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.
Sale vs Agency: When Unpaid Vendors Are Not Guilty of Estafa
The Supreme Court clarifies when a failed real estate deal is a breach of contract, not estafa, and why unpaid vendors cannot be criminally liable.
Balancing Confrontation Rights and Due Process in Transnational Crime Investigations
Supreme Court clarifies when courts may interfere with preliminary investigations and how constitutional rights apply in fact-finding probes.
Fixed-Term Contracts vs Security of Tenure: Protecting Employee Rights in the Philippines
The Supreme Court clarifies when fixed-term employment contracts are valid and when they violate an employee's security of tenure under Philippine law.
Constitutional Rights vs Preliminary Investigation: When Evidence Admissibility Matters
Supreme Court clarifies that preliminary investigations cannot be suspended on prejudicial question grounds, and evidence admissibility is for trial, not preliminary inquiry.
Attorney Suspended for Neglect and Misappropriation of Client Funds in Annulment Case
Lawyer suspended two years for taking P57,000 in legal fees but failing to file annulment petition and refusing to return client's money.
Forged Signatures and Land Titles: Proving Fraud in Philippine Property Cases
The Supreme Court clarifies what evidence is needed to prove forged signatures in land transactions and reconveyance claims.
Disbarment for Adultery and Abandonment: Moral Standards for Philippine Lawyers
The Supreme Court disbarred a lawyer for adultery and abandoning his family, reaffirming that private misconduct reflects on fitness to practice law.
Breach of Public Trust: Accountability for Malversed Funds in the Philippines
When public funds go missing, Philippine law presumes the accountable officer misappropriated them. Learn how courts apply this rule.
Ante-Nuptial Agreements and Property Waivers: The Delgado v. GQ Realty Case
The Supreme Court's ruling in Delgado v. GQ Realty clarifies how ante-nuptial agreements can waive property rights, even for assets registered under a spouse's family corporation.
Obscenity Laws vs. Free Speech: The Madrilejos Ruling on Manila Ordinance 7780
The Supreme Court’s Madrilejos ruling clarifies how Philippine obscenity laws must balance regulation with constitutionally protected free expression.
Compromise Agreements Bind Courts: Enforcing Terms as Written
Philippine Supreme Court ruling on compromise agreements, judicial authority, and remedies for breach in Bernardo v. Union Bank.
Encroachment and Good Faith: Land Dispute Remedies Under Article 448
A Supreme Court ruling on encroachment clarifies when a landowner may recover possession and how Article 448 protects builders in good faith.
B.P. 22 and the Corporate Veil: When Corporate Officers Face Personal Liability
The Supreme Court pierces the corporate veil in B.P. 22 cases, holding officers personally liable for bouncing checks—but only with proper notice of dishonor.
Boundary Disputes: Why Forcible Entry Is the Wrong Remedy and Accion Reivindicatoria Is Right
Philippine Supreme Court clarifies that boundary disputes involving Torrens titles cannot be resolved through forcible entry, but only through accion reivindicatoria.
Boundary Disputes Cannot Be Settled by Forcible Entry: The Proper Remedy Is Accion Reivindicatoria
Boundary disputes that question ownership cannot be resolved through forcible entry; the Supreme Court requires an accion reivindicatoria instead.
Disbarment for Immorality Upholding Ethical Standards in the Legal Profession
The Supreme Court underscores that lawyers must uphold the highest ethical standards, with immorality as a ground for disbarment.
Mamasapano Tragedy: Determining Liability in Complex Military Operations
The Supreme Court clarifies the standards for determining criminal negligence and probable cause in the Mamasapano tragedy, addressing command responsibility and intervening causes.
Upholding Integrity Consequences FOR Notarizing Documents Without Personal Appearance 4
Supreme Court suspends lawyer for notarizing a deed without the parties' personal appearance, stressing notarization is not a routinary act.
Forcible Entry: Prior Physical Possession Prevails Over Claims of Ownership
Supreme Court clarifies that in forcible entry cases, prior physical possession—not ownership—determines who may seek ejectment.
Illegal Dismissal of Probationary Employee: When Performance Ratings Are a Subterfuge
Supreme Court affirms illegal dismissal ruling where probationary employee's poor rating was a sham, entitling him to backwages and damages.
Attorney Disciplinary Actions: When Private Misconduct Leads to Disbarment
The Supreme Court disbarred a lawyer for gross immorality, dishonesty, and deceitful conduct, clarifying the boundaries of professional conduct.
Judicial Accountability: Gross Ignorance of the Law in Issuing Unlawful Arrest Warrants
When a judge issued arrest warrants in cases where the law forbids them, the Supreme Court held him liable for gross ignorance of the law.
Certiorari as an Improper Remedy: Interlocutory Orders and Grave Abuse of Discretion in Recovery of Possession
A party cannot use certiorari to challenge interlocutory orders like a denied motion to dismiss or default order when ordinary remedies exist.
Foreign Nationals and Land Ownership: Constitutional Limits on Succession Rights
Philippine Supreme Court clarifies that foreign nationals cannot own land or transmit rights through succession, affecting heirs' claims.