The main character in John Grisham’s novel entitled The Rainmaker which became a movie of the same title, and which starred Matt Damon as the neophyte lawyer, Rudy Baylor, had a side-kick played by Danny De Vito. Danny De Vito’s role was not a lawyer but he was dispensing
May 27, 2023
With the clamor for further investigations on the construction of the Ungka Flyover (UFO) gaining traction, it brings to the fore the legal angles to be reckoned in said investigations. When public officers perform their legally mandated functions, especially when public funds are dispensed, public interest is always involved.
May 20, 2023
Barring extraordinary or extremely compelling circumstances, the custody of a minor cannot be taken away from the mother. Under the Family Code, joint parental authority is exercised by parents over their legitimate children. However, as to children born to parents who are unmarried, preferably called “non-marital children”, sole parental
May 12, 2023
Just shy of 4,000, the 2022 successful bar examination takers had taken their oath and signed the sacred Roll of Attorneys at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City, Manila, on 02 May 2023. This certifies them as full-fledged attorneys-at-law. The excitement is all over from inside
May 6, 2023
Labor Day is coming up on May 1. It is redolent of the issue concerning the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) that seems to permeate every human endeavor. Thus the swirling question: how much of human labor must be replaced by AI? Advanced forms of AI can do human
April 29, 2023
Still without a divorce law, the Philippines is making baby steps to get there in terms of legislation. For now, uncoupling means to go through the rigorous and litigious process of filing a petition for nullity of marriage pursuant to Article 36 of the New Family Code. While eluding
April 22, 2023
Why do I write? Many people have asked me why I still write for this column when on a daily basis, I write and edit pleadings bound for the courts. Ruminating aloud, my mom asked me in wonder where I find the energy to still write when she sees
April 15, 2023
On the eve of the release of the Bar results on 14 April 2023, poignant thoughts kept swirling in my mind. A handful of my students had taken the 2022 Bar exams and the optimistic side of me is saying that many of them will make the list. They
April 13, 2023
It is accounted in Matthew 28:8-15, that when the “women left the empty tomb, they met Jesus on their way…” The event marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ. What is remarkable in this narration is how the disciples had instantly recognized Jesus even after he was supposedly buried in
April 10, 2023
It is pure coincidence that the first three (3) letters of my favorite sport happens to be the same letters of the life I’m living. I started out young – around 9 years old- when I was introduced to lawn tennis. Unfortunately, the tennis courts that were mute witnesses
April 1, 2023
News swirled from tweets and posts that the results of the 2022 Bar exams which were rolled out last November 2022 will be out anytime soon. Social media has been abuzz with the scheduled oath-taking and signing of the roll of attorneys this coming May, which are requirements for
March 25, 2023
“I’m tired of doing the impossible for the ungrateful” lamented Denzel Washington while assuming the role of Roman J, in a movie. Roman J is based on the true story of a lawyer in California who struggled with moral and ethical issues in the legal profession. Back in the
March 18, 2023