Dear PAO, My friend is a vlogger who frequently posts videos of himself riding motor bikes at fast speeds on national roads to feature different motor bikes and accessories. One day, he received a letter from the Land Transportation Office about a complaint filed against him for reckless driving after several videos showed him riding at speeds of more than 130 km/h on provincial roads. Since my friend is a vlogger, he claims that part of his job is to do a speed test on motorcycles at their top speed and that he always puts disclaimers in his video blogs that his driving should not be followed ..read more

Dear PAO, I inherited a certain land in the province, however, the title of the property is still in the name of my father (single and deceased) and is not yet transferred to me. I heard that my uncle, or the lone sibling of my father, executed a document claiming that he had inherited the property. Allegedly, he intends to sell the property to a prospective buyer. I would like to ask if my uncle can sell the land. Talina Dear Talina, You own the property by way of succession. Succession is a mode of acquisition, by virtue of which, the property, rights and obligations, to the extent of the va ..read more

Dear PAO, My daughter's friend, E, is being accused of selling illegal drugs. She has no witnesses to testify for her except herself because she was alone when the arrest happened. To be honest, everyone who knows E thinks she is innocent and that the supposed drugs are just planted evidence. What is also very questionable is the lapse of time from her arrest to the time the supposed drugs were marked. Someone told E's family that the marking should have been done immediately after the arrest. There was no explanation given why about an hour had passed before the marking was made. Is there a p ..read more

Dear PAO, I only have a Philippine Identification Card (PhilID) as a valid government-issued ID card. I was asked for another ID when I presented this, as the PhilID does not bear my signature. Is PhilID not sufficient? Glenda Dear Glenda, Please be informed of the following pertinent provisions of Republic Act (RA) 11055, otherwise known as the Philippine Identification System Act, to wit: "SEC. 12. Authentication. – For purposes of establishing proof of identity for transacting business with any government agency, the presentation of the PhilID or PSN shall constitute sufficient proof thereo ..read more

Dear PAO, Last weekend, my family and I stayed in a hotel. While we were sleeping, somebody entered our room, pointed a gun at me, took my laptop and wallet, and hurriedly left the room. I immediately called hotel security and was informed that they issued a keycard to someone who claimed to be my relative after showing an ID and confirming that we had the same last name. However, the hotel receptionist did not even call me in the room to verify. Can I hold the hotel management liable for the incident? Marcus Dear Marcus, Please be informed that Articles 2000, 2001, and 2002 of Republic Act (R ..read more

Dear PAO, My cousin and her husband have been married for 17 years, and they have three minor children. However, they are no longer together. Her husband now has a girlfriend, and my cousin has a lesbian partner. They "separated" because her husband cheated on her five times. Her husband wants to remarry and since they now have their own lives, they both agreed to live separately and even made an agreement before the barangay that they will now be terminating their marriage and declaring it as void or annulled. Is their waiver / compromise agreement valid? Cherry Dear Cherry, Please be informe ..read more

Dear PAO, A private counsel represented me in a civil case involving a certain land. Unfortunately, we lost the case, and my counsel failed to inform me. Hence, no appeal was filed from the adverse decision rendered by the court, and the decision attained its finality. I have already terminated my lawyer's services and am looking for another lawyer. I spoke with one of my classmates, who is knowledgeable about court proceedings, and he told me that an appeal is the proper remedy. Allegedly, the failure of my former lawyer to file an appeal in a timely manner is tantamount to a violation of the ..read more

Dear PAO, I had an arrangement with Lino that I will till his land and the harvest will be divided between us. This has been our setup for a decade until we had a dispute pertaining to the division of the harvest, which eventually led to his demand for me to vacate the property. When I did not heed his desire, he threatened to file a criminal case for qualified theft against me when I harvested the agricultural products from the land. One official of our barangay told me not to worry because the case will not prosper. According to him, we have an agrarian dispute as there exists a tenancy rela ..read more

Dear PAO, I was driving along Alabang-Zapote Road when police officers flagged me for a defective headlight. I admitted my mistake and apologized to the apprehending police officers. However, the police officers accosted me and required me to go to the police station near the area. Upon arrival at the police station, I quickly offered my driver's license for the issuance of a citation ticket. Unfortunately, they prohibited me from going home and forced me to stay in the police station until dawn. Were the actions of the police officers legal under the law? Dexter Dear Dexter, To answer your qu ..read more

Dear PAO, Can a company decide to unilaterally close? If the company claims that it is experiencing business losses, may it skip the requirement of notice and avoid the payment of separation pay? Emong Dear Emong, Please be informed of the Supreme Court's ruling in the case of Keng Hua Paper Products Co., Inc. and James Yu vs. Carlos E. Ainza, Primo dela Cruz, and Benjamin R. Gelicami, GR 224097, Feb. 22, 2023, Ponente: Associate Justice Rodil Zalameda, where it was provided that: "In Sanoh Fulton Phils., Inc. v. Bernardo, We explained Article 298 and emphasized that retrenchment to prevent lo ..read more