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.
Treachery and Passion: Understanding Murder and Mitigating Circumstances in Philippine Law
The Supreme Court explains when sudden attacks qualify as treachery and why passion and obfuscation may reduce criminal liability.
The Weight of Witness Testimony: Treachery and Identification in Philippine Murder Cases
How a lone eyewitness's positive identification and the suddenness of attack led to a murder conviction qualified by treachery.
Navigating the Insanity Defense in Philippine Law: Burden of Proof and Presumption of Sanity
The Supreme Court clarifies the insanity defense in Philippine criminal law, emphasizing the presumption of sanity and the accused's burden to prove insanity beyond reasonable doubt.
Eyewitness Testimony and Murder Conviction: Insights from the De la Cruz Case
How a single eyewitness's positive identification secured a murder conviction and what it means for criminal cases in the Philippines.
When Is Self-Defense Justified in the Philippines? Limits of Self-Defense and Defense of Strangers
The Supreme Court clarifies when self-defense and defense of strangers apply in the Philippines, and when they fail.
When Self Defense Becomes Homicide: Treachery and Unlawful Aggression in Philippine Law
The Supreme Court clarifies when a claim of self-defense fails and why a killing is homicide, not murder, absent treachery.
Treachery in Criminal Law: Understanding Sudden Attack in Philippine Murder Cases
The Supreme Court explains treachery in murder cases through a sudden stabbing attack, clarifying the elements and legal consequences.
Treachery in Philippine Criminal Law: Sudden Attacks and Intent
The Supreme Court explains when a sudden, unexpected attack qualifies as treachery, aggravating a killing to murder under Philippine law.
Treachery in Philippine Criminal Law: Intent and Qualifying Circumstances
The Supreme Court explains when treachery qualifies a killing as murder, and why sudden attacks alone do not prove it.
When Self-Defense Fails: Proving Unlawful Aggression in Philippine Criminal Cases
A Supreme Court ruling explains why bare claims of self-defense fail without credible witnesses, and when treachery and evident premeditation do not qualify a killing.