Deadlines for all papers, pleadings, documents, and payments at the Intellectual Property Office (IPOPHL), falling due from 16 March 2020 to 15 May 2020, have been extended.
Continue readingThe President identified areas under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) and General Community Quarantine (GCQ), and declared that no LGU shall declare its own community quarantine without observing the procedures set forth by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF). The definitive guidelines are contained in Executive Order No. 112 issued on 30 April 2020. [Update: Revised list, as of 15 May 2020]
Continue readingForeign investors who wish to do business in the Philippines has two options in terms of registration. Non-Filipinos can either: (a) secure a license to do business as a foreign corporation in the Philippines; OR (b) register a foreign-owned corporation in the Philippines. A variant of option (b) is to invest in an existing Philippine company.
Continue readingThe interim guidelines on workplace prevention and control of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) for the private sector has been jointly issued by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on 30 April 2020. This is in accordance with the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) for various government agencies to issue guidelines for the public and other stakeholders (see also 5-step guide for employers). The provisions of the interim guidelines are reproduced below.
Continue readingDepartment of Trade and Industry (DTI) has issued guidelines on the interruption of periods related to the filing of appeals with the Office of the Secretary and suspension of rendition of judgments and other actions. The guidelines are contained in DTI Memorandum Circular No. 20-20 dated 27 April 2020.
Continue reading[The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) issued Labor Advisory No. 15, series of 2020, as guide for the computation of holiday pay for 1 May 2020, Labor Day. Establishments that have totally closed or ceased operations during the enhanced community quarantine are exempted from paying holiday pay. For operating establishments, the payment of holiday pay for Labor Day is deferred. The full text of Labor Advisory No. 15 is reproduced below.]
Continue reading[Full text of Joint Memorandum Circular No. 1-2020 dated 30 April 2020, issued by the Social Security System (SSS), Department of Finance (DOF), and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). See also Amendments per JMC 2-2020, Return/Refund of SBWS and Second Tranche of SBWS.]
Continue readingA foreign corporation who wishes to do business in the Philippines must secure the necessary license from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Should the foreign corporation secure a license, it must make the necessary securities deposit. The details on securities deposit are discussed below.
Continue readingDefinition and characterization of terms as used in the Securities Regulation Code (Republic Act No. 8799), the “2015 Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Securities Regulation Code” (2015 SRC Rules) and other related issuances, including the Rules and Regulations Governing Crowdfunding (CF). This is a work in progress.
Continue readingThe Philippine Constitution emphatically provides that no person shall be deprived of liberty without due process of law and no warrant of arrest shall issue except upon probable cause to be determined personally by the judge (Art. III, Secs. 1 and 2). As a general rule, no one can be arrested without a valid warrant, which is likewise true in search and seizure). There are three recognized exceptions to the constitutional prohibition on warrantless arrests. These valid warrantless arrests are: (a) In flagrante delicto arrests; (b) “Hot pursuit” arrests; and (c) Re-arrest of escaped prisoners.
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