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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Private Roads and Public Use: When a Local Ordinance Cannot Convert Private Property
A local ordinance cannot convert a private road into public property without donation, purchase, or expropriation. The Supreme Court explains.
Protecting Public Interest: Fraudulent Land Patents and Prior Rights of Occupancy
Philippine Supreme Court ruling on tenant redemption rights, public property protection, and the limits of agrarian reform adjudication.
Public Easements in Land Disputes: Private Rights vs Public Welfare
The Supreme Court clarifies that 3-meter easements along rivers and streams are public property, limiting private landowner rights.
Malversation AND Command Responsibility Holding Officers Accountable FOR Public Property
Creek Ownership and Land Disputes: Public vs. Private Property Rights
A Supreme Court ruling clarifies that creeks are public property, not private land, and how this affects boundary disputes.
Gross Negligence in Handling Public Property: A Public Official's Liability for Malversation in the Philippine
Explaining when a public officer's careless handling of entrusted property becomes malversation, based on a Supreme Court ruling on lost shabu evidence.
Reversion of Fraudulent Land Titles: The State's Right to Reclaim Public Property
The Supreme Court affirms the State's power to revert fraudulently acquired public land, even after the one-year indefeasibility period.
Misappropriation vs Private Property: Understanding Malversation in Philippine Law
The Supreme Court clarifies that malversation requires public property. A mayor's custody of a private gun is not malversation.