Category Archives: Criminal Law

The Liability of a Person who tries to Commit Suicide, Fails and Kills Someone else

Life is truly more strange than fiction. A member of the phBar community who goes by the name xyckriz brought a very interesting true story to the community’s attention: “A man believed to be suffering from a mental illness jumped off the first Mandaue-Mactan Bridge Wednesday night in an attempt to end his life. He survived the 50-feet jump, but ended up killing a fisherman instead. He landed on the fisherman who had just emerged from the sea.” (As reported in SunStar Cebu). Read more »

What’s this legal animal called AMLA?

The public is glued to their TV sets, following the blow-by-blow coverage of the impeachment proceedings against Chief Justice Renato Corona in the Senate. The proceedings being legal in nature, new terms and concepts are being thrown around like pancakes. Recently, it’s the AMLA. Read more »

Bloody Paranaque demolition, Lina Law and Anti-Squatting Law

We’ve heard the Lina Law mentioned in the same breath as the bloody demolition in Parañaque City. One is confirmed dead and many injured as residents assault the incoming police column spearheading the demolition in the Silverio Compound. Read more »

Legal Wiki Project: New entries on Principal, Accomplice and Accessory

The liability of persons who commit a criminal offense depends on a number of factors. The primary determinant is the degree of participation, whether as a principal, accomplice or accessory. Read more »

A Bomb Joke is No Laughing Matter

On 12 April 2012, an Airphil Express flight bound for Puerto Princesa, Palawan  was forced to abort take-off after a  passenger said something about an explosion.  The controversy started when one of the passengers requested to have his daughter sit on his lap, but the flight attendant stated that airline rules prohibit more than one passenger from occupying the same seat, prompting the passenger to say, “O sige, kung ayaw mo, may sasabog.” The AirPhil plane was already taxiing on the runway when the pilot requested for assistance from the airport police, stating that “[a] passenger threatened to blow up the plane.”The plane and the baggage were subjected to a 4-hour inspection but no explosive device was found. The plane was later allowed to depart but the subject passengers were held for questioning and potential prosecution. Read more »

Cruelty to Animals: Riding the Butanding

News reports in the past days contain images of various animals being maltreated. A dog was tied to the back of a tricycle and dragged. A pig was transported, also at the back of a tricycle, by tying all feet together and hanging the pig upside down. The photo that got everyone’s attention is that of a girl STANDING on a butanding (whale shark) in Oslob, Cebu. Read more »

Calls to Reimpose the Death Penalty

There are talks about the re-imposition of the death penalty because of the increased incidence of heinous crimes in the past weeks. No less than the Chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) mentioned that it might help in deterring more crimes. Read more »

Human Trafficking (Trafficking in Persons)

There’s a lot of talk recently about human trafficking, or properly known as trafficking in persons. We’ve heard a lot of people stopped/questioned at the Philippine airports and the reason given is human trafficking. What exactly is human trafficking? Read more »

How Many Deaths Before Regulations are Enforced?

Accidents happen, true. But many “accidents” should not have happened if only rules and regulations were followed. The recent incident at the Tikling Junction in Taytay, Rizal drives home the point. A dump truck crossed the busy intersection — in full speed — killing at least 5. Imagine passing that place when the bus rammed through everything. Here’s the cctv video, as presented in today’s news: Read more »

Warrant of Arrest issued Against former President Gloria Arroyo

A warrant of arrest has been issued against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in connection with the electoral sabotage filed against her and other respondents, including former COMELEC Chairman Benjamin Abalos. Read more »