforcing Final Judgments AND Avoiding Laches IN Philippine LAW
A 13-year delay in enforcing a final judgment bars execution by motion and constitutes laches. Learn the rules and deadlines.
Age of Criminal Responsibility: Testimonial Evidence and Protecting Juvenile Offenders
How testimonial evidence can prove a juvenile offender's age for exemption from criminal liability under RA 9344.
Retirement Benefits: Employer's Duty Beyond Initial Retirement
Retired employee continues working; Supreme Court clarifies prescription, retirement pay computation, and employer obligations under Philippine law.
DNA Evidence and Paternity: Establishing Paternity Beyond Reasonable Doubt in Rape Cases
How the Supreme Court first applied the DNA Rules to confirm paternity and uphold a rape conviction.
Doubt Benefits The Accused When Witness Testimony Falls Short In Rape Cases
The Supreme Court explains that reasonable doubt in rape cases arises when witness testimony is inconsistent, uncorroborated, or fails to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Missed Your Appeal Understanding Finality of Judgments and Procedural Deadlines in Philippine Courts
Learn how missing appeal deadlines makes judgments final and binding, using a Philippine Supreme Court case on union elections as guide.
Finality of DARAB Decisions: No Reopening Despite Alleged Errors
A final DARAB ruling is immutable. Learn why the Supreme Court barred a tenant from reopening his case despite claims of jurisdictional errors.
Limits of Mandamus Court Discretion in Criminal Case Dismissals in the Philippines
Philippine Supreme Court clarifies when mandamus can compel a judge to dismiss criminal cases, and when it cannot.