Decision summaries
What each Supreme Court decision decided, in a sentence or two. Open one and use its Summary tab for the facts, issue and ruling in plain language or lawyer mode. These are study aids, not legal advice. Check the decision itself before you rely on it.
- A.C. 10372Feb 2023Aurora R. Ladim, Angelito a. Ardiente and Danilo S. dela Cruz v. Atty. Perla D. RamirezA lawyer who was already suspended for offensive behavior and then hurled insults at the Court's Bar Confidant was disbarred, meaning she lost her license to practice law.
- G.R. 188933Feb 2023Philippine Home Cable Holdings, Inc. v. Filipino Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers, IncA cable TV operator that runs its own karaoke channels, and plays songs on them without a license from the songwriters' society, infringes the copyright owners' right to communicate their songs to the public.
- A.C. 11495Feb 2023(Formerly Cbd Case No. 17-5466) Norma F. Flores and Mark Sherwin F. Flores v. Atty. William F. Delos SantosA lawyer who took money from a client's mother by falsely promising to bribe Court of Appeals Justices, and who neglected the appeal, was disbarred and ordered to return the money.
- A.C. 13468Feb 2023(Formerly Cbd Case No. 17-5379) Ryan Anthony O. Lim v. Atty. Carlo Marco BautistaA lawyer who takes millions of pesos from a client by claiming he can influence prosecutors to get a favorable result is disbarred.
- G.R. 250307Feb 2023People of the Philippines, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Robert Uy y Ting, Ong Chi Seng* @ Jackie** Ong or Archie, Co Ching Ki*** @ Chai Ong, Tan Ty Siao, Go Siak Ping, James Go Ong @ William Gan,**** Accused, Robert Uy y Ting, Accused-AppellantEven when police seize a huge amount of illegal drugs, the accused goes free if the police did not follow the required steps for handling the evidence and cannot prove the drugs presented in court are the same ones seized.
- G.R. 211363Feb 2023Estrella Pabalan v. Vasudave SabnaniCourts will not cut very high interest and penalty rates in a loan when both sides were businesspeople on equal footing who freely agreed to the terms.
- G.R. 209216Feb 2023Executive Secretary Leandro Mendoza, Department of Energy-department of Justice Joint Task Force, and Department of Energy Secretary Angelo T.* Reyes v. Pilipinas Shell Petroleum CorporationThe law letting the Department of Energy temporarily take over oil companies during a national emergency is constitutional, because the Energy Secretary acts as the President's alter ego and the President can disapprove what the Secretary does.
- A.C. 13678Feb 2023(Formerly Cbd Case No. 18-5805) Ehrenfrel C. Azarraga v. Atty. Eduardo L. JalbunaA lawyer who is also a notary public must record every notarized document correctly in his notarial register, and failing to do so can lead to suspension from law practice, but using a person's marriage certificate as evidence in a court case was allowed under the Data Privacy Act as it then stood.
- A.C. 13636Feb 2023(Formerly Cbd Case No. 15-4510) Heir of Herminigildo a. Unite, Represented by His Sole Heir Florentino S. Unite, and Heir of Odylon Unite Torrices, Represented by Sole Heir Miguel B. Torrices v. Atty. Raymund P. GuzmanA lawyer who notarized a deed of donation without checking the signers' identities, for the third time with the same landowner, was suspended for two years and can never again be a notary public.
- G.R. 227396Feb 2023People of the Philippines v. Milo Leocadio y LabradorA man who claimed he killed a child by accident was convicted of rape with homicide because the evidence showed deliberate violence and an unbroken chain of circumstances pointing to him.
- G.R. 200106Feb 2023Datu Akmad "Tato" Ampatuan, Sr. v. Hon. Secretary of Justice, Families of the Murdered Victims, Atty. Concepcion Brizuela y Jaime, Genalin Mangudadatu y Tiamson, Eden Mangudadatu y Gaguil, Farinah Hassan, Surayda Bernan y Gaguil, Mamotabai Mangudadatu, Wahida Kalim y Ali, Rowena Ante y Mangudadatu, Raida Abdul y Sapalon, Farinah Sabdullah y Caguil, Pinky Baylman, Marife Montano y Cardova, Rosell Morales y Vivas, Eugene Demillo y Pamansag, Bienvenido Legarta, Marites Cablitas, Norton Sedick Edza y Ebus, Razul Daud y Bulilo, Andres M. Teodoro, Abdillah Ayada, Wilhem S. Palabrica, Alejandro M. Reblando, John Caniban, Mercy Palabrica, Catalino Oquendo, Jr., Cynthia Oquendo-Ayon, Francisco Ian Subang, Jr., Noel Decena, Anthony a. Ridao, Rahima P. Palawan, Napeleon Salaysay, Eleonor Leah Dalmacio, Meriam Calimbol, Hannibal D. Cacuela, Jephon Cadagdagon, Mac Delbert (Macmac) Areola, Romeo Jimmy "Pal-Ak" Cabillo, Santos "Junpee" Gatchalian, Jr., Arturo Betia, Rey v. Merisco, Joel v. Parcon, Jose "Joy" Duhay, Ronnie L. Perante, Rubello R. Bataluna, Bengie H. Adolfo, Henry H. Araneta, Ernesto "Bombo Bart" S. Maravilla, Jr., Jolito Evardo, Daniel Tiamzon, Victor O. Nuñez, Eduardo D. Lechonsito, Cecille Lechonsito, Fernando "Ranny" P. Razon, Lindo Lupogan, and Daryll Vincent Delos ReyesDeciding whether there is enough evidence to charge someone with a crime is the prosecution's job, and a later acquittal in court does not make the earlier charging decision wrong.
- G.R. 220706Feb 2023Land Bank of the Philippines v. Maria Josefina G. Miranda,* Maria Josefina G. Miranda Vs. Land Bank of the PhilippinesA bank that sells a borrower a mortgage redemption insurance it knows will not cover her loan is liable for damages, even though the insurance never took effect.
- G.R. 252063Feb 2023Mandaue City College, Represented by Dr. Paulus Mariae L. CAñete v. Commission on Higher Education (Ched)The Commission on Higher Education can order the closure of a school offering college programs without authority, and a faction that is not the school the city created cannot escape this by claiming automatic recognition.
- G.R. 223450Feb 2023Romago, Inc. and Francisco Gonzalez v. Associated Bank (Now United Overseas Bank Phils.) and Metallor Trading CorporationA borrower is not freed from a loan just because a third party offered to pay it or made payments, unless the lender clearly agreed to release the borrower; but unreasonable interest rates are cut down to the legal rate.
- G.R. 224097Feb 2023Keng Hua Paper Products Co., Inc. and James Yu v. Carlos E. Ainza, Primo dela Cruz, and Benjamin R. GelicamiAn employer that stops work for more than six months and then does not follow the legal steps for ending employment is liable for illegal dismissal.
- G.R. 257982Feb 2023Fatima B. Gonzales-Asdala v. Metropolitan Bank and Trust CompanyA widow could not use her late husband's loan insurance to pay off the bank loan, because the insurance was taken out on her own life only and the land was presumed conjugal.
- G.R. 233446Feb 2023Edenison F. Fainsan, Leonila D. Querijero, Rolando E. Josef, Cleofe a. Ablog and Robert C. Nacianceno v. Field Investigation Office (Office of the Ombudsman)The Metro Manila Film Festival Executive Committee is a public office, so its members are public officers who can be investigated by the Ombudsman for misusing festival funds.
- G.R. 251778Feb 2023Giovanni Santos Purugganan v. People of the PhilippinesA government examiner who demanded money to speed up a land titling and then handled the envelope of marked cash in an entrapment was properly convicted of direct bribery, though his minimum prison term was lowered.
- G.R. 222897Feb 2023Sta. Lucia Realty and Development, Incorporated v. Edsel B. Lumawag, Afp Retirement and Separation Benefits System, and Lourdes Pearce Afp Retirement and Separation Benefits System Vs. Edsel B. Lumawag, Lourdes Pearce, and Sta. Lucia Realty and Development, IncorporatedA seller who sits on a known problem with the lot and fails to deliver title to a fully paying buyer acts in bad faith and owes damages, while a neighbor who builds on the wrong lot by honest mistake is a builder in good faith but may still owe damages for her own negligence.
- G.R. 256839Feb 2023People of the Philippines v. Bobby Lopina y Labestre Alias "Barok,"A person cannot be convicted of running a drug den from one single drug sale at his house, especially when the police did not properly record who held the seized drugs.