Recall that during my appearance as amicus curiae in the Senate Impeachment Court, I explained how to tackle—in lay language—the legalistic ways of interpreting the constitutional provision: “two-thirds of all the members of the Senate.” I emphasized in that forum that the lay equivalent of the legalese could be summed up in two words: truth…
Since my college days, the Supreme Court has stood as an impenetrable fortress insulated from the noise of public discourse. It was held in almost absolute, almost mystical veneration. Today, however, the digital revolution has breached the fortress and entangled it in the “marketplace of ideas” that the Court recently lamented as, too often, “corrupted…
The Family Code states, “No marriage shall be valid, unless these essential requisites are present: (1) Legal capacity of the contracting parties who must be a male and a female; and (2) Consent freely given in the presence of the solemnizing officer.” In addition, there are formal requisites also: (1) Authority of the solemnizing officer;…
The Supreme Court, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), and my column last week agreed that political dynasties should be reformed. However, while the Court and the CBCP likewise agreed with the Constitution that political dynasties should be prohibited, I maintain, with due respect to the Constitution’s framers, that they should be merely…
In Kapatiran Party v Congress (Aug. 26, 2026, per J Ramon Paul L. Hernando, en banc), the Supreme Court unanimously held that the 39-year inaction of Congress to pass an antidynasty law constitutes grave abuse of discretion. The ruling is a firm command to Congress to enact the law in compliance with its constitutional duty…