Benefit of acquittal of co-accused on appeal
Dear PAO, My brother entered a guilty plea to a lesser offense under a plea bargaining arrangement. Recently, we discovered that his co-accused, who were facing the same charges as my brother, were acquitted on appeal. Please clarify if my brother might also benefit from this acquittal. Mike Dear Mike, The answer to your question […]
Sale of conjugal property without spousal consent
Dear PAO, My grandparents were legally married in 1975, but they were separated-in-fact. Their children, which include my mom, are running after a land which was sold alone by my grandfather to Jose. They are claiming that such sale is invalid because my grandmother did not give her consent to the sale. My Uncle Bo […]
Who may be deported? | The Manila Times
Dear PAO, Can a Filipino citizen be the subject of a deportation proceeding here in our country? Rubilyn Dear Rubilyn, The answer to your question is no. To elucidate this point, allow me to lead your attention to our pertinent rules and jurisprudence. Get the latest news delivered to your inbox Sign up for The […]
Difference between vicarious liability and solidary liability of car owner
Dear PAO, My private jeepney, which was driven by Ador, bumped into a car, resulting in physical injury to the other driver. The aggrieved car driver is now claiming that I am solidarily liable for the acts of my driver. I am thinking that I am not liable for damages since I was not aboard […]
Proper method of photographic identification
Dear PAO, A man was killed while attending our town’s foundation day festivities. The police conducted an initial investigation. However, since the initial witnesses could not positively identify any suspect, the police entered into its blotter entry “unidentified suspects still at large.” During the trial, the same witnesses now claimed to have identified with certainty […]
Acts of price manipulation | The Manila Times
Dear PAO, I walk around my village every day for exercise, and I started to notice that there is one store that sells goods at a higher price compared to the other stores. After a while, I realized that the store had increased all of their prices by more than 20 percent in a month! […]
Reason why collection of debt contracted by spouses cannot be brought against surviving spouse
Dear PAO, Jun and Claire borrowed P3 million from me last year in order to finance the improvement of their house. Unfortunately, Jun met his untimely demise last month. I tried to collect the debt from Claire, but she gave me so many excuses. I am contemplating suing her to recover my money, but someone […]
Void ab initio marriage may be raised as defense by the accused in bigamy
Dear PAO, I married Adela sometime in 1998 without getting a marriage license. We separated after two months because of irreconcilable differences. Believing that my first marriage was void, I married Adora in 2008. Adela discovered my second marriage and threatened me that if I did not turn over to her the possession of the […]
Contract of guaranty does not automatically fall under obligations that redound to benefit of family
Dear PAO, During our marriage, my husband acted as a guarantor for Dindo’s debt. After the untimely death of my husband last month, the creditor, unable to collect from Dindo, told me that he would file his claim in the settlement of the estate of my husband. According to the creditor, it is presumed that […]
Finder in theft is not limited to actual finder but includes finder in law
Dear PAO, My cousin found a bundle of money and showed it to me. We cannot ascertain the real owner of the money, so I convinced my cousin that we keep it and divide it equally between us. Two days have elapsed, and we already spent the money when we received information that our neighbor […]