"Under the circumstances, the failure to file the appellant’s brief on time rightly deserved the outright rejection of the appeal. The acts of his counsel bound Diaz like any other client. It was, of course, only the counsel who was well aware that the Rules of Court fixed the periods to file pleadings and equally significant papers like the appellant’s brief with the lofty objective of avoiding delays in the administration of justice. Yet, we have before us an appeal in two criminal cases in which the appellant lost his chance to be heard by the CA on appeal because of the failure of h ..read more

G.R. No. 213875, July 15, 2020 MERLINA R. DIAZ, PETITIONER, VS. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, RESPONDENT. "We deny the Petition. The requirements of a valid search warrant are laid down in Article III, Section 2 of the 1987 Constitution27 and in Rule 126, Section 428 of the Rules Court, viz.: "(1) probable cause is present; (2) such probable cause must be determined personally by the judge; (3) the judge must examine, in writing and under oath or affirmation, the complainant and the witnesses he or she may produce; (4) the applicant and the witnesses testify on the facts personall ..read more

"In the present petition, Ogayon raises the following assignment of errors: I. The CA erred in finding that Ogayon had waived his right to question the legality of the search warrant. II. Even granting without admitting that Ogayon had already waived his right to question the legality of the search warrant, the search conducted was still highly irregular, thereby rendering the seized articles as inadmissible in evidence. Ogayon primarily argues that there was a violation of his constitutional right to be secure in his person, house, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizu ..read more

 "Accused-appellants must be acquitted of Murder In contrast to the above, Antonio's extrajudicial confession as contained in his July 8 Salaysay detailing the abduction and killing of Major Arcega cannot be used to convict accused-appellants in the absence of independent evidence on this charge and on account of the principle of res inter alios acta alteri nocere non debet expressed in Section 28, Rule 130 of the Rules of Court, which states: Section 28. Admission by third-party. - The rights of a third party cannot be prejudiced by an act, declaration, or omission of another, except a ..read more

 "Accused-appellants are guilty of the special complex crime of Kidnapping for Ransom with Homicide The elements of Kidnapping for Ransom under Article 267 of the RPC, as amended, are as follows:(a) intent on the part of the accused to deprive the victim of his/her liberty; (b) actual deprivation of the victim of his/her liberty; and (c) motive of the accused, which is extorting ransom for the release of the victim. In the special complex crime of Kidnapping for Ransom with Homicide, the person kidnapped is killed in the course of the detention, regardless of whether the killing was purp ..read more

"As regards attorney's fees, the Court of Appeals correctly held that none may be awarded to petitioner: Consequently, the award of attorney's fees must also be deleted. Notably, it was not appellee alone who incurred costs to protect her interest. Appellant, too, spent for legal costs to finally settle the issue pertaining to the validity of his marriage with appellee. In the absence of malice and bad faith, the mental anguish suffered by a person for having been made a party in a civil case is not the kind of anxiety which would warrant the award of moral damages. Appellee's emotional suffe ..read more

"Once a case has been submitted for a court's decision, the petitioning party cannot, at their election, withdraw their appeal.71 The grant or denial of the withdrawal is addressed to the sound discretion of the court.72 The practice of the courts has always been to the effect that once a case or appeal is submitted for decision, its withdrawal should not be at the discretion of the party, but dependent on the assent thereto of the adjudicating authority. . . . . . . . What is important is that once the finality of the questioned judgment has been arrested by a motion for reconsideration, t ..read more

 "Moral damages are a form of compensation for the "physical suffering, mental anguish, fright, serious anxiety, besmirched reputation, wounded feelings, moral shock, social humiliation, and similar injury"50 unjustly sustained by a person.51 They are awarded when: (1) there is a physical, mental or psychological injury clearly sustained by the claimant; (2) a wrongful act or omission is factually established; (3) the act or omission is the proximate cause of the injury; and (4) the award of damages is based on any of the cases stated in Article 221952 of the Civil Code.53 This Court has ..read more

"In its November 18, 2016 Decision, the Regional Trial Court held that respondent's act of marrying petitioner even though he had an existing first marriage constituted bad faith. The Court of Appeals ruled otherwise because it found that, at the time respondent married petitioner, he believed in good faith that he was validly divorced from his first wife. Further, it found that respondent did not seek to have his second marriage declared null and void only so that he could evade liability in the civil case filed by petitioner. Considering these conflicting conclusions, this Court must now e ..read more

"Procedural considerations aside, the Court still finds the petition wanting in merit. Miguel's argument is two-fold: first, he anchors his claim on the assertion that applying the GCTA Law, he has served a total of "thirty-eight (38) years, ten (10) months, and one (1) day"13 already. Second, he posits that Article 70 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) caps the duration of the penalty of reclusion perpetua at thirty (30) years.14 Having served a total of thirty­eight (38) years, which is eight (8) years more than the supposed maximum duration of reclusion perpetua, Miguel concludes that he has ..read more