The Supreme Court in People of the Philippines vs. Sonia Valle, G.R. No. 235010, 07 August 2024 held that crimes of illegal recruitment and estafa are two different crimes. A conviction for one does n...
Pregnancy out of wedlock: Is it immoral? Is it a valid ground for suspension from work
The Supreme Court in Bohol Wisdom School vs. Mabao, G.R. No. 252124, 23 July 2024, held that premarital sexual relations between two single persons resulting in pregnancy out of wedlock cannot be cons...
Proof of employment relationship: who has the burden?
In a complaint for illegal dismissal filed before the Labor Arbiter, who has the burden to prove the existence of an employer-employee relationship? The Supreme Court, in Gaspar vs. M.I.Y. Real Estate...
SEC E-FILING AND OTHER ISSUANCES
To promote further transparency, the SEC issued Memorandum Circular No. 1, Series of 2021, providing for the guidelines on the......
EMPLOYMENT OPTIONS: REGULAR, PROBATIONARY OR PROJECT
A regular employment is an arrangement where the employee has been engaged to perform work which is usually......
MERGERS & CONSOLIDATION
The law allows the reorganization of two or more corporations to either merge into a single corporation which shall be one of the constituent corporations, or consolidate into a single new corporation...
CAN YOU RUN A BUSINESS WITHOUT HIRING AN EMPLOYEE?
As its dictionary meaning goes, to hire is to employ, to engage, to appoint, to enlist, to sign up or to secure the services of someone. Hiring refers to the process of engaging somebody for his servi...
WALK-IN SETTLEMENT: A BETTER MODE OF EXECUTING A LABOR SETTLEMENT
The preferential use of voluntary modes in settling disputes between workers and employers for the promotion of industrial peace is well recognized in the Constitution and the labor laws. Any labor is...
EMPLOYEE OR CONSULTANT?
To hire someone as an employee or a consultant will depend on three important factors. First is control. An employee is someone you supervise from the get go, from the processing of the work all the w...
REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST
A Real Estate Investment Trust or REIT is a company owning and operating income-generating real estate. In order to further promote the development of the capital market in the Philippines, the SEC is...
CYBERLIBEL UNDER THE CYBERCRIME PREVENTION ACT OF 2012
What is CYBERLIBEL? It is a public and malicious imputation of a crime, or of a vice or defect, real or imaginary, or any act, omission, condition, status, or circumstance tending to cause the dishono...
PRIVACY IN A PANDEMIC
Data protection and privacy should not hinder the government from collecting, using, and sharing personal information during this time of public health emergency. The direction is lawful and straightf...
REMOTE PARTICIPATION IN STOCKHOLDERS’ MEETINGS
In a recent memo, the Philippine Stock Exchange is urging the publicly listed companies to hold their Annual Stockholders’ Meetings (ASM) scheduled over the coming weeks through remote communication...
NEW STRATEGY FOR THE FISHING INDUSTRY
New fisheries management strategy shall be implemented for this month’s sardine fishing season. According to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatics Resources (BFAR) Zamboanga Peninsula Office, it star...
DELIVERY OF GOVERNMENT SERVICE IS FASTER NOW
This is the message being conveyed by the government with the enactment of Republic Act No. 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018. The new law is an...
NEW RULES FOR TRADEMARK OPPOSITION AND CANCELLATION CASES
Aiming to provide speedy, quality, and effective legal remedies to resolve IP disputes, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines amended the Rules and Regulations on Inter Partes Proceeding...
“JUDGES AT LARGE” TO EASE CASE BACKLOG
The worsening docket load in the lower courts has long been a concern. To address this, the Supreme Court will be hiring 50 ‘judges at large’ as stated in an administrative resolution dated Decemb...
NOTICE OF STOCKHOLDERS’ MEETING NOW AT 21 DAYS
In order for the stockholders or members to prepare and participate more effectively in matters concerning the corporation, the SEC has issued Memorandum Circular No. 3, Series of 2020, requiring comp...
ONE-STOP SHOP REGISTRATION NOW AVAILABLE FOR ONE-PERSON CORP
Under the government’s National Business One-Stop Shop, known as NBOSS, an end-to-end registration for OPCs is now available at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Office in Pasay City. Thi...
MENTAL HEALTH POLICY IS NOW MANDATORY IN THE WORKPLACE
Pursuant to Republic Act No. 11036, otherwise known as the Mental Health Act, the Department of Labor and Employment has issued policy guidelines making it mandatory for establishments to formulate a ...
SEC ISSUES DRAFT RULES FOR CORPORATIONS CONVERTING INTO OPCS
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued on 17 February 2020 a draft memorandum circular on the guidelines for converting corporations to a one person corporation (OPC). This draft will...
ATTENDING MCLE CLASSES MADE EASIER
Under Bar Matter No. 850, the Philippine members of the Bar are obliged to attend the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) in order to keep them abreast with the law and maintain the ethics of ...
RULE ON PRECAUTIONARY HOLD DEPARTURE ORDER
Prior to the issuance of the Rule on Precautionary Hold Departure Order, there was no mechanism to bar persons suspected of committing crimes from flying out of the country to avoid prosecution, until...
ARE ALIENS ALLOWED TO WORK IN THE PHILIPPINES?
Foreign nationals who intend to engage in employment in the Philippines are required to secure permission from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), subject to certain exemptions and exclusio...