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.
Illegally Dismissed? Your Rights and Remedies Under Philippine Labor Law
Know your rights if illegally dismissed in the Philippines: reinstatement, full backwages, and how to file a labor complaint.
Probationary Employment in the Philippines: Understanding Regularization Standards
The Supreme Court clarifies when probationary employees may be validly terminated for failing to meet regularization standards under Philippine law.
Minimum Wage Compliance: Employers Bear the Burden of Proof in Labor Disputes
Employers must prove wage payments in labor disputes. Learn how the Supreme Court applied this rule in a delivery helper's underpayment case.
Accreditation of Government Service After Retirement: The CSC v. Annang Rule
Retired government workers cannot seek accreditation of prior contract-of-service work. The Supreme Court explains the rule and its limits.
Constructive Dismissal vs. Just Cause Termination: Key Supreme Court Ruling
The Supreme Court clarifies that constructive dismissal and just cause termination are incompatible, reinforcing due process and security of tenure.
When Can Employers Fire for Loss of Trust? Key Accounts Manager Case Explained
Supreme Court clarifies when loss of trust and confidence justifies dismissal of a Key Accounts Manager who falsified documents.
Fiduciary Rank-and-File Employees: When Job Titles Do Not Bar Labor Benefits
The Supreme Court clarifies that fiduciary rank-and-file employees, despite supervisory-sounding titles, remain entitled to labor standards benefits under the Labor Code.
Reassignment vs. Transfer: What Public School Teachers Should Know
The Supreme Court clarifies when a public school teacher can be reassigned without consent, and how security of tenure applies.
Unexcused Absence and Termination: When Is an Employee Considered AWOL
Learn when an employee is considered AWOL and can be dropped from the rolls, based on a 2019 Supreme Court ruling.
Regular Employment and Labor-Only Contracting: Lingat v. Coca-Cola Bottlers
Supreme Court clarifies when agency-hired workers are regular employees of the principal employer, and the limits of labor contracting.
Willful Disobedience as Just Cause for Termination: Mamaril v. The Red System Company
The Supreme Court clarifies when an employee's repeated violation of safety rules justifies dismissal for willful disobedience under the Labor Code.
Court Personnel and Homeowners' Association Duties: When Civic Service Is Not Moonlighting
Supreme Court clarifies when court employees may serve in homeowners' associations without violating conduct rules on outside employment.
Indefinite Preventive Suspension Is Constructive Dismissal: Employee Rights in the Philippines
The Supreme Court rules that an indefinite preventive suspension beyond 30 days amounts to constructive dismissal, entitling the employee to backwages and separation pay.
Indefinite Preventive Suspension Is Constructive Dismissal: Agcolicol v. Casiño
When an employer suspends a worker indefinitely beyond 30 days, the suspension ripens into constructive dismissal, entitling the employee to backwages and separation pay.
Breach of Trust Dismissal for Theft of Court Exhibit Undermines Judicial Integrity
Court personnel who steal exhibits betray the judiciary's trust. The Supreme Court's ruling in Castro shows why dismissal is the only fitting penalty.
Preventive Suspension Limits and Employer Rights in Philippine Labor Law
The Supreme Court clarifies when employers may impose successive preventive suspensions and the rules on appeal bonds in labor cases.
Personnel Actions and the Courts: When CSC Jurisdiction Yields to Judicial Review
Philippine Supreme Court ruling on when courts may hear personnel actions involving public officers despite CSC jurisdiction.
Loss of Trust and Due Process: Philippine Standards for Employee Dismissal
Philippine Supreme Court clarifies the standards for loss of trust and due process in employee dismissal cases under the Labor Code.
Retaliatory Dismissal: Protecting Employees Who Assert Their Rights
The Supreme Court affirms that firing workers for filing labor complaints violates security of tenure and constitutes illegal dismissal.
Inconsistent Positions and Agency Liability: Protecting Overseas Workers From Deception
A Philippine Supreme Court ruling holds recruitment agencies and their officers solidarily liable for overseas workers' claims, rejecting inconsistent defenses as deception.
Exhausting Administrative Remedies: Why Public Servants Must First Seek Internal Solutions
Public servants must exhaust administrative remedies before going to court. The Supreme Court explains why in Ejera v. Merto.
Dismissal for Drug Use Upholding Integrity in the Judiciary
Supreme Court dismisses court employee for shabu use, ruling it grave misconduct that tarnishes the Judiciary's image and integrity.
Dividing Labor When Teaching and Non-Teaching Staff Form Unions
Philippine Supreme Court ruling on bargaining units when teaching and non-teaching personnel join one union.
Erosion of Public Trust: Dismissal for Graft and Corruption in the Judiciary
A process server's dismissal for soliciting money from litigants underscores the strict accountability of court personnel in the Philippines.