Creditor’s consent is required in substitution of the debtor
Dear PAO, A few years ago, I obtained a loan from a lending company. I have paid about 80 percent thereof. For the remaining 20 percent, my colleague and I had an agreement that she would be the one to pay it, as her payment for the money she borrowed from me a few months […]
Relentless request for personal details may constitute gender-based sexual harassment
Dear PAO, Yesterday, while walking on the sidewalk to work, someone approached me and asked for my name and my contact details. Since he is a stranger, I refused by shaking my head and walked away. Although he kept an appropriate distance, the man did not give up and followed me for several minutes, relentlessly […]
Importance of a DoJ or media representative during drug inventory
Dear PAO, Our neighbor’s son, around 19 years old, along with two of his friends, was arrested for a drug-related violation. From what I have heard, there was neither a representative from the media nor from the fiscal’s office during the inventory of the confiscated drugs. Is the absence of such a representative crucial to […]
Divorce abroad obtained by both spouses may be recognized in the Philippines
Dear PAO, My brother married a foreigner. But because of several factors, they ended up getting divorced. According to my brother, it was his then wife who processed their divorce, but essentially, it was based on their mutual agreement as they both believed that their marriage was unsalvageable. The divorce was filed in the country […]
Slightest penetration consummates rape | The Manila Times
Dear PAO, C wants to file a complaint for rape, but she is worried that it might just be dismissed because, from what she was told, the male organ should have penetrated inside the female organ. What happened to C was that she was walking on her way home when the assailant grabbed her and […]
The test to determine reasonableness in self-defense
Dear PAO, My brother was employed as a laborer or “kargador” in a rice market business. One day, while he was physically unloading sacks of rice from their delivery truck, he was boxed by an unprovoked drunk person who ran amok. He continued working but, upon his return, he was boxed again. This time, he […]
New ruling on counting prescriptive period for cyber libel
Dear PAO, My former friend posted defamatory statements against me on a social media platform. Although she posted it two years ago, it is still available up to the present. I discovered her defamatory posts only two months ago after I reactivated my Facebook. Is it true that the crime has prescribed, considering the lapse […]
Minimal alteration fatal to integrity of confiscated drugs
Dear PAO, I was arrested by police authorities in an alleged buy-bust. During the trial, the forensic chemist presented the specimen of confiscated drugs with markings ending with “16.” However, the letter from the police investigating officer requesting a forensic examination states that the seized item bears markings that end with “2016,” with the digits […]
Where do we file a BP 22 case?
Dear PAO, May I know where we can file a complaint for an alleged violation of Batas Pambansa (BP) 22? Geraldine Dear Geraldine, The answer to your question is best elucidated by the decision of the Supreme Court in Brodeth vs. People (GR 197849, Nov. 29, 2017), penned by Associate Justice Samuel Reyes Martires. Succinctly, […]
Requirements to operate a private clinical laboratory
Dear PAO, My college friend has been operating a private diagnostic laboratory in their province for years. He told me recently about his concern involving another entrepreneur in their area who is planning to construct and operate a similar laboratory but without the necessary medical licenses since they claim to have already a mayor’s permit […]