JMC Legal Assistance Center

The Jose Maria College of Law thru the JMC – Legal Assistance Center, in Partnership with GoJust (Governance for Justice) – Davao Justice Zone and Bureau of Jail and Penology XI, conducted a Legal Aid and Outreach Program at the Davao City Jail on 20 October 2023.

To alleviate the heavy jail congestion, the Law Student Practitioners (LSPs) of JMC College of Law conducted interviews and case record assessments to properly determine factors that prolong the stay of Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) in the City Jail. With the gathered data and information, the LSPs, thru the supervision of Atty. Gretchen Cañedo and Atty. Raia Angelie Tumanda, shall coordinate with and assist the Private lawyers and Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) lawyers in the preparation and filing of the necessary pleadings in court to facilitate the movement of the PDLs cases and eventual release and reintegration to the society.

At the same time, an outreach program was conducted by donating several basic hygiene necessities to the PDLs, medicines for common illnesses, and Blood Pressure Apparatus (Aneroid Sphygmomanometers and Stethoscopes).

The JMC-LAC would like to express its heartfelt gratitude to our partners:

1. GoJust-Davao Justice Zone,
2. Bureau of Jail and Management XI (BJMP XI) Regional Director JCSUPT. JOLLY C. TAGUIAM JR., JCINSP ELMERO L. MATONDO (BJMP XI – Chief Legal Officer), and all their personnel; and
3. To the JMC College of Law Alumni Atty. Eunice Ambrosio, Atty. Nhassie John Gonzaga, and Atty. Adrian Pajaro.

Lastly, our sincerest thanks to the JMC College of Law Community for their prompt and generous support of the Outreach Program and to the all Law Student Practitioners who actively participated in this successful activity.

The JMC Legal Assistance Center is now OPEN to provide online assistance.

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📞 Reach out to us at 0926-6867-521 or 0960-2690-836.
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❗️NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC ❗️

This area is under the ownership of different government agencies per Proclamation No. 1354, signed by Pres. Rodrigo Duterte, where the future 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 (RGC), situated at Brgy. Bago Oshiro, Davao City, will be erected. We want to ensure that everyone is well-informed that this land is NOT for sale, and we strongly advise against purchasing any subdivided lots here.

The RGC has an area of THREE MILLION FIVE HUNDRED FIFTY-SEVEN THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED SEVENTY-SIX (3, 557, 376) square meters.

Migs Palma Gil Elupd Dhsud XI DHSUD DAVAO - Housing and Real Estate Development Regulation Division DHSUD Davao - Public Housing & Settlements Division City Government of Davao Davao City Planning and Development Office Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development

Barangay Caravan Program Series

April 4, 2023 – Law Student Practitioners (LSPs) of JMCFI College of Law Legal Assistance Center again rendered legal aid services during the Barangay Caravan Program of the City Government of Davao at Brgy. Kapitan Tomas Monteverde, Agdao District. The LSPs were assisted by Atty. Francis Fernandez.

Under the Revised Law Student Practice Rule (A.M. No. 19-03-24-SC Rule 138-A), Certified LSPs under the Clinical Legal Education Program (CLEP) of the law school are allowed to engage in a limited practice of law by drafting legal documents and legal counselling and advice, among others, in order to increase public access to legal services.

This is consistent with the objective of the Barangay Caravan to extend local and national services of various government agencies and instrumentalities, including legal services, closer to the people.

JMC - LAC would like to thank the City Government of Davao especially the City Mayor’s Office for allowing our LSPs to participate in the caravan.

Barangay Caravan Program Series

March 16, 2023 – Law Student Practitioners (LSPs) of JMCFI College of Law Legal Assistance Center again rendered legal aid services during the Barangay Caravan Program of the City Government of Davao at Brgy. Bato, Toril. The LSPs were assisted by Atty. Mariel Ariane Monton. The city mayor, Mayor Sebastian "Baste" Duterte was also present during the caravan.

Under the Revised Law Student Practice Rule (A.M. No. 19-03-24-SC Rule 138-A), Certified LSPs under the Clinical Legal Education Program (CLEP) of the law school are allowed to engage in a limited practice of law by drafting legal documents and legal counselling and advice, among others, in order to increase public access to legal services.

This is consistent with the objective of the Barangay Caravan to extend local and national services of various government agencies and instrumentalities, including legal services, closer to the people.

JMC - LAC would like to thank the City Government of Davao especially the City Mayor’s Office for allowing our LSPs to participate in the caravan.

Barangay Caravan Program Series

March 10, 2023 – Law Student Practitioners (LSPs) of JMCFI College of Law Legal Assistance Center again rendered legal aid services during the Barangay Caravan Program of the City Government of Davao at Brgy. Calinan. The LSPs were assisted by Atty. Gretchen Cañedo.

Under the Revised Law Student Practice Rule (A.M. No. 19-03-24-SC Rule 138-A), Certified LSPs under the Clinical Legal Education Program (CLEP) of the law school are allowed to engage in a limited practice of law by drafting legal documents and legal counselling and advice, among others, in order to increase public access to legal services.

This is consistent with the objective of the Barangay Caravan to extend local and national services of various government agencies and instrumentalities, including legal services, closer to the people.

JMC - LAC would like to thank the City Government of Davao especially the City Mayor’s Office for allowing our LSPs to participate in the caravan.

See you on the next service caravan on March 16, 2023 at Barangay Bato, Toril!

March 9, 2023

The Law Student Practitioners of JMC-Legal Assistance Center assisted a client in filing a small claims action before the MTCC of Davao City. The LSPs were supervised by Dean Israelito Torreon, Assistant Dean Resci Angelli Rizada-Nolasco, Atty. Raia Angeli Tumanda, Atty. Gretchen Cañedo, and Atty. Reginald Matt Santiago.

JMC – LAC aims to assist clients particularly the marginalized sector of the society and provide efficient basic legal services to the communities.

Law student practitioners from JMCFI College of Law joined the Barangay Service Caravan of the City Government of Davao at Barangay Gumalang, Baguio District

Pursuant to the Legal Assistance Center’s mission of making justice accessible to the people, law student practitioners participated in the very first service caravan of the City Government of Davao for 2023 at Barangay Gumalang. The students were assisted by Assistant Dean Resci Angelli Rizada-Nolasco and volunteer lawyer, Atty. Jaime Rene Nolasco.

Apart from the JMCFI College of Law, participating local offices are the Ancillary Services Unit (ASU), the Barangay Cultural Communities Affairs Divison (BCCAD), the City Agriculturist Office (CAgro), the City Assessor’s Office (CAO), the City Cooperative and Development Office (CCDO), the City Civil Registrar’s Office (CCRO), the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO), the City Health Office (CHO), the City Information Office (CIO), the City Legal Office (CLO), the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO), the City Transport and Traffic Management Office (CTTMO), the City Veterinarian’s Office (CVO), the Educational Benefit System Unit (EBSU), the Office of the Senior Citizen Affairs (OSCA), the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) and the City Mayor’s Office (CMO). Aside from the offices already mentioned, the participating national government agencies are the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), Landbank of the Philippines (LBP), Land Registration Authority (LRA), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), PAG-IBIG, Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHIC), Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Philippine National Police (Davao City Police Office), Social Security System, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines/Task Force Davao.

The next barangay service caravan will be on March 6, 2023 at Barangay Lamanan, Calinan.

SC: Abusive Mothers can be Offenders under VAWC Law; Fathers can File Case on Behalf of Abused Children

FULL TEXT OF G.R. No. 239215 dated July 12, 2022 at https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/32898/

Knutson v. Knutson (G.R. No. 239215. July 12, 2022)

Facts:
In 2011, Randy Knutson (Randy) and his wife (Rosalina) lived in the Philippines with their daughter named Rhuby Knutson. (Rhuby). However, they became estranged after Randy discovered Rosalina’s infidelity.

Thereafter, Rosalina got hooked on casinos and incurred huge gambling debts which prompted her to sell their house and lot, condominium unit, and vehicles which Randy provided for the family. She even left Rhuby under the care of strangers. Randy then discovered that Rosalina committed abusive acts against Rhuby: pulling her hair, slapping her face, and knocking her head. One time, Rosalina pointed a knife at Rhuby and threatened to kill her. Rosalina even texted Randy about her plan to kill their daughter and commit su***de. Ma*****na plants were even confiscated on the leased premises of Rosalina. Randy reported the matter to the police station but to no avail.

Randy then filed a petition under RA 9262 for the issuance of TPO on behalf of their daughter. RTC dismissed it, so Randy filed a certiorari case to the SC.

Issue:
Whether or not the father can represent the child in filing a case against RA 9262 against the abusive mother of the child.

Ruling:
Yes. The mother can be liable for VAWC because Section 9 (b ) of RA No. 9262 explicitly allows "parents or guardians of the offended party" to file a petition for protection orders. The statute categorically used the word "parents" which pertains to the father and the mother of the woman or child victim. The law speaks in clear language and no explanation is required. There is no occasion for the Court to interpret but only to apply the law when it is not ambiguous. Similarly, the statute did not qualify who between the parents of the victim may apply for protection orders. When the law does not distinguish, the courts must not distinguish.

Logically, a mother who maltreated her child resulting in physical, sexual, or psychological violence defined and penalized under RA No. 9262 is not absolved from criminal liability notwithstanding that the measure is intended to protect both women and their children. This is also in consonance with the State's policy to guarantee full respect for human rights under RA 9262, the Constitution, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Section 4 of RA No. 9262 mandates that the law "shall be liberally construed to promote the protection and safety of victims of violence against women and their children." The RTC's consoling statement that children who suffered abuse from the hands of their own mothers may invoke other laws except RA No. 9262 is discriminatory. The supposed reassurance is an outright denial of effective legal measures to address the seriousness and urgency of the situation. Only RA No. 9262, unlike other laws, created the innovative remedies of protection and custody orders.

In sum, the Court refuses to be an instrument of injustice and public mischief perpetrated against vulnerable sectors of the society such as children victims of violence. The Court will not shirk its bounden duty to interpret the law in keeping with the cardinal principle that in enacting a statute, the legislature intended right and justice to prevail.

Randy Michael Knutson, acting on behalf of minor Rhuby Sibal Knutson Vs. Hon. Elisa R. Sarmiento-Flores, in her capacity as Acting Presiding Judge of Branch 69, Regional Trial Court, Taguig City, and Rosalina Sibal Knutson | Supreme Court of the... Randy Michael Knutson, acting on behalf of minor Rhuby Sibal Knutson Vs. Hon. Elisa R. Sarmiento-Flores, in her capacity as Acting Presiding Judge of Branch 69, Regional Trial Court, Taguig City, and Rosalina Sibal Knutson G.R. No. 239215. July 12, 2022 [Date Uploaded: 02/06/2023] Separate Dissentin...

Why do we need to pay taxes?

In the case of Commissioner of Internal Revenue vs. Algue, G.R. No. L-28896, February 17, 1988, the Supreme Court held that "Taxes are what we pay for a civilized society. Without taxes, the State would be paralyzed."

The Lifeblood Doctrine also states that "Taxes are the lifeblood of the State, through which the government and its agencies continue to operate and with which the State effects its functions for the welfare of its constituents."

Ultimately, under the Symbiotic Relationship Doctrine, "Taxpayers and the government have reciprocal obligations. The taxpayer to pay taxes; and the government to provide protection and benefits."

Considering all these, a person, therefore, cannot object to or resist the payment of taxes as a matter of obligation and so long as the tax imposition is for a public purpose.

COLEGIO SAN AGUSTIN-BACOLOD vs. MELINDA M. MONTAÑO
G.R. No. 212333, March 28, 2022
Penned by: J. Hernando

There is diminution of benefits when the following are present:

1. the grant or benefit is founded on a policy or has ripened into a practice over a long
period of time;
2. the practice is consistent and deliberate;
3. the practice is not due to error in the construction or application of a doubtful or
difficult question of law; and
4. the diminution or discontinuance is done unilaterally by the employer.

In addition to policy or company practice, the grant or benefit may also be founded on a written contract. Consistent with the constitutional mandate of protecting the rights of workers in promoting their welfare, benefits enjoyed by employees cannot be reduced, diminished, discontinued or eliminated.
In this case, respondent’s renumeration as school registrar is founded on policy or contract. Respondent’s appointment and reappointments indicated the monthly compensation for the position. The amounts received by her were duly established. The total monthly pay she received for her latest appointment remained as her previous monthly pays. The issue, however, was on the amount of her basic pay. Respondent claims that there has been a reduction of basic pay. CSA Bacolod on the other hand explains that the school just opted to separate the reporting of the basic pay from the honorarium in the computation slip.

In the Court's view, there was indeed a diminution of benefit. The explanation of the school that the amount was merely broken down fails to convince. It must be emphasized that there was no showing in these proceedings that respondent received honorarium prior to her 2009 reappointment as school registrar.

Her prior appointments stated that she was to receive compensation equivalent to a certain number of load or units pertaining to her academic rank; there was no mention of payment of honorarium then. Thus, it is fair and just to conclude that the entire P33,319.00 that respondent had received prior to her 2009 reappointment is considered as her monthly basic pay. As it was established that respondent continued to receive the same amount of P33,319.00 despite the addition of honorarium for the 2009 reappointment, it can be concluded then that the basic pay indeed was reduced. This resulted to diminution of benefit that is expressly prohibited by the Labor Code.