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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Fiscal Autonomy vs COA Oversight: PhilHealth CARAGA Benefits Case
Supreme Court clarifies that GOCC fiscal autonomy does not override COA audit power over disallowed benefits.
Good Faith Exception When Government Employees CAN Keep Disallowed Benefits
PhilHealth v. COA clarifies when government employees may keep disallowed benefits despite an audit disallowance.
Seafarer's Right to Disability Benefits: The Indefinite Assessment and the Third Doctor Rule
A seafarer who abandons treatment cannot claim permanent disability benefits. The Supreme Court explains the 120/240-day rule and the third doctor rule.
Concealment OR Condition Seafarers Rights TO Disability Benefits Under Poea SEC
Abandonment OF Treatment AND Forfeiture OF Disability Benefits FOR Seafarers AN Analysis
Retirement Benefits Ensuring Justices Receive Salary Adjustments Post Retirement
Seafarers Rights: When Delayed Medical Assessment Means Total Disability
Learn how a company doctor's failure to assess a seafarer within 120 days can result in total permanent disability benefits under POEA rules.
Taxation OF Government Employee Benefits Defining Taxable Compensation VS Exempt Benefits
Government Employee Benefits: BIR Authority and the Limits of Compromise
The Supreme Court rules on BIR's power to tax government employee benefits and the limits of taxing allowances under RMO No. 23-2014.
Seafarer Death Benefits: When Illness Is Not Work-Related Under the POEA Contract
The Supreme Court denies death benefits to a seafarer's heirs, ruling lung cancer from smoking was not work-related and death occurred beyond the contract term.
Work-Related Death Benefits for Seafarers: Proving Causation Under the POEA Contract
A seafarer's heirs must prove work-related death and death during employment to claim benefits. This case explains the rules.
Seafarers' Disability Benefits: Pre-Existing Conditions and Timely Assessments
Understand when a seafarer's disability is permanent and total, and why the company doctor's timely assessment prevails.
Retirement Benefits Determine Employee Status in Constructive Dismissal Cases
A bus driver who stopped reporting for work was not constructively dismissed but still entitled to retirement pay.
When a Bus Driver's Sabbatical Becomes a Retirement Claim: The Macuray Case
The Supreme Court clarifies when a driver's break from work is abandonment, sabbatical, or retirement—and what benefits are due.
Seafarers Disability: The 240-Day Rule and the Right to Full Benefits
The Supreme Court clarifies when a seafarer's disability is deemed permanent and total under the 240-day rule, and why a timely company-doctor assessment matters.
Overcoming Concealment Claims Seafarers Right TO Disability Benefits Despite Prior Condition
Presumptive Death for Military Benefits: No Court Declaration Needed
Supreme Court clarifies that PVAO and AFP can process death benefits of missing soldiers without a court declaration of presumptive death.
Project Employment in Construction: Defining Scope and Tenure in the Philippines
The Supreme Court clarifies when construction workers are project employees, not regular employees, and what benefits they retain.
Seafarers' Rights: Establishing Work-Related Illness for Disability Benefits
SC ruling clarifies how seafarers can prove work-related illness for disability benefits, even without company physician assessment.
Habitual Absenteeism in the Judiciary: Dismissal for Court Employee Who Abandoned Post
Supreme Court dismisses court interpreter for habitual absenteeism, forfeiting benefits and barring re-employment in government service.
Judicial Retirement Benefits: Tacking Leave Credits for Optional Retirees
The Supreme Court clarifies that optional retirees may tack earned leave credits to increase longevity pay, settling a longstanding issue.
Disallowance of Separation Benefits When Contractual Status Impacts Entitlement
Supreme Court affirms COA disallowance of separation pay for period when employee was contractual, but excuses good-faith refund.
When Doubt Benefits the Accused: Integrity of Evidence in Philippine Criminal Cases
A Supreme Court ruling on reasonable doubt, witness credibility, and the prosecution's burden in election-period weapon possession cases.
Project Employment vs Regular Employment: Security of Tenure in Construction
The Supreme Court clarifies when construction workers are project employees, not regular employees, and their rights to wages and benefits.