Atty. Mikhaela A.

16/10/2022

14/10/2022

Rooting for all of you. 🌻

“Remember that who you are will never be approximated by any single test.” A note to the 2022 Bar examinees from Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa.

13/10/2022

PRESIDENT MARCOS JR. SIGNS BSKE POSTPONEMENT BILL INTO LAW

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed into law the measure postponing the 2022 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) to the last Monday of October 2023.

The new law states that all incumbent barangay and youth officials must serve until their successors are elected or they are sooner removed or suspended for cause.

After October 2023, the next local elections will be held every three years.

12/10/2022

Kulang ang sukli dahil walang barya? Candy nalang ang sukli? Tama ba ito????

The Department of Trade and Industry issued Department Administrative Order (DAO) No. 16-03 or the “Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 10909, “An Act Prohibiting Business Establishments from giving Insufficient or No Change to Consumers and Providing Penalties Therefor” last December 21, 2016.

The Law and the DAO are aimed at protecting the consumers against deceptive, unfair and unconscionable sales acts and practices, among other things.

Business establishments are prohibited from shortchanging a consumer, even if such change is only a small amount. Also, they are to give only change in the present currency. It shall also be prohibited to ask consumers for permission to be exempted from the rule because of unavailability of small bills or coins. Penalties range from Php 500.00 to Php 25,000.00.

Should you experience being shortchanged, file a complaint with the DTI. 🌻

12/10/2022

Nawala ang titilo ng iyong lupa, pwede ka bang mag request ng bago?

Oo naman.

The requirements for the issuance of a duplicate copy of a lost title is found under Section 109 of Presidential Decree (PD) 1529, otherwise known as the "Property Registration Decree." The said provision of the law specifically provides that:

"In case of loss or theft of an owner's duplicate certificate of title, due notice under oath shall be sent by the owner or by someone in his behalf to the Register of Deeds of the province or city where the land lies as soon as the loss or theft is discovered. If a duplicate certificate is lost or destroyed, or cannot be produced by a person applying for the entry of a new certificate to him or for the registration of any instrument, a sworn statement of the fact of such loss or destruction may be filed by the registered owner or other person in interest and registered.

"Upon the petition of the registered owner or other person in interest, the court may, after notice and due hearing, direct the issuance of a new duplicate certificate, which shall contain a memorandum of the fact that it is issued in place of the lost duplicate certificate, but shall in all respects be entitled to like faith and credit as the original duplicate, and shall thereafter be regarded as such for all purposes of this decree."

Take note that both the notice to the Registry of Deeds and trial before a court are essential requirements for the issuance of a duplicate title but the same will not be a guaranty that the court will grant your claim. This is in consonance with the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Republic of the Philippines vs. Ciruelas (GR 239505, Feb. 17, 2021).

11/10/2022

Congratulations to all legislators who pushed for the enactment of this law.

The law aims to put an end to the unscrupulous practice of using the cellular phone as a tool of oppression. This law will unmask those people behind the spam text messages or those who use the cellular phones to intimidate, threaten or blackmail hapless victims.

It's official: President Bongbong Marcos signs into law the bill seeking to mandate the registration of Subscriber Identity Module or SIM amid the alarming proliferation of spam and scam messages.

READ: bit.ly/3Vjlbhh

10/10/2022

Judges and lawyers are important actors in the effective dispensation of justice. To threaten judges and lawyers is to threaten the rule of law and the protection of human rights. https://bit.ly/3LXZAa9

10/10/2022

DRUG DEN

When I came across this article on my FB wall, I thought it deserved a discussion for the enlightenment of my readers. According to this news article posted by Rappler, a certain PNP Master Sargeant assigned to Drug Enforcement Group was the maintainer of a "drug den." His involvement is based on the finding of his PNP issued identification card. So, here it goes.

What is a drug den?

Section 6 of RA 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs of 2002) defines a drug den as a lair or hideaway where prohibited or regulated drugs are used in any form or are found. Its existence may be proved not only by direct evidence but may also be established by proof of facts and circumstances, including evidence of the general reputation of the house, or its general reputation among police officers.

Elements

For an accused to be convicted of maintenance of a drug den, the prosecution must establish that the accused is maintaining a den where any dangerous drug is administered, used, or sold. Two things must be established, thus: (a) that the place is a den - a place where any dangerous drug is administered, delivered, stored for illegal purposes, distributed, sold, or used in any form; (b) that the accused maintains the said place. Hence, it is not enough that the dangerous drug or drug paraphernalia were found in the place. There must also be a clear showing that the accused is the maintainer or operator or the owner of the place where the dangerous drug is used or sold.

Element of regularity

Under this section, it is required that the prosecution must establish that the alleged drug den is a place where dangerous drugs are regularly sold to and/or used by customers of the maintainer of the den. The word "regular" means doing the same thing in uniform intervals, or something that is a common occurrence. Thus, a single occurrence of illegal activity in the house of the accused cannot be considered as an element of regularity to justify the house as a drug den. Similarly, a single isolated occasion where one sees another person sniffing shabu inside a residence, even if true, does not automatically convert that residence into a den. The element of regularity is conspicuously absent.

A mere finding of a drug paraphernalia inside the shanty, the driver’s license of the accused, and a photograph cannot be the basis for the conviction under this Section. These items do not prove that the shanty was being used as a drug den. The driver's license and picture only bolster the allegation that the accused owned or occupied the place. It did not establish the fact that the place was a drug den.

However, it was held in one case that the offer of the accused to use the place where he can sniff shabu is enough. The Court declared there was a drug den based on the testimony of the poseur-buyer, who after buying the shabu had told the accused that he wanted to sniff the same to which the latter responded by requiring the former to pay a rental fee of P10.00. The accused, thereafter, allowed the poseur-buyer to enter his house and directed him to proceed to one of the rooms located at the right side of the sala.

21/09/2022

Unfaithfulness is also punishable under Republic Act No. RA 9262 , otherwise known as the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Law (“VAWC Law”). Repeated marital infidelity is considered as psychological violence which is punishable with a stiffer imprisonment of 6 years and 1 day to 12 years. Since violation of the VAWC law is a public crime, the complaint may be filed by any citizen having personal knowledge of the circumstances.

21/09/2022

Why do husbands cheat on their wives? We do not know the answer to that. However, we do know that cheating on one’s wife is punishable by the Revised Penal Code or RPC.

Under Article 334 of the RPC, concubinage refers to the cohabitation of a married man with a mistress in the same or conjugal dwelling or an involvement of a married man with a woman who is not his wife in any other place. The sexual in*******se of the married man to the concubine took place under scandalous circumstance.

Concubinage is a private crime. Thus, the complaint must be lodged by the offended wife and no one else.

It is punishable by imprisonment ranging from 6 months and 1 day to 4 years and 2 months. On the other hand, the mistress is merely imposed a punishment of destierro.