Under the Revised Penal Code, a person commits bigamy by contracting a second marriage during the existence of a valid first marriage. In earlier Supreme Court rulings, bigamy had two consequences for the offending spouses: (1) they cannot remarry, and if they do, (2) they cannot use the invalidity of the prior marriage as a…
The request of the United States for the extradition of pastor Apollo Quiboloy to face criminal charges in California reminds me of the first extradition decision of the Supreme Court 24 years ago involving the late Manila Rep. Mark Jimenez. “USA v. RTC Judge Purganan” (Sept. 24, 2002, en banc, that I had the honor…
Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, the presiding officer of the Senate impeachment court, has ruled that 16 votes—in a chamber of 24—are needed to convict and remove Vice President Sara Duterte, regardless of whether some senators are detained, in hiding, sick, or otherwise unable to participate in the proceedings. His position appears to be anchored on…
The en banc resolution of the Supreme Court in Torreon v. House committee on justice (Aug. 5, 2026) dismissing the petitions challenging Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment by the House of Representatives is a turning point in this political-legal saga. Though the ground relied upon is mootness, it could also be a signal that this…
The “four truths” on the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte I wrote about last Monday elicited a lot of comments. Thus, I will revisit the first truth—”judicial truth.” Apropos is the wisdom of the late United States Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, who observed that “[t]he very nature of a trial [is] a…