Monday, November 28, 2011

Republic vs Luzon Stevedoring Corporation (GR No. L-21749, September 29, 1967)

Facts: A barge being towed by tugboats "Bangus" and "Barbero" all owned by Luzon Stevedoring Corp. rammed one of the wooden piles of the Nagtahan Bailey Bridge due to the swollen current of the Pasig after heavy rains days before. The Republic sued Luzon Stevedoring for actual and consequential damages. Luzon Stevedoring claimed it had exercised due diligence in the selection and supervision of its employees; that the damages to the bridge were caused by force majeure; that plaintiff has no capacity to sue; and that the Nagtahan bailey bridge is an obstruction to navigation.


Issue: Whether or not the collision of appellant's barge with the supports or piers of the Nagtahan bridge was in law caused by fortuitous event or force majeure.


Held: There is a presumption of negligence on part of the employees of Luzon Stevedoring, as the Nagtahan Bridge is stationary. For caso fortuito or force majeure (which in law are identical in so far as they exempt an obligor from liability) by definition, are extraordinary events not foreseeable or avoidable, "events that could not be foreseen, or which, though foreseen, were inevitable" (Art. 1174, Civ. Code of the Philippines). It is, therefore, not enough that the event should not have been foreseen or anticipated, as is commonly believed, but it must be one impossible to foresee or to avoid. The mere difficulty to foresee the happening is not impossibility to foresee the same. Luzon Stevedoring knew the perils posed by the swollen stream and its swift current, and voluntarily entered into a situation involving obvious danger; it therefore assured the risk, and can not shed responsibility merely because the precautions it adopted turned out to be insufficient. It is thus liable for damages. 

People vs. Bati (G.R. No. 87429, August 27, 1990)

Facts: By the word of their civilian informer, Patrolmen Jose Luciano, Angelito Caraan, Nelson Dimatulac and Democrito Cuenca immediately proceeded to the vicinity an alleged buy-and-sell of marijuana was taking place. They saw Marquez giving something to Bati, who, thereafter, handed a wrapped object, which turned out to be marijuana worth P190, to Marquez who then inserted the object inside the front of his pants in front of his abdomen while Bati, on his part, placed the thing given to him inside his pocket. Marquez was arrested on the spot. Both Bati and Marquez were brought to the Police station where they admitted they were in the buying and selling of the confiscated marijuana.

Issue: Appellant contends that the arrest was not valid as the requirements for a warrantless arrest were not complied with.

Held: This contention is without merit.

Section 5 Rule 113 of the Rules in Criminal Procedure clearly provides:

Sec. 5. Arrest without warrant, when lawful. — A peace officer or private person may, without warrant, arrest a person:
(a)            When in his presence, the person to be arrested has committed, is actually committing, or is attempting to commit an offense;
(b)            When an offense has in fact just been committed, and he has personal knowledge of facts indicating that the person to be arrested has committed it x x x


It is the considered view of the Court that there was no need for Luciano and Caraan to be armed with a warrant of arrest when they arrested Marquez and the accused since they had personal knowledge of the actual commission of the crime viz: They were eyewitnesses to the illegal exchange of marijuana and P190.00 between Marquez and accused who were caught in flagrante delicto. The facts and circumstances attendant precisely fall under Sec. 5, (a), Rule 113 of the Rules on Criminal Procedure. The subsequent arrest of Marquez and accused were made under the principle of "hot pursuit". The recovery of the marijuana from Marquez and the P190.00 from accused by the said police officers were not violative of their constitutional rights since Marquez and the accused voluntarily surrendered them to the police officers. But even for the sake of argument that the recovery of the marijuana and peso bills were against the consent of Marquez and accused, still, the search on their persons was incidental to their valid warrantless arrest. For, the rule that searches and seizures must be supported by a valid warrant is not an absolute rule. There are at least three exceptions: (1) search incidental to an arrest, (2) search of a moving vehicle and (3) seizure of evidence in plain view. In the case at bar, the searches made on Marquez and accused were incidental to their valid arrest.

Having caught the appellant in flagrante as a result of the buy-bust operation, the policemen were not only authorized but were also under obligation to apprehend the drug pusher even without a warrant of arrest And since appellant's arrest was lawful, it follows that the search made incidental to the arrest was also valid.


Supreme Court Poetry: The law is severe because those who are caught in the strangle hold of prohibited drugs not only slide into the ranks of the living dead, what is worse, they become a grave menace to the safety of the law-abiding members of society. 

People vs. Lol-lo and Saraw (G.R. No. 17958, February 27, 1922)

Facts: Pinirata nina Lol-lo, Saraw, at 22 iba pa na nakasakay sa anim na vinta ang dalawang barko kung saan nakasakay ang 11 Olandes sa karagatan ng Dutch East Indies. (Kalurky, hindi pa sila Indonesia! Ancient case is ancient!) Nagpanggap silang humihingi ng pagkain, at nang ma-board nila ang dalawang Olandes na barko, ninakawan, nambugbog, at nang-rape with methods "too horrible to be described." (HAHAHAHA na-offend ang quasi-Victorian sensibilities si Justice Malcolm!) Matapos nito'y iniwanan ng mga kups ang mga Olandes sa mga naturang barko na pinuncture na rin nila, but taking the two poor women with them. 

Pero animo'y hinabol rin sila ng hustisya, dahil nailigtas ang mga Olandes at eventually ay na-charge sina Lol-lo at Saraw sa CFI ng Sulu. (Hindi pa Sharia court. Char!) 

Issue: Jurisdiction ng CFI ng Sulu sa isang krimeng hindi naganap sa Pinas. 

Held: CFI of Sulu has jurisdiction. "'Pirates are in law hostes humani generis. Piracy is a crime not against any particular state but against all mankind. It may be punished in the competent tribunal of any country where the offender may be found or into which he may be carried. The jurisdiction of piracy unlike all other crimes has no territorial limits. As it is against all so may it be punished by all. Nor does it matter that the crime was committed within the jurisdictional 3-mile limit of a foreign state, "for those limits, though neutral to war, are not neutral to crimes.' (U.S. vs. Furlong [1820], 5 Wheat., 184.)

All of the elements of the crime of piracy are present. Piracy is robbery or forcible depredation on the high seas, without lawful authority and done animo furandi, and in the spirit and intention of universal hostility." (Emphasis akin. Obviously. Hindi iyo. CHAR!)

Ibig sabihin, kahit nasaan ka sa mundo, CHAR!!! pag nag-feeling Bluebeard or Captain Jack Sparrow ka, or nakipag-conspire ka with Somali pirates, pwede kang kasuhan sa mga korte sa Pinas, or basically any nation na may laws sa piracy. 


Napaka-poetic na whatnot ng Korte: The days when pirates roamed the seas, when picturesque buccaneers like Captain Avery and Captain Kidd and Bartholomew Roberts gripped the imagination, when grostesque brutes like Blackbeard flourished, seem far away in the pages of history and romance. Nevertheless, the record before us tells a tale of twentieth century piracy in the south seas, but stripped of all touches of chivalry or of generosity, so as to present a horrible case of rapine and near murder.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Oblicon for Dummies, Part 1, is now available for download!

Follow the Closet Fantasy Blogger's scribd account on this link for sheet music, occasional case digests, and of course--my pride and joy--Oblicon for Dummies!!!!!!11shiftone by CMG Lucero!

This is a work in progress, simultaneous with my Oblicon (mis)adventures. Enjoy reading, as I enjoyed writing! :)