Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Senioritos and Senioritas Perks







My mother is a member of the Senorito and Senorita Class in Makati (referring to Senior citizens).  Every year, they are getting allowance from the City Government of Makati and a birthday cake, too.  Our senior citizens are also enjoying free spa, free movies, participation in recreational and cultural activities for free like ballroom dancing, opera watching, among others.   The local government has been providing free medicines and hospitalization to its bona fide senior citizens even prior to enactment of the Expanded Senior Citizens Act. These are only premium to Makati’s senorito and senoritas aside from enjoying 20% discount in primary commodities, medicine and restaurants.




Under RA 9994, otherwise known as the “Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010”, rights and privileges of senior citizens all over the country now include:

1.    Twenty percent (20%) discount and exemption from the Value-Added Tax (VAT), if applicable, on the sale of the following goods and services from all establishments, for the exclusive use and enjoyment or availment of the senior citizen:

a.    Purchase of medicines, including the purchase of influenza and pnuemococcal vaccines, and such other essential medical supplies, accessories and equipment to be determined by the Department of Health (DOH);

b.   On the professional fees of attending physician/s in all private hospitals, medical facilities, outpatient clinics and home health care services;

c.    On the professional fees of licensed professional health providing home health care services as endorsed by private hospitals or employed through home health care employment agencies;

d.   On medical and dental services, diagnostic and laboratory fees in all private hospitals, medical facilities, outpatient clinics, and home health care services;

e.    In actual fare for land transportation travel in public utility buses (PUBs), public utility jeepneys (PUJs), taxis, Asian utility vehicles (AUVs), shuttle services and public railways, including Light Rail Transit (LRT), Mass Rail Transit (MRT), and Philippine National Railways (PNR);

f.     In actual transportation fare for domestic air transport services and sea shipping vessels and the like, based on the actual fare and advanced booking;

g.   On the utilization of services in hotels and similar lodging establishments, restaurants and recreation centers;

h.    On admission fees charged by theaters, cinema houses and concert halls, circuses, leisure and amusement; and

i.     On funeral and burial services for the death of senior citizens;

2.    Exemption from the payment of individual income taxes of senior citizens who are considered to be minimum wage earners in accordance with Republic Act No. 9504;

3.     Five percent (5%) discount relative to the monthly utilization of water and electricity supplied by the public utilities. (Provided, 1. That the individual meters for the foregoing utilities are registered in the name of the senior citizen residing therein; 2. the monthly consumption does not exceed one hundred kilowatt hours (100 kWh) of electricity and thirty cubic meters (30 m3) of water) This privilege is granted per household regardless of the number of senior citizens residing therein;

4.    Exemption from training fees for socioeconomic programs;

5.    Free medical and dental services, diagnostic and laboratory fees such as, but not limited to, x-rays, computerized tomography scans and blood tests, in all government facilities, subject to the guidelines to be issued by the DOH in coordination with the PhilHealth;

6.    The DOH shall administer free vaccination against the influenza virus and pneumococcal disease for indigent senior citizen patients;

7.    Educational assistance to senior citizens to pursue pot secondary, tertiary, post tertiary, vocational and technical education, as well as short-term courses for retooling in both public and private schools through provision of scholarships, grants, financial aids, subsides and other incentives to qualified senior citizens, including support for books, learning materials, and uniform allowances, to the extent feasible. (The senior citizen shall meet minimum admission requirements);

8.    The continuance of the same benefits and privileges given by the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), the Social Security System (SSS) and the PAG-IBIG, as the case may be, as are enjoyed by those in actual service;

9.    Retirement benefits of retirees from both the government and the private sector shall be regularly reviewed to ensure their continuing responsiveness and sustainability, and to the extent practicable and feasible, shall be upgraded to be at par with the current scale enjoyed by those in actual service;

10.  Grant of special discounts in special programs for senior citizens on purchase of basic commodities, subject to the guidelines to be issued for the purpose by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Agriculture (DA);

11.    Provision of express lanes for senior citizens in all commercial and government establishments, in the absence thereof, priority shall be given to them; and

12.    Death benefit assistance of a minimum of Two thousand pesos (Php2, 000.00) shall be given to the nearest surviving relative of a deceased senior citizen which amount shall be subject to adjustments due to inflation in accordance with the guidelines to be issued by the DSWD.

To avail the foregoing privileges, the Senior Citizen or his/her duly authorized representative, may submit as proof of his/her entitlement, any of the following:

a.   Senior Citizen Identification Card issued by the Office of the Senior Citizen Affairs (OSCA) of the place where the senior citizen resides (which shall be honored nationwide);

b.   The passport of the senior citizen concerned;

c.    Other documents that will establish that the senior citizen is a citizen of the Republic and is at least sixty (60) years of age.


Aside from those mentioned, priority in service and parking spaces in establishments are also given to senior citizens.

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Excerpt Quotes from Philippine Jurisprudence





“If the two eventually fell in love, despite the disparity in their ages and academic levels, this only lends substance to the truism that the heart has reasons of its own which reason does not know.”
(Chua Qua vs. Clave, G.R. No. 45949, August 30, 1990)


“….there can be no love where respect is gone.”
(People vs. Rivera, G.R. No. 130607.  November 17, 1999)


“… sorrow is sometimes a touchstone of love.”
(Libi vs. IAC, G.R. No. 70890. September 18, 1992.]


“… love is not a license for lust.” 
(People vs. Olesco, G.R. No. 174861, April 11, 2011)


 “Love happens to everyone. It is dubbed to be boundless as it goes beyond the expectations people tagged with it. In love, “age does matter.” People love in order to be secure that one will share his/her life with another and that he/she will not die alone. Individuals who are in love had the power to let love grow or let love die – it is a choice one had to face when love is not the love he/she expected.” (Padilla-Rumbaua v. Rumbaua, G.R. No. 166738, August 14, 2009)



“Every man has a right to build, keep and be favored with a good name.”
(Brillante vs. CA, G.R. No. 118757 and 121571, October 19, 2004)

“Liberty is a right that inheres in every one of us as a member of the human family. When a person is deprived of his right, all of us are diminished and debased for liberty is total and indivisible.”
(Ordonez v. Director of Prisons, G.R. No. 115576, August 4 1994)

 One unavoidable consequence of everyone having the freedom to choose is that others may make different choices – choices we would not make for ourselves, choices we may disapprove of, even choices that may shock or offend or anger us.  However, choices are not to be legally prohibited merely because they are different, and the right to disagree and debate about important questions of public policy is a core value protected by our Bill of Rights.  Indeed, our democracy is built on genuine recognition of, and respect for, diversity and difference in opinion. “
(ANG LADLAD LGBT Party vs. COMELEC, G.R. No. 190582. April 8, 2010)


 “…… man stands accountable to an authority higher than the State.” (Estrada vs Escritor, A.M. No. P-02-1651.  August 4, 2003)


“….the real essence of justice does not emanate from quibblings over patchwork legal technicality.  It proceeds from the spirit's gut consciousness of the dynamic role of law as a brick in the ultimate development of the social edifice."
 (Obosa vs. People of the Philippines, G.R. No. 114350.  January 16, 1997.)


“The Court, like all well-meaning persons, has no desire to dash romantic fancies, yet in the exercise of its duty, is all too willing when necessary to raise the wall that tears Pyramus and Thisbe asunder.(Concerned Employee vs. Glenda Espiritu Mayor, AM No. P-02-1564, 23, November 2004)




 “The nuptial vows which solemnly intone the matrimonial promise of love ‘(f)or better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part,’ are sometimes easier said than done, for many a marital union figuratively ends on the reefs of matrimonial shoals.
(People of the Philippines vs. Ruben Takbobo, GR No. 102984, 30 June 1993)


The silence often of pure innocence persuades when speaking fails. (People of the Phil. vs. Romy L. Fallones, G.R. No. 190341, March 16, 2011)


“Citizenship is a treasured right conferred on those whom the state believes are deserving of the privilege.  It is a “precious heritage, as well as an inestimable acquisition,” that cannot be taken lightly by anyone - either by those who enjoy it or by those who dispute it.” (Tecson vs. COMELEC, G.R. No. 161434.  March 3, 2004).


The autonomy and importance of family should not be privileged over the privacy and autonomy of a person. Marriage is not bondage that subordinates the humanity of each spouse. No person should be deemed to concede her or his privacy rights and autonomy upon getting married.”
(Imbong vs. Ochoa, G.R. No. 204819,    April 8, 2014)


Law has also been defined as “something men create in their best moments to protect themselves in their worst moments.”  Even then, laws are subject to amendment or repeal just as judicial pronouncements are subject to modification and reversal to better reflect the public morals of a society at a given time.  After all, “the life of the law... has been experience….”
(Estrada vs Escritor, A.M. No. P-02-1651.  August 4, 2003)







Friday, July 18, 2014

The Value of Time



I was looking for a relevant jurisprudence about TIME when I was lead to a separate dissenting opinion, which reminds me that time gone will never come back, just like love ones who left and will never be with us again because of death or someone who left because of choice of different journey with us.  They may be gone but we are still having our time for our own journey to continue and make the most out of it.  An excerpt from said opinion:


“… The world in which people live has two great dimensions: the dimension of space and the dimension of time. Nobody can say that the difference in time between two acts or events makes for a superficial difference. Such difference is the substance of human existence.  As the Bible says:

There is an appointed time for everything and
A time for every affair under the heavens.

A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to tear down, and a time to build.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to scatter stones, and 
A time to gather them;

A time to embrace, and a time to be far from  embraces.
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
A time to be silent and a time to speak.
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace.
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, New American Bible)


Recognizing the irreversibility of time is indispensable to every sound decision that people make in their lives everyday, like not combing the hair that is no longer there. In time, parents let their married children leave to make their own homes. Also, when a loved one passes away, he who is left must know that he cannot bring back the time that is gone. He is wise to move on with his life after some period of mourningTo deny the truth that the difference in time makes for substantial difference in human lives is to deny the idea of transition from growth to decay, from life to death, and from relevant to irrelevant.

(Separate Dissenting Opinion of J. Abad, G.R. No. 192935 and G.R. No. 193036, December 7, 2010)



*Underscoring is mine.


Sunday, May 12, 2013

My Daily Schedule for the Bar



“…..What I do today is important because I am exchanging a day of my life for it. 

When tomorrow comes this day will be gone forever, but I shall hold something which I have traded for it. 

It may be no more than a memory, but if it is a worthy one I shall not regret the price. “-- A New Day by Dr. Heartsill Wilson

In my seven months preparation for the Bar, I followed the standard schedule as suggested from Bar Review Methods and Techniques books and had at least 8 hours sleep a day:

5:30 am                   -           Wake-up time
5:30am - 6:00am    -           Daily devotion and exercise
6:01am - 7:00am    -           Bath time and personal hygiene
7:00am – 7:30am    -           Breakfast
7:30am - 8:00am    -           Preparing for the reading/study/review /practice answering MCQs/Bar questions
8:00am-9:30am      -           Reading/study/review
9:30am-10:15am    -           Break
10:16am-11:30am  -           Review/Study/Reading
11:30am -12:45pm -           Lunch Break
12:45pm -2:45pm   -           Review/Study/Reading
2:45am – 3:00pm    -           Break
3:16pm - 6:30pm    -           Reading
6:30pm – 7:30pm    -          Dinner and personal hygiene
7:30pm – 9:30pm    -          Reading
9:31pm-                    -         Devotion and Sleeping time

During Saturdays and Sundays, the time allotted for reading was devoted in attending lectures and some recreation or entertainment activities.:)  Happy reading!=)=)=)

N.B.
I stayed in the university dormitory where I was enrolled for the Pre-Bar review so no need for the travel time allocation.







Tuesday, April 30, 2013

My Bar Planner




In March 2011, I finally decided that I am going to take the Bar in November so I planned my life, my study schedule for the next 8 months to cover the eight bar subjects:

Political Law
Labor Law
Civil law
Taxation
Commercial law
Criminal law
Remedial law
Legal Ethics

and in my time, writing Legal Opinion and Legal Memorandum were also included and would cover 40% of the Bar grade.

Beginning 2011, the High Court already issued bar exams syllabus that limits the scope of the Bar examination in each subject.  Given the coverage and the limited time, preparing the study plan is a must with goal set to finish the syllabus with comprehension.  I took into consideration the schedule of the Pre-bar review lectures so that it would be synchronized with my “game plan”.  I attended the lectures so as to confirm my understanding of what I have read.  I also participated in the mock bar administered by the university to check what I have learned.

So I started my Pre-bar review on April 8.  (8 being a lucky number in Feng Shui.  I had to distribute the 204 days left from the pre-week days:

Date
Subject
Duration
First Reading (Codal and Books Annotation)
April 8-April 28
Remedial Law
20 days
April 29- May 1
Legal Ethics
3 days
May 2- May 29
Commercial Law
27 days
May 30 –June 12
Criminal Law
14 days
13 June – July 3
Civil law
20 days
July 4-July 17
Taxation
13 days
July 18-July 24
Labor Law
6 days
July 25 – August 14
Political law
20 days
Second Reading (Codal Provisions and Memory Aid)
August 15- August 30
Remedial Law
15 days
August 31- September 19
Civil Law
20 days
September 20- October 4
Commercial Law
15 days
October 5- October 14
Criminal Law
10 days
October 15-16
Legal Ethics
2 days
October 17- October 21
Taxation Law
5 days
October 21-October 27
Political Law
7 days
October 28 – October 30
Labor Laws
3 days

Above schedule was inclusive of mock bar, MCQ exercises (simulated bar under time pressure) and of course, engaging to some personal errands and needs.  This was never been an overnight planning.  It also subjected to several adjustments.

My pre-week was devoted reviewing for notes during the pre-bar and Pre-Week notes given by the university, accompanied with Codal.

On Bar exam day proper, no more notes and no more reading but a complete submission to Above of my bar preparation. My Game Plan is over. Its now the execution of what I have planned eight months ago… This was my “Game Plan” in my pursuit to the Bar.=)