MTARO LAW

14/02/2025

To love someone does not require that she becomes your prisoner. True love exudes happiness when the other is free even to the extent that she is happy with another. You cannot own anyone in the name of love. Slavery is unconstitutional. (- J. Leonen/X)

23/10/2024

16/10/2024

The Supreme Court emphasized that statements against public officers do not constitute oral defamation or slander when these concern their discharge of official duties —unless done maliciously.

In a Decision written by Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen, the Supreme Court’s Second Division acquitted an accused of oral defamation for remarks against a barangay kagawad.

The barangay kagawad was walking past the accused’s house, when she yelled from her house’s terrace that the barangay kagawad was uneducated, ignorant, and biased against the accused in their barangay conciliation proceedings. The remarks were heard by many people as the terrace was beside the highway.

Under Article 358 of the Revised Penal Code, there is oral defamation or slander when (1) there is an allegation of a crime, fault, or flaw; (2) made orally; (3) publicly; (4) maliciously; (5) towards a person, alive or dead; and (6) such allegation tends to cause dishonor on the person defamed.

As the law assumes that a defamatory allegation is malicious, or made with knowledge that it is false, the person who made the defamatory remarks has the burden of proving there was no malice.

However, when it comes to defamation against public officers in relation to their duties, the prosecution has the burden to prove there was actual malice in the defamatory remarks. The Court recognizes that the right to free speech empowers citizens to hold public officers accountable because public office is a public trust.

In the present case, the SC said that the prosecution failed to prove there was malice in the accused’s remarks against the barangay kagawad. It stressed that while the statements may be offensive, they are not actionable by themselves: “Being ‘sensitive’ has no place in this line of service."

Read the full press release at: https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/sc-statements-against-public-officers-not-slanderous-when-related-to-the-performance-of-official-duties/

Read the full text of the Decision at: https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/246824-argelyn-m-labargan-vs-people-of-the-philippines/

27/09/2024

SC: Pang-iinsulto at Masamang Pakikitungo sa Empleyado Maaring Ituring na Constructive Dismissal

Maaaring ituring na constructive illegal dismissal ang pagbitiw ng isang empleyado dahil sa demotion o pagbaba sa ranggo, pang-iinsulto, masamang pakikitungo, at kawalan ng malasakit ng employer.

Ito ang naging Desisyon ng Korte Suprema sa kaso ng isang empleyado na napilitang mag-resign dala ng hostile work environment.

Sa Desisyon na isinulat ni Associate Justice Amy C. Lazaro-Javier, sinabi ng Korte Suprema na ang mga kilos ng employer na nagpapakita ng labis na pagkayamot sa empleyado tulad ng demotion, nakakainsultong pananalita, at kawalan ng malasakit o pakialam ay maituturing na constructive illegal dismissal kapag hindi na nakayanan ng empleyado ang kanyang kalagayan at napilitang magbitiw sa pwesto.

Ang pamantayan para malaman kung merong constructive dismissal ay kung ang isang makatuwirang empleyado ay mapipilitang iwanan ang kanyang trabaho dahil sa kanyang kalagayan.

Bagamat sinabi ng Korte Suprema na hindi talaga maiiwasang may mga matitinding salita na maaaring bitawan sa trabaho dahil sa hindi pagkakaunawaan, hindi ito dapat nakasisira sa dignidad ng mga empleyado.

Basahin ang buong press release: https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/sc-employers-insulting-words-hostile-behavior-toward-an-employee-constitute-constructive-dismissal/

Basahin ang buong kaso: https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/254465-jonathan-dy-chua-bartolome-vs-toyota-quezon-avenue-inc-lincoln-t-lim-esteban-dela-paz-jr-josefina-de-jesus-and-pauline-bacaling/

27/09/2024

22/08/2024

"True love is also always an act of rebellion."

Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen shared his personal views on law and relationships in his lecture “Legal and Political Foundations of the Current Restrictions on Intimacies and Relationships: A Critical View from the Bench” on February 14, 2024 at the UP College of Law.

08/08/2024

The Supreme Court has affirmed the dismissal of an Ombudsman official for fixing cases in exchange for money.

The Court found Rolando Zoleta from the Office of the Special Prosecutor administratively liable for grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

Read more at: https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/sc-affirms-dismissal-of-ombudsman-official-for-fixing-cases/

05/08/2024

17/07/2024

The Supreme Court has ruled that to be entitled to compensation under Section 3(a) of Republic Act No. 7309, an individual must have been unjustly imprisoned due to a conviction.

READ: https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/sc-prior-conviction-required-in-compensation-claims-for-unjust-imprisonment/

26/06/2024

Justice Cruz' Charisma!👨‍⚖️⚖️♎

The oozing charisma and wit of Justice Isagani A. Cruz as a ponencia are really incomparable. His ponencias are incisive, dramatic, and full of emotions, using mythology. Truly a legend. Very cutie.

“The Lyricist of the Court” by Justice Isagani Cruz

11/06/2024

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