THE LEGAL FRONT The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word “crisis.” One brush stroke stands for danger, the other for opportunity. This usage suggests a double-sided view of a crisis: the danger that every crisis carries, and the opportunity that the response to danger opens up. ...
THE LEGAL FRONT After the Court’s Quo Warranto ruling that vacated the Chief Justice position, the President appointed three Chief Justices in quick succession who all retired as compulsory retirement age successively overtook them. From hindsight, the President made a very good call as the new...
THE LEGAL FRONT The Court’s life has its own ups and downs as circumstances of time, clime and leadership take place. At better times, the Court may bask in stability and hum with productivity. At less benign times, it may live in uncertainty and disquiet. I have seen good and bad times in the...
THE LEGAL FRONT Problems appear to be knocking at the US Supreme Court’s door as senators take a dim view of negative Court developments that may potentially affect the Court’s integrity and the interests of the litigating public. One senator extended an invitation to Chief Justice John...
THE LEGAL FRONT After a lengthy Covid-imposed lay-off, Legal Front shall once again be part of this paper’s Friday issues. It may interest readers to know that I have compiled selected Legal Front articles into a book – Life at the Legal Front – published by Central Book Store where copies of...
Personal income tax (PIT), which is withheld from an employee's salary and paid to the government, remained a major revenue stream for the government despite the lowering of rates on individual taxpayers and the pandemic-induced economic slowdown. Data released from the Department of Finance (DOF)...
THE LEGAL FRONT Atty. Arturo D. Brion, Ll.B, Ll.M. The nation must be happy that COVID-19 now appears to be on the wane. Still, our elation must be guarded as the transition may not at all be that easy; we should realize that a favorable outcome will largely depend on whether we can continue to...
THE LEGAL FRONT Atty. Arturo D. Brion, Ll.B, Ll.M. (Part II) The President’s role, as our top executive and as Article VII of the Constitution provides, is to execute or implement the policies that the Constitution expressly commands or that are embodied in laws that Congress has passed on its...
THE LEGAL FRONT (Part I) Atty. Arturo D. Brion, Ll.B, Ll.M. Much has been aired and written on the standards to apply in choosing our new President. The simplest (and perhaps the most authoritative) could be those drawn from our Constitution’s direct demands, from the roles the President is...
THE LEGAL FRONT Atty. Arturo D. Brion, Ll.B, Ll.M. Former Senate President Blas F. Ople (Ka Blas, to many) must have been smiling up there on his 95 th natal day last Feb. 3 as he viewed our recent national developments, his daily routine during his years as a public servant, journalist, and as a...
The Legal Front Atty. Arturo D. Brion, Ll.B, Ll.M. COVID-19 came unannounced as the third decade of this century opened. It first broke out in China, a new and mysterious illness that initially baffled even the medical experts. The development was scary as China is practically a next-door neighbor....
THE LEGAL FRONT Atty. Arturo D. Brion, Ll.B, Ll.M. The Court shall finally conduct its long-awaited 2020-2021 Bar examinations in the first week of Feb. 2022. Beyond its COVID-imposed delay, this Bar Exam is historic in many respects, among them, as the first computerized and multi-location Bar...
