[Full text below. Or see Table of Contents/Directory; Title I, Title II, Title III, Title IV, Title V, Title VI, Title VII, Title VIII, Title IX, Title X, Title XI, and Title XII]
Continue readingBouncing Checks (B.P. 22): What You Need to Know
Some people still have confidence, which confidence may be regarded as misplaced by others, in the deterrent effect of Batas Pambansa Blg. 22, also known as the “Bouncing Checks Law” (full text here). Here are some things a layman should know:
Continue readingThe Law Blog
The decision to put up a law blog did not come easy. The first and strongest argument against a legal blog is the formality that has come to be expected from anything that has to do with the practice of law, (i.e. dress codes, codes of conduct, rules of court and other codified rules of behavior). A blog, therefore, would appear to be an anathema to this strict and rigid environment where the observance of rules and protocols takes primacy.
The term “blog” itself (a contraction of the words “web log” to the cyber-challenged), in fact, speaks volumes about the kind of themes and environments one can expect from this evolution in internet communication. The general connotation, after all, is that a blog is, at its very core, an informal venue to share information. Blogs have in fact become sounding boards for the free exchange of ideas, sometimes even a venue for “selling” or in more politcally correct terms, “promoting” world views. At first blush, therefore, there appears to be two mutually exclusive ideas, the free-flowing-most-anything-goes world of bloggers and the highly “cannalized” or rule-bound world of lawyering where self-promotion is considered a mortal sin, on a head-on collision where in the end, there could be only one. Law students are taught that the law is a jealous mistress (or in deference to all things gender sensitive, its equivalent male term – jealous gigolo).
Continue readingPreamble (Philippine Constitution)
PREAMBLE
(1987 Philippine Constitution)
We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God, in order to build a just and humane society and establish a Government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations, promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution.
National Territory (Article I, Philippine Constitution): Full Text
ARTICLE l
NATIONAL TERRITORY
(1987 Philippine Constitution)
The national territory comprises the Philippine archipelago, with all the islands and waters embraced therein, and all other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction, consisting of its terrestrial, fluvial and aerial domains, including its territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves, and other submarine areas. The waters around between, the connecting the islands of the archipelago, regardless of their breadth and dimensions, from part of the internal waters of the Philippines.
Declaration of Principles and State Policies (Article II, Philippine Constitution): Full Text
ARTICLE II
DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES AND STATE POLICIES
(1987 Philippine Constitution)
Principles
Section 1. The Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.
Continue readingBill of Rights (Article III, Philippine Constitution): Full Text
ARTICLE III
BILL OF RIGHTS
(1987 Philippine Constitution)
Section 1. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws.
Continue readingCitizenship (Article IV, Philippine Constitution): Full Text
ARTICLE IV
CITIZENSHIP
(1987 Philippine Constitution)
Section 1. The following are citizens of the Philippines:
1. Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of the adoption of this Constitution;
2. Those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of the Philippines;
3. Those born before January 17, 1973, of Filipino mothers, who elect Philippine citizenship upon reaching the age of majority; and
4. Those who are naturalized in accordance with law.
Continue readingSuffrage (Article V, Philippine Constitution): Full Text
ARTICLE V
SUFFRAGE
(1987 Philippine Constitution)
Section 1. Suffrage may be exercised by all citizens of the Philippines not otherwise disqualified by law, who are at least eighteen years of age, and who shall have resided in the Philippines for at least one year and in the place wherein they propose to vote for at least six months immediately preceding the election. No literacy, property, or other substantive requirement shall be imposed on the exercise of suffrage.
Continue readingThe Legislative Department (Article VI, Philippine Constitution): Full Text
ARTICLE VI
THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT
(1987 Philippine Constitution)
Section 1. The legislative power shall be vested in the Congress of the Philippines which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives, except to the extent reserved to the people by the provision on initiative and referendum.
Continue reading