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.
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Self-Defense vs. Treachery: The Boundaries of Justifiable Homicide in Philippine Law
The Supreme Court clarifies when self-defense fails and treachery qualifies a killing as murder under Philippine law.
Self Defense Claim Fails Understanding Unlawful Aggression IN Philippine Homicide LAW
Philippine Supreme Court explains why self-defense failed in a murder case, focusing on the crucial element of unlawful aggression.
Self-Defense Claim Fails: Supreme Court Upholds Conviction in Parricide and Homicide Case
The Supreme Court explains why a husband's self-defense claim failed after he killed his wife and mother-in-law, affirming conviction for parricide and homicide.
Self-Defense Claims and the Limits of Justification: The Panerio Case
The Supreme Court clarifies when self-defense fails and why multiple wounds negate it, reducing murder to homicide.
Supreme Court on Self-Defense and Treachery in Homicide Cases
The High Court clarifies when self-defense fails and why treachery cannot be presumed in killings.
Self-Defense and Unlawful Aggression: Key Lessons from a Philippine Homicide Case
When does self-defense hold in Philippine homicide cases? The Supreme Court explains the crucial element of unlawful aggression.
When Self-Defense Fails: Liability for Homicide and Attempted Homicide in a Family Brawl
The Supreme Court clarifies when self-defense and defense of relatives fail, and how liability is determined absent conspiracy in a family brawl.
Self-Defense and Unlawful Aggression: Key Lessons from Napone v. People
The Supreme Court clarifies when self-defense and defense of relatives fail, and how unlawful aggression must be proven in Philippine homicide cases.
Self-Defense Claims in Homicide Cases: What the Supreme Court Requires
The Supreme Court explains why a self-defense plea failed in a fatal shooting, and clarifies the rules on unlawful aggression and damages.
Self-Defense in Philippine Law: The Imperative of Unlawful Aggression
Philippine Supreme Court explains why unlawful aggression is the primordial element of self-defense, and what happens when it is absent.
Self-Defense Under Scrutiny: Establishing Unlawful Aggression in Homicide Cases
The Supreme Court clarifies when self-defense fails in homicide cases, emphasizing unlawful aggression and reasonable necessity of force.
Self-Defense Claim Fails: Unlawful Aggression and Treachery in Murder Conviction
Supreme Court affirms murder conviction, ruling that a sudden bolo attack negates self-defense and constitutes treachery.
Self-Defense vs. Retaliation: When Justification Turns to Murder in Philippine Law
A Supreme Court ruling clarifies when a plea of self-defense fails and becomes retaliation, leading to murder convictions.
The Limits of Self-Defense: Establishing Unlawful Aggression in Murder Cases
A Supreme Court ruling clarifies that a vague, uncorroborated claim of self-defense cannot overcome the prosecution's evidence of murder by treachery.
Self-Defense and Unlawful Aggression: Proving Justifying Circumstances in Philippine Law
The Supreme Court explains what it takes to prove self-defense and defense of relatives under Article 11 of the Revised Penal Code.
Self-Defense and Treachery: Understanding the Boundaries in Philippine Criminal Law
A Supreme Court ruling clarifies when self-defense fails and how treachery is determined in Philippine criminal cases.
Incomplete Self-Defense: When a Knife Is Not a Reasonable Means in Homicide Cases
The Supreme Court explains when a knife against a belt buckle fails the "reasonable necessity" test for incomplete self-defense in homicide.
Self-Defense and Treachery in Homicide Cases: What the Supreme Court Requires
Understand when self-defense fails in Philippine criminal law and how treachery qualifies a killing as murder, based on a 2016 Supreme Court ruling.
Self-Defense and Treachery: Unlawful Aggression as the Foundation of a Justifying Circumstance
How the Supreme Court clarified that self-defense requires unlawful aggression, and why treachery can still qualify a killing as murder.
Self-Defense in Homicide Cases: When a Police Officer’s Plea Fails
A police officer’s self-defense claim in a homicide case failed because physical evidence contradicted his story. Learn the legal requisites.
Treachery and Self-Defense: Understanding the Elements of Murder in Philippine Law
The Supreme Court explains treachery and self-defense in murder cases, using People v. Samuya as a guide.
Treachery and Self-Defense: Defining the Boundaries of Justifiable Homicide in the Philippines
The Supreme Court explains when a sudden attack amounts to treachery and why claiming self-defense requires proving unlawful aggression.
Self-Defense and Double Jeopardy: Key Lessons from People v. De Leon
The Supreme Court's ruling in People v. De Leon clarifies the strict requirements for self-defense and the absolute protection against double jeopardy in Philippine criminal law.
Self-Defense vs. Criminal Intent: Proving Guilt Beyond Reasonable Doubt in Homicide Cases
Philippine Supreme Court ruling clarifies when self-defense fails and how treachery qualifies killing as murder, not homicide.