Atty. Butch Cañares

12/05/2026

Makisawsaw pud tag apil be. ICC warrant is not automatically enforceable in the Philipines, especially that we have already withdrawn from it. So it depends on a local law that gives it enforceability or voluntary cooperation by the state through its executive department. Can our courts intervene? Yes it can on constitutional grounds since the foremost protection of citizens of our country is the right not to be deprived of liberty without due process. Is this similar to extradition? No. the Rome statute terms it a "surrender" to the international tribunal meaning, it is voluntary on the part of the state not the individual. Can the state voluntarily surrender its citizen to an international tribunal against his will? Now that is what our courts should determine because then it will have to consider if its a political act or a legal one. If the former, then sorry Sen. Bato, you're going to the Hague. But if its the latter, then we will see how far our Supreme Court will go to give meaning to our constitutional guarantees.

08/01/2024

This case is personal to me. What started as months of exhaustive trial before the Sandiganbayan only resulting in a guilty verdict for my clients (2 of the accused members of the BAC) ended with an acquittal by the Supreme Court. What I have taken from this experience is that no matter how small or seemingly trivial a piece of evidence is should never be overlooked or taken for granted for in the overall scheme of things it may just be the one thing that contributes to the unraveling of everything.

People of the Philippines Vs. Adelberto Federico Yap, Sigfredo V. Dublin, Veronica S. Ordoñez, Ma. Venus B. Casas, and Marlon E. Barillo G.R. No. 255087. October 4, 2023 [Date Uploaded: 01/05/2024] DOWNLOAD PDF FILE HERE

06/11/2023

The last bastion of rationality. This is what I would call any country's judicial system, flaws and all. Its not about the dispensation of justice as it can never be perfect. Without courts of law, we will be nothing but animals clawing at each other on the slightest misstep.

26/10/2023

Very interesting case. A child is considered legitimate if he/she was born during the marriage of ONE of the parents even if the biological parent is listed in the birth certificate. Mao ni example sa kaso ng kinahanglang kag abogado para masabtan nimo. 😁

https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/sc-law-cannot-alter-blood-relationships/?fbclid=IwAR0JC-taKBqJGcrCtx9X7mCI5n4yUdPMG93xzig_tRY7AosRX4b2UTm88XU

SC: Law Cannot Alter Blood Relationships October 26, 2023 While the law may declare who are legitimate children, it cannot alter blood relationships. Thus held the Supreme Court, in a Decision penned by Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F Leonen, denying the petition for review on certiorari filed...

16/10/2023

What is happening in Palestine is a collective failure of all parties to adhere to reason and the rule of law. When religion interferes with state policy, it is bound to create friction. Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, to name a few, have made it their avowed goal of eliminating Israel altogether, which, come to think of it, is also called ethnic cleansing. Palestinians, at least the great majority of them, desire to have a state of their own and the world should respect that in the same manner that Arab countries should also accept the fact that Israel, as a country, is here to stay. It is this desire to push for the impossible (Palestine without Israel or Israel without Palestine) that is driving the narrative in that part of the world. The rest of us can only pray that somehow, people of reason will dominate the emotional narrative and bring all parties back from the brink.

11/10/2023

On many occasions I have seen how trial lawyers tend to unnecessarily complicate a case by presenting evidence or testimony of a matter that does not need to be proved or are otherwise totally unrelated to the subject matter of a case. Pre-trial is supposed to sift through all the allegations and counter-allegations in order to simplify trial. And if done thoroughly can actually hasten proceedings. But the reality is that the simplification of a case rely heavily on a judge's efforts at unraveling what may initially appear to be a "Gorgian Knot" that would otherwise turn out to be straight and simple. I have a case that was started in 2005 and only now is scheduled for trial. As it was an inherited case, I waded through the 2 thick folders and found out that if the original handling judge had just been fastidious enough, this would have already been decided years ago. So here we are 18 years later and the protagonists have considerably aged, previous judges and handling lawyers already retired or passed on and only now will this case move on again until its resolution. There is still so much to improve in our judicial system.

30/08/2023

May I humbly suggest to the Supreme Court PH that they create a secure email server for all active lawyers in the country for purposes of using it in the submission of electronic copies of pleadings and other documents in cases pending before all courts. That way, we can be assured of its confidentiality and security. The Court can then assign official email addresses to lawyers who are actively practicing law to be used for the electronic submission of pleadings to be implemented next year. We all have varying email hosts being used, the most popular of course are Yahoo and Gmail and all attachments to these emails are being stored in private servers which exposes legal documents to the risk of breach and exposure. It's just my 2 centavos worth as a former Cisco Certified Network Associate.

31/07/2023

A client of mine is selling her property in Siargao located at a hilltop overlooking Cloud 9. The lot area is 2,017 Sq. Meters fenced with a 4 room cottage and has a right-of-way to the nearby barangay road. One of the best sunset views in the island. PM for those interested.

02/09/2021

A bit of humor in the midst of serious issues...

27/08/2021