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.
- G.R. 255286Nov 2023Civil Service Commission v. Epifany AlonzoThe Civil Service Commission can still go after a government employee who lies about his qualifications to get a promotion even if his own agency already cleared him, but it must prove the lie with enough evidence.
- A.C. 11710Nov 2023Wilfredo B. Reyes v. Atty. Sherwin Prose C. CastañedaA lawyer cannot be disciplined for charges that the complainant fails to prove with admissible evidence, and he cannot be punished for ignoring orders he never received, though he can still be fined for ignoring the Court's own order.
- G.R. 263449Nov 2023Xxx,* v. People of the PhilippinesA husband who abandons his wife without explanation can be convicted of causing her psychological violence under R.A. 9262, because abandonment naturally causes emotional suffering to a spouse he is obliged to live with and support.
- G.R. 256759Nov 2023Xxx v. People of the PhilippinesA husband who fails to give enough money for his family is not guilty of causing psychological violence under the anti-violence law unless it is proven that he deliberately withheld support in order to cause his wife or children mental or emotional suffering.
- G.R. 265439Nov 2023People of the Philippines v. Xxx265439A 17-year-old who raped his nine-year-old niece is guilty of statutory rape and not the qualified form, because the charge did not state the exact family relationship, and he is guilty of two counts, not three, since the two acts on one day were not separate.
- G.R. 265373Nov 2023Province of Maguindanao del Norte, Represented by Its Governor Fatima Ainee Limbona Sinsuat v. Bureau of Local Government Finance, Regional Office No. Xii, Represented by Its Acting Regional Director June Ann C. Abella; Bureau of Local Government Finance, Central Office, Represented by Oic Executive Director Ma. Pamela P. Quizon; Ministry of the Interior and Local Government, Represented by Minister Naguib G. Sinarimbo, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim MindanaoA person who accepts a different government post and takes an oath for it gives up her claim to the first post, which makes a case about that claim moot.
- G.R. 262889Nov 2023Sps. Buenaventura Balucan, Jr. and Yolanda y. Balucan, Ruth M. Cabusas, Gemma Barcelona and Myann Balucan v. Sps. Lennie B. Nageli and Rudolf Nageli, Represented by Their Attorneys-in-Fact, Sps. Eppie B. Fadrigo and Teodorico FadrigoOnly people with a real stake, such as possible farmer-beneficiaries, can ask the DAR to disqualify agrarian reform beneficiaries, so a complaint by outsiders claiming to be landowners cannot stand.
- G.R. 260504Nov 2023(Formerly Udk 17607) Xxx260504 v. Aaa260504A father acquitted of a VAWC charge for withholding child support because of reasonable doubt can still be made to pay support in the same case, but only after he has been allowed to present evidence on it.
- G.R. 261422Nov 2023(Formerly Udk-17206) Aaa261422, a Minor and Represented by Yyy261422 v. Xxx261422An acquittal that ignores the victim's evidence and rests on guesswork denies due process and is void, so a child victim could challenge it on her own and the accused was convicted.
- G.R. 188655Nov 2023Next Mobile, Inc. v. National Telecommunications Commission Next Mobile, Inc. Vs. National Telecommunications Commission Express Telecommunications Co. Inc.-in-Intervention. National Telecommunications Commission Express Telecommunications Co. Inc.-in-Intervention. Vs. Bayan Telecommunications, Inc. Multi-Media Telephony, Inc. Vs. Pacific Wireless, Inc., Connectivity Unlimited Resource Enterprise, Inc., Az Communications, Inc., Next Mobile Inc., Smart Communications, Inc., Globe Telecommunications, Inc., Bayan Telecommunications, Inc., Digitel Mobile Philippines, Inc., Capitol Wireless, Inc., and National Telecommunications Commission Express Telecommunications Co. Inc.-in-InterventionThe National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) may use a points system to rank applicants for 3G radio frequencies, and courts will not overturn its technical findings unless there is a very clear showing of serious violation of law, fraud, personal malice or wanton oppression.
- G.R. 264192Nov 2023People of the Philippines v. Rebecca S. TiotangcoIn a criminal tax case, the court must also decide how much tax the accused owes, even if the tax bureau never issued a valid final assessment.
- G.R. 262520Nov 2023People of the Philippines v. XxxRape of a minor by the common-law partner of her mother is qualified rape when the charge sheet states the girl's age and that relationship and both are proven.
- G.R. 265117Nov 2023Antonio Abiang y Cabonce v. People of the PhilippinesEvidence taken in a search is thrown out, and the accused goes free, when the search warrant has no record showing the judge found probable cause.
- G.R. 220087Nov 2023Hacienda San Isidro/silos Farms and Rey Silos Llamado v. Lucito Villaruel and Helen VillaruelA seasonal farm worker hired repeatedly for the same work over more than one season is a regular employee, even if she is paid per task or is free to work for others.
- G.R. 256939Nov 2023Janssen D. Perez v. Jp Morgan Chase Bank N.a. – Philippine Global Service CenterAn employee who joins in profane, lewd chats with coworkers on company tools during office hours, and sends company information to a personal email in violation of company rules, can be validly dismissed for serious misconduct.
- G.R. 194897Nov 2023Substituted Heirs of Jaime S.t. Valiente, Represented by Attorney-in-Fact, Cyril a. Valiente v. Virginia a. Valiente, Rizaardo a. Valiente, Potenciana a. Valiente, Berenice a. Valiente, Visferdo a. Valiente, and Corazon a. ValienteHeirs who wait decades to ask for partition, and cannot prove their claims, lose their case, while a notarized deed of sale is presumed genuine unless forgery is clearly proven.
- G.R. 212330Nov 2023Estate of Ferdinand E. Marcos v. Republic of the Philippines Estate of Ferdinand E. Marcos Vs. Presidential Commission on Good Government and Philippine Tourism AuthorityThe Sandiganbayan, the anti-graft court, can decide whether a lease over land alleged to be ill-gotten wealth is valid, and the Court declared the 1978 lease between Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. and the Philippine Tourism Authority void because he did not own the land and had a forbidden financial interest in it.
- A.C. 11093Nov 2023Lucrecia Q. Mamugay, and Perfecto O. Saliga, Sr. v. Atty. Elmer dela RosaA lawyer who sold his clients' land without their consent and notarized a document supposedly signed by people who were already dead is disbarred, and even if he was already disbarred the penalty is still recorded and he is fined.
- G.R. 253199Nov 2023Raul F. Macalino v. Commission on AuditA candidate who lost an election cannot be given any government job within one year, even under a contract of service, and the pay he received must be returned.
- A.M. SCC-23-002-JNov 2023Lita G. Ong-Thomas v. Hon. Montano K. Kalimpo, Presiding Judge (Now Retired), Shari'Ah Circuit Court, Cotabato City, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, and Mohammad a. Abdulrahman, Clerk of Court II, Same CourtCourt personnel who answer serious accusations with bare denials instead of documents, and who let cases sit idle, can be fined even when the accusation of conspiracy is not proven.