BIR ISSUANCES FOR THE MONTH OF

FEBRUARY
FEBRUARY 2010 VOLUME III, ISSUE No. 2
L C A L C A L C A
LINES LINES LINES
Inside this issue:
BIR issuances
for the month
of February
2
Expanded
Senior Citi-
zens Act
7
Anti-Photo
and Video Vo-
yeurism Act of
2009
12
Free Legal
Assistance Act
of 2010
13
SEC CIRCU-
LAR NO. 680
Series of 2010
14
Jurisprudence 14
JLs Corner 21
determining its net in-
come, the individual part-
ner can still claim deduc-
tions incurred or paid by
him that contributed to the
earning of the income tax-
able to him. The following
rules shall govern the
claim of the partners of
deductions from their
share in the net income of
the partnership:

a. If the GPP availed of the
itemized deduction in com-
puting its net income, the
partners may still claim
itemized deductions from
said share, provided,
that, in claiming itemized
deductions, the partner
is precluded from claim-
ing the same expenses
already claimed by the
GPP. In fine, if the GPP
claimed itemized deduc-
tions the partners compris-
ing it can only claim item-
ized deductions which are
in the nature of ordinary
and necessary expenses
for the practice of pro-
fession which were not
claimed by the GPP in
computing its net income
or distributable net in-
come during the year.

Hence, if the GPP availed
of itemized deductions, the
partners are not allowed to
claim the OSD from their
share in the net income
because the OSD is a
proxy for all the items of
deductions allowed in ar-
riving at taxable income.

b. If the GPP avails of OSD
in computing its net in-
come, the partners com-
prising it can no longer
claim further deduction
from their share in the
said net income for the
following reasons:
i. The partners distribu-
tive share in the GPP is
treated as his gross in-
come not his gross
sales/receipts and the
40% OSD allowed to
individuals is specifically
mandated to be deducted
not from his gross in-
come but from his gross
sales/ receipts; and

ii. The OSD being in
lieu of the itemized
deductions allowed in
computing taxable in-
come as defined under
Section 31 of the NIRC, it
will answer for both the
items of deduction al-
lowed to the GPP and its
partners.

REVENUE REGULATIONS
NO. 2-2010

REVENUE REGULATIONS
NO. 2-2010 issued on Feb-
ruary 24, 2010 amends
Sections 6 and 7 of Reve-
nue Regulations No. 16-
2008 with respect to the
determination of the Op-
tional Standard Deduction
(OSD) of General Profes-
sional Partnerships (GPPs)
and the partners thereof, as
well as the manner and
period for making the
election to claim OSD in
the Income Tax Returns.
The GPP is not a taxa-
ble entity for Income Tax
purposes since it is only
acting as a pass-through
entity where its income is
ultimately taxed to the part-
ners comprising it.

In computing taxable in-
come defined under Section
31 of the National Internal
Revenue Code (NIRC), all
expenses which are ordi-
nary and necessary, in-
curred or paid for the prac-
tice of profession, are al-
lowed as deductions. Since
the taxable income is in the
hands of the partner, as a
rule apart from the expens-
es claimed by the GPP in
c. Since one-layer of
Income Tax is imposed
on the income of the
GPP and the individual
partners where the law
had placed the statutory
incidence of the tax in
the hands of the latter,
the type of deduction
chosen by the GPP must
be the same type of de-
duction that can be
availed of by the part-
ners. Accordingly, if the
GPP claims itemized de-
ductions, all items of de-
duction allowed under
Section 34 of the NIRC
can be claimed both at
the level of the GPP
and at the level of the
partner in order to de-
termine the taxable
income. On the other
hand, should the GPP
opt to claim the OSD,
the individual partners
are deemed to have
availed also of the OSD
because the OSD is in
lieu of the itemized de-
ductions that can be
claimed in computing
taxable income.
d. If the partner also
derives other gross
income from trade,
business or practice of
profession apart and
distinct from his share
in the net income of
the GPP, the deduction
that he can claim from
his other gross income
would follow the same
deduction availed of from
his partnership income
as explained in the fore-
going rules.
Provided, however, that
if the GPP opts for the
OSD, the individual part-
ner may still claim 40%
BIR ISSUANCES
Page 2 L C A LINES
of its gross income from
trade, business or prac-
tice of profession but not
to include his share from
the net income of the
GPP.

A taxpayer who elected
to avail of the OSD not
exceeding 40% of gross
sales or gross receipts, in
case of an individual taxa-
ble under Sections 24(A)
and 25(A)(1) of the NIRC,
or 40% of gross income,
in case of a corporation
subject to tax under Sec-
tion 27(A) or 28(A)(1) of
the NIRC shall signify in
his/its return such inten-
tion, otherwise he/it shall
be considered as having
availed himself of the
itemized deductions al-
lowed under Section 34
of the NIRC. Once the
election to avail of the
OSD or itemized deduc-
tion is signified in the
return, it shall be irrev-
ocable for the taxable
year for which the return
is made.
The election to claim ei-
ther the OSD or the item-
ized deduction for the
taxable year must be sig-
nified by checking the
appropriate box in the
Income Tax Return filed
for the first quarter of the
taxable year adopted by
the taxpayer. Once the
election is made, the
same type of deduction
must be consistently
applied for all the suc-
ceeding quarterly re-
turns and in the final
Income Tax Return for
the taxable year. Any
taxpayer who is re-
quired but fails to file
the quarterly Income
Tax Return for the
first quarter shall be
considered as having
availed of the itemized
deductions option for the
taxable year.

An individual taxpayer
who is entitled to and
claimed the OSD shall
not be required to submit
with his tax return
such financial state-
ments otherwise re-
quired under the NIRC.
Provided, that, except
when the Commissioner
otherwise permits, the
said individual shall keep
such records pertaining
to his gross sales or
gross receipts. In the
case of a corporation,
however, said corpora-
tion is still required to
submit its financial state-
ments when it files its
annual Income Tax Re-
turn and to keep such
records pertaining to its
gross income as herein
defined.


REVENUE REGULA-
TIONS NO. 3-2010


Issued on February 26,
2010 provides the ra-
tionale and guidelines
for the submission of
the Statement of Man-
agement Responsibility
that shall accompany
the financial statements
that shall be submitted
with the annual Income
Tax return.

All taxpayers required
to file Annual Income
Tax Return under the
National Internal Reve-
nue Code, as amend-
ed, shall be required
to submit a Statement
of Managements Re-
sponsibility, as follows:

STATEMENT OF MAN-
AGEMENTS RESPONSI-
BIILITY FOR
ANNUAL INCOME TAX
RETURN

The Management of
(name of taxpayer) is
responsible for all in-
formation and represen-
tations contained in
the Annual Income Tax
Return for the year
ended (date). Manage-
ment is likewise respon-
sible for all information
and representations con-
tained in the financial
statements accompany-
ing the (Annual Income
Tax Return or Annual
Information Return) cov-
ering the same reporting
period. Furthermore, the
Management is responsi-
ble for all information
and representations con-
tained in all the other tax
returns filed for the re-
porting period, including,
but not limited, to the
value added tax and/or
percentage tax returns,
withholding tax returns,
documentary stamp tax
returns, and any and all
other tax returns.

In this regard, the
Management affirms
that the attached au-
dited financial state-
ments for the year
ended (date) and the
accompanying Annual
Income Tax Return are
in accordance with the
____________________
(Name of the Individual
Taxpayer/President/
Managing Partner)

Signature:
____________________
(Name of the Chief Exec-
utive Officer or its equiv-
alent)

Signature:
____________________
(Name of the Chief Fi-
nancial Officer or its
equivalent)

In the case of a for-
eign corporation with
branch office in the
Philippines, the above
Statement shall be
signed by its local man-
ager who is in charge of
its operations.




REVENUE REGULA-
TIONS NO. 4-2010


Issued on February 26,
2010 amends Revenue
Regulations No. 11-2006
relative to the accredita-
tion of tax practitioners/
agents as a prerequisite
to their practice or repre-
sentation before the Bu-
reau of Internal Reve-
nue.

The Revenue National
Accreditation Board
(RNAB) shall have
original and exclusive
authority to accept
applications for accredi-
tation of tax agents
and practitioners (TAPs)
belonging to General
Professional Partner-
ships (GPPs) or incor-
porated entities en-
gaged in accounting and
tax consultancy, provid-
ed that the number of
practicing TAPs belonging
to said GPP or incorpo-
rated entity shall ex-
ceed ten (10). The Rev-
enue Regional Accredita-
tion Board (RRAB), on
the other hand, shall
have original and exclu-
sive authority to accept
applications for accredi-
tation of individual TAPs
and those belonging to
GPPs or incorporated
entities engaged in ac-
counting and tax con-
sultancy, provided that
the number of practic-
ing TAPs belonging to
such GPP or incorporated
entity does not exceed
ten (10).

It shall be the duty of
the Accredi tati on
Boards to act upon all
applications to practice
before the Bureau of In-
ternal Revenue, to insti-
tute and provide for the
conduct of accreditation,
suspension or di s-
accreditation proceedings
and to perform such oth-
er duties as are neces-
sary or appropriate to
carry out their functions
as prescribed by the Sec-
retary of Finance, provid-
ed that any action or
decision of the RRAB
and RNAB shall be
final and appealable
only to the Commis-
sioner.

Individual applicants,
GPPs and partners of
GPPs who were already
accredited with the Board
of Accountancy (BOA)
and Security and Ex-
Page 3 VOLUME III, ISSUE No. 2
BIR ISSUANCES
books and records of
(name of taxpayer),
complete and correct in
all material respects.
Management likewise
affirms that:

(a)the Annual Income
Tax Return has been
prepared in accordance
with the provisions of
the National Internal
Revenue Code, as
amended, and pertinent
tax regulations and
other issuances of the
Department of Finance
and the Bureau of Inter-
nal Revenue;

(b) Any disparity of fig-
ures in the submitted
reports arising from the
preparation of financial
statements pursuant to
financial accounting
standards and the
preparation of the In-
come Tax Return pursu-
ant to tax accounting
rules has been reported
as reconciling items and
maintained in the com-
panys books and rec-
ords in accordance
with the requirements
of Revenue Regulations
No. 8-2007 and other
relevant issuances; (c)
the (name of taxpayer)
has filed all applicable
tax returns, reports and
statements required to
be filed under Philip-
pine tax laws for the
reporting period, and
all taxes and other
impositions shown
thereon to be due and
payable have been
paid for the reporting
period, except those
contested in good faith.

Signature:
change Commi ssi on
(SEC) shall similarly be
required to undergo the
various processes for
accreditation under these
Regulations and shall no
longer be automatically
accredited and issued a
BIR Certificate of Accred-
itation. For Individual
Tax Agents, as an addi-
tional minimum qualifica-
tion, applicants must
have completed the mini-
mum number of hours
of continuing profes-
sional education (CPE)
from BIR-accredited CPE
providers for each year
he practices with the
BIR.

The duly accomplished
accreditation application
form shall be submit-
ted, together with all
documentary require-
ments, with the RRAB
or RNAB of the place
where the individual
applicant or general pro-
fessional partnership has
his/its principal residence
or place of business,
whichever is applicable.
Individual applicants
shall submit, together
with their duly accom-
plished application forms,
the following additional
documents:

a. Proof of special com-
petence in tax matters or
tax practice, to wit:

a.1. Certificate of Em-
ployment, i.e. meaning-
ful experience in tax
related work;

a.2. Written certifica-
tion of CPE units from
BIR-accredited CPE
providers, with com-
BIR ISSUANCES
Page 4 L C A LINES
plete details on the
course, dates and num-
ber of CPE hours taken
by the TAP. For this
purpose, the BIR shall
prescribe the guidelines
for the accreditation of
and conduct of training
by the CPE providers;

Pending the issuance of
the guidelines by the
BIR for the accredita-
tion of CPE providers,
the applicant shall only
comply with the require-
ments prescribed in (a) to
(c) and (d.1) of Section 5
of RR No. 11-2006.

b. A written undertaking
under oath to preserve
working papers within
the period prescribed
under Section 235 of
the NIRC of 1997, as
amended, and making
them available to the Bu-
reaus authorized repre-
sentative/s when required
or directed to do so.

For Partners, Directors,
Officers or duly authorized
representatives of General
Professional Partnerships
duly registered with the
SEC, in addition to the
documentary require-
ments prescribed, the
following additional re-
quirements shall be sub-
mitted:

a. Certification from the
BOA if the said Partner,
Director, Officer or duly
authorized representative
is a CPA; and

b. A written undertaking
under oath by the manag-
ing partner/director that
the firm/entity shall fully
cooperate with the Bu-
reau by preserving its
working papers within
the period prescribed
under Section 235 of the
NIRC of 1997, as amend-
ed, and making them
available to the Bureaus
authorized representa-
tive/s when required or
directed to do so.

Each applicant shall pay
a non-refundable fee of P
1,000.00 upon filing of
application for accredita-
tion. If the applicant is a
general professi onal
partnership, the fee shall
be paid for each partner/
s and any other author-
ized representative/s
thereof. In the case of
incorporated entities en-
gaged in the account-
ing and tax consultan-
cy services, the fee
shall be paid by each
of the applicant officer/s
or designated repre-
sentative/s thereof.

All accredited TAPs
shall submit to the
RRAB/RNAB on or be-
fore the last day of
payment of annual regis-
tration fee the following
documents:

a. A list of the engage-
ments dealing with any
of the BIR Offices for the
prior year; and

b. A list of the CPE
hours earned by the
accredited tax agents/
practitioners for the
previous year.

The RRAB shall process
the application/s and
issue the certificate/s
of accreditation of indi-
viduals, GPPs and in-
corporated entities with
TAPs of 10 or less
persons, while the
RNAB shall process the
application/s and ap-
prove the certificate/s of
accreditation for individ-
uals, GPPs and incorpo-
rated entities with TAPs
of 11 or more persons.
In cases where the indi-
viduals, GPPs and incor-
porated entities had pre-
viously accredited 10 or
less TAPs and shall sub-
sequently apply for ac-
creditation of additional
TAPs exceeding the 10
person threshold, said
application shall be filed
with the RNAB, which
shall process the appli-
cation/s and issue the
certification/s of accredi-
tation.

The RRAB and RNAB
shall act upon all applica-
tions for accreditation by
verifying the qualifica-
tions of an applicant,
and the completeness
of the required docu-
mentation. If an appli-
cation is determined to
be complete, and the
applicant's qualifications
are found to be in
conformity with the
provisions of Section 4
of these Regulations,
the application shall be
stamped "RECEIVED"
bearing the date the
completed application
was received by the
RRAB/RNAB.

In all cases, the RRAB/
RNAB shall have the ex-
clusive authority to ap-
prove/disapprove appli-
cations for accreditation
falling within their re-
spective jurisdiction,
of the partnerships ac-
creditation but only that
of the concerned part-
ners accreditation. The
partnership, however,
must notify the RNAB,
or the RRAB having
jurisdiction over the
partnership's principal
place of business, of
such occurrence and
shall surrender to the
RNAB/RRAB the con-
cerned partner's Certifi-
cate of Registration or
Identification Card for
cancellation.

The following are addi-
tional grounds for sus-
pension, cancellation or
revocation of accredita-
tion:

a. "Reckless conduct
which is a highly unrea-
sonable omission or mis-
representation involving
an extreme departure
from the standards of
ordinary care that a
practitioner should ob-
serve under the cir-
cumstances arising
from non-compliance
by the taxpayer-client
with existing provisions
of the Tax Code, its
rules and regulations,
including financial ac-
counting standards and
tax accounting rules.
Reckless conduct on
the part of the tax
agent/practitioner shall
be presumed when
there is substantial un-
derdeclaration of client-
taxpayers taxable sales,
receipts or income, or a
substantial overstate-
ment of its deductions as
defined under Section
248 of the Tax Code, as
amended, and such dis-
crepancy is discovered
by the Bureau in the con-
duct of its enforcement
activities. A pattern of
conduct is a factor that
will be taken into ac-
count in determining
whether a practitioner
acted knowingly, reck-
lessly, or through gross
incompetence;

b. Failure to comply with
the completion of the
CPE; and

c. Consistent failure to
indicate the BIR ac-
creditation number in
the documents filed with
the BIR.

A petition for Disaccredi-
tation/Suspension of an
Accredited Tax Agent
may be filed with the
RRAB or RNAB having
jurisdiction over the resi-
dence or principal place
of business of the ac-
credited tax agent
against whom the Peti-
tion is being filed. Peti-
tions found to have been
filed by fictitious persons
or organizations, upon
verification by the RRAB
or RNAB concerned, shall
be dismissed for lack of
factual or legal bases.

The RRAB or RNAB
with whom a Petition
for Disaccreditation/
Suspension was filed
shall conduct hearing(s)
on such Petition, to
allow both the Petition-
er and the Accredited
Tax Agent concerned to
present their side of
the case. In the con-
duct of hearings, a
quorum is sufficient to
convene the RRAB or
Page 5 VOLUME III, ISSUE No. 2
BIR ISSUANCES
which shall be acted
upon within 30 days
from receipt of the com-
plete application.

Applicants whose appli-
cations for accreditation
have been approved by
the RRAB/RNAB shall be
issued a Certificate of
Accreditation signed by
their respective Chair-
man. Such Certificate
shall be valid for a
period of 3 years from
the date of issue, un-
less sooner revoked for
cause. For purposes of
easy identification, the
Commissioner of Internal
Revenue shall issue an
identification card to
each accredited tax
agent or practitioner.


Application for accredita-
tion which has been dis-
approved by the RRAB/
RNAB may be appealed
to the Commissioner. An
adverse decision by the
Commissioner may be
appealed to the Secre-
tary of Finance, who
shall rule on the ap-
peal within 60 days
from receipt of such
appeal. Failure of the
Secretary of Finance to
rule on the appeal
within the prescribed
period shall be deemed
as approval of the appli-
cation for accreditation
of the appellant.

The resignation, retire-
ment, death or incapaci-
ty of any partner of a
general professi onal
partnership who has
been accredited by the
RNAB/RNAB shall not
result in the cancellation
RNAB. Upon termination
of the hearing, the
RRAB or RNAB shall de-
cide by a majority vote
of the members present
and voting, whether to
grant or deny the Peti-
tion.

In cases of disaccredi-
tation or suspension,
the RRAB or RNAB
shall issue to the Tax
Agent concerned a
Notice of Disaccredita-
tion/Suspension signed
by its Chairman. A
copy of such Notice
shall be sent to the Pe-
titioner. In the event
that a Petition for Dis-
a c c r e d i t a t i o n /
Suspension is denied,
the RRAB or RNAB
shall inform both par-
ties of such decision,
in an official communi-
cation signed by its
Chairman.

Only those Tax Agents/
Practitioners, Partners
or Officers of General
Professional Partner-
ships, or Officers or Di-
rectors of corporate en-
tities engaged in tax
practice who have been
issued Certificate of Ac-
creditation or ID card
shall be allowed to rep-
resent a taxpayer or
transact business with
the Bureau of Internal
Revenue in representa-
tion of a taxpayer for
the purpose(s) defined
in these Regulations.

The BIR can refuse to
transact official busi-
ness with tax practi-
tioners who are not
accredited before it
and shall require that
certain official state-
ments such as returns,
financial statements,
reports, protests, re-
quests for ruling, offi-
cial correspondence and
other statements, pa-
pers or documents filed
on behalf of a taxpayer
be signed or certified to
by accredited persons,
which shall bear the fol-
lowing information below
their signature:

a. For individuals (CPAs
Members of GPPs, and
other)
a.1. Taxpayer Identifi-
cation Number (TIN);
and
a.2. Certification of Ac-
creditation Number;
Date of Issuance, and
Date of Expiry
b. For members of the
Philippine Bar:
a.1. Taxpayer Identifi-
cation Number (TIN);
a.2. Attorneys Roll
Number; and
a.3. Mandatory Continu-
ing Legal Education
(MCLE) Compliance
Number.

The RNAB shall keep
an up-to-date Master
List of all suspended/
d i s a c c r ed i t e d Ta x
Agent s/Practi ti oners.
This Master List shall
be posted in the BIR
website and/or shall be
published in a newspaper
of general circulation in
order that this list shall
be readily available for
reference by the public.

Within 60 days, prior
to the expiration of
the accreditation, Tax
Agents/ Practitioners
may apply for renewal
BIR ISSUANCES
Page 6 L C A LINES
of their accreditation. -
All accredited TAPs,
whether engaged in indi-
vidual practice, or belong-
ing to GPPs or incorpo-
rated entities engaged in
accounting and tax con-
sultancy, including law-
yers engaged in tax prac-
tice before the BIR, shall
pay the registration fee of
Five Hundred Pesos
(P500.00) in the Revenue
District Office (RDO) hav-
ing jurisdiction over the
principal place of business
of the individual practi-
tioner, GPP or incorpo-
rated entity on or before
January 31 of each year.

All currently accredited
TAPs, whether engaged
in individual practice, or
belonging to GPPs or
incorporated entities
engaged in accounting
and tax consultancy,
including lawyers en-
gaged in tax practice be-
fore the BIR, shall pay the
registration fee of P
500.00 not later than
March 15, 2010. TAPs
who have previously been
accredited but whose ac-
creditation has since ex-
pired, or those TAPs who
still have not filed their
applications but have
been practicing with the
BIR are required to file
their application not later
than March 15, 2010.

Any TAP who violates any
provision of RR No. 11-
2006 or this Regulation
shall, upon conviction for
each act or omission, be
punished by a fine of P
1,000.00 or suffer impris-
onment of not more than
6 months, or both.




REVENUE MEMORAN-
DUM CIRCULAR NO. 7
-2010



Publishes the full text of
the Memorandum of
Agreement (MOA) be-
tween the Bureau of In-
ternal Revenue (BIR),
Land Transportation Of-
fice (LTO) and Insurance
Commission (IC) signed
on January 20, 2010.

The IC shall perform,
host, manage and main-
tain the IC COC Gateway
(ICG) for recording and
monitoring of all Certifi-
cates of Cover (COCs) for
Compulsory Third Party
Liability (CTPL) and Mo-
tor Car Comprehensive
Insurance coverage. The
IC shall interconnect with
the Enhanced Certificate
of Cover Verification Fa-
cility (ECOCVF) of the
LTO for the subsequent
verification phase.

The IC shall require/
mandate accredited in-
surance companies to
submit/file COCs pertain-
ing to CTPL and Compre-
hensive Insurance poli-
cies into the ICG. For this
purpose, the IC shall im-
pose admi ni strati ve
sanctions upon insurance
companies, their direc-
tors/officers/ agents, for
any willful failure or re-
fusal to comply with or
violation of the aforesaid
requirement.

The LTO, on the other
hand, shall perform,
host, manage and main-
tain the ECOCVF for the
subsequent verification
of COCs, and shall inter-
connect with the ICG for
proper monitoring of col-
lection of taxes, fees,
and charges due to the
BIR.

The BIR shall have ac-
cess to the ICG and
ECOCVF to determine
COC issuances and the
amount of taxes due/
paid to the government.
The BIR shall also have
access to the reports
generated from the ICG
and ECOCVF for purpos-
es of industry analysis
and tracking.


REVENUE MEMORAN-
DUM ORDER NO. 10-
2010



RMO No. 10-2010 pre-
scribes the policies and
guidelines for the mon-
itoring, processing and
maintenance of a data-
base of Estate Tax cases
relative to Project Rest in
Peace (R.I.P.).

Project R.I.P. is being
implemented to tap the
large potential of in-
creasing the number of
Estate Tax returns filed
and the Estate Taxes
collected.

All Revenue District Of-
fices shall conduct a pro-
mation shall be required:

a. Name of decedent
b. Address of decedent
c. Date of death
d. Status of decedent
(i.e., Married, single,
with children, etc.)
e. Name of relative(s)/
contact person(s)
f. Address of relative
(s)/contact person(s)

All information gathered
shall be submitted to the
Chief, Audit Information,
Tax Exemption and In-
c e n t i v e s Di v i s i o n
(AITEID) for centralized
data warehousing and
other processing proce-
dures.

The Revenue District Of-
ficer (RDO) shall send a
Notification Letter to the
relative/contact person/
residence of the dece-
dent who has been as-
certained as a resident or
registered taxpayer of
the Revenue District Of-
fice. All other cases/
information gathered on
the decedents who are
NOT residents or regis-
tered taxpayers of the
Revenue District Office
shall be sent to the
Chief, AITEID. The Chief,
AITEID shall ascertain
which Revenue District
Office has jurisdiction
over these cases and
transmit the same to
these RDOs.

The Notification Letter
shall advise and remind
t h e r e l a t i v e /
administrator of the de-
cedent of the require-
ments and the due dates
for filing of notice of
death, the Estate Tax
return and the payment
Page 7 VOLUME III, ISSUE No. 2
BIR ISSUANCES
active and close monitor-
ing of potential Estate
Tax cases by establish-
ing linkages with and/
or accessing or secur-
ing the records of the
following:

a. Civil Registers
b. Hospitals
c. Memorial Parks
d. Cemeteries
e. Funeral Parlors
f. Crematoriums
g. Judicial Clerks of
courts
h. Obituaries
i. Life Insurance com-
panies and other finan-
cial institutions

The Access to Records
form/letter prescribed in
RMO No. 7-2010 shall
be used for requesting
for information from the
above mentioned enti-
ties. The following infor-
of the Estate Taxes. If
the relative/contact per-
son of the decedent fails
to file the Estate Tax
return and pay the Es-
tate Tax on the due
date, the RDO shall un-
dertake the necessary
action to determine the
estate tax obligation of
the deceased/decedent
and to protect the inter-
est of the BIR.

The National Investiga-
tion Division shall be
responsible for tracking
the obituaries in the
newspapers of general
circulation.






EXPANDED SENIOR CITIZENS ACT OF 2010
Republic Act No. 9994
AN ACT GRANTING
ADDITIONAL BENE-
FITS AND PRIVILEGES
TO SENIOR CITIZENS,
FURTHER AMENDING
REPUBLIC ACT NO.
7432, AS AMENDED,
OTHERWISE KNOWN
AS "AN ACT TO MAX-
IMIZE THE CONTRIBU-
TION OF SENIOR CITI-
ZENS TO NATION
BUILDING, GRANT
BENEFITS AND SPE-
CIAL PRIVILEGES AND
FOR OTHER PURPOS-
ES"
"Expanded Senior Citi-
zens Act of 2010."



Section 2 of Republic
Act No. 7432, as
amended by Republic
Act No. 9257, is
hereby further
amended to read as
follows:


SEC. 2. Definition of
terms. - For purposes of
this Act, these terms are
defined as follows:

"(a) Senior citizen or
elderly refers to any
resident citizen of the
Philippines at least six-
ty (60) years old;

"(b) Geriatrics refer to
the branch of medical
science devoted to the
study of the biological
and physical changes
and the diseases of old
age;

"(c) Lodging establish-
ment refers to a build-
ing, edifice, structure,
apartment or house
including tourist inn,
apartelle, motorist ho-
tel, and pension house
engaged in catering,
leasing or providing
facilities to transients,
tourists or travelers;

"(d) Medical Services
refer to hospital ser-
vices, professional ser-
vices of physicians and
other health care pro-
fessionals and diagnos-
tics and laboratory
tests that the neces-
sary for the diagnosis
or treatment of an ill-
ness or injury;

"(e) Dental services to
oral examination,
cleaning, permanent
and temporary filling,
extractions and gum
treatments, restora-
tion, replacement or
repositioning of teeth,
or alteration of the al-
veolar or periodontium
process of the maxilla
and the mandible that
are necessary for the
Page 8 L C A LINES

diagnosis or treatment
of an illness or injury;

"(f) Nearest surviving
relative refers to the
legal spouse who sur-
vives the deceased
senior citizen: Provid-
ed, That where no
spouse survives the
decedent, this shall be
limited to relatives in
the following order of
degree of kinship: chil-
dren, parents, siblings,
grandparents, grand-
children, uncles and
aunts;

"(g) Home health care
service refers to health
or supportive care pro-
vided to the senior citi-
zen patient at home by
licensed health care
professionals to in-
clude, but not limited
to, physicians, nurses,
midwives, physical
therapist and caregiv-
ers; and

"(h) Indigent senior
citizen, refers to any
elderly who is frail,
sickly or with disability,
and without pension or
permanent source of
income, compensation
or financial assistance
from his/her relatives
to support his/her
basic needs, as deter-
mined by the Depart-
ment of Social Welfare
and development
(DSWD) in consultation
with the National Coor-
dinating and Monitoring
Board."

Section 4 Section 4 of
Republic Act No. 7432,
as amended by Republic
Act No. 9257, is hereby
further amended to read
as follows:

"SEC. 4. Privileges for
the Senior Citizens. -
The senior citizens shall
be entitled to the follow-
ing:

"(a) the grant of 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 es-
tablishments, for the
exclusive use and enjoy-
ment or availment of the
senior citizen

"(1) on the purchase of
medicines, including
the purchase of influ-
enza and pnuemococ-
cal vaccines, and such
other essential medical
supplies, accessories
and equipment to be
determined by the De-
partment of Health
(DOH).
"The DOH shall estab-
lish guidelines and
mechanism of compul-
sory rebates in the
sharing of burden of
discounts among retail-
ers, manufacturers and
distributors, taking into
consideration their re-
spective margins;
"(2) on the profession-
al fees of attending
physician/s in all pri-
vate hospitals, medical
facilities, outpatient
clinics and home health
care services;
"(3) on the profession-
al fees of licensed pro-
fessional health provid-
ing home health care
services as endorsed
by private hospitals or
employed through
home health care em-
ployment agencies;
"(4) on medical and
dental services, diag-
nostic and laboratory
fees in all private hos-
pitals, medical facili-
ties, outpatient clinics,
and home health care
services, in accordance
with the rules and reg-
ulations to be issued
by the DOH, in coordi-
nation with the Philip-
pine Health Insurance
Corporation
(PhilHealth);
"(5) in actual fare for
land transportation
travel in public utility
buses (PUBs), public
utility jeepneys (PUJs),
taxis, Asian utility vehi-
cles (AUVs), shuttle
services and public
railways, including
Light Rail Transit
(LRT), Mass Rail Trans-
it (MRT), and Philippine
National Railways
(PNR);
"(6) in actual transpor-
tation fare for domestic
air transport services
and sea shipping ves-
sels and the like, based
on the actual fare and
advanced booking;
"(7) on the utilization
of services in hotels
and similar lodging es-
tablishments, restau-
rants and recreation
centers;
"(8) on admission fees
charged by theaters,
cinema houses and
concert halls, circuses,
leisure and amuse-
ment; and
"(9) on funeral and
burial services for the
death of senior citi-
zens;

"(b) exemption from the
payment of individual
income taxes of senior
citizens who are consid-
ered to be minimum
wage earners in accord-
ance with Republic Act
No. 9504;
"(c) the grant of a mini-
mum of five percent
(5%) discount relative to
the monthly utilization of
water and electricity sup-
plied by the public utili-
ties: Provided, That the
individual meters for the
foregoing utilities are
registered in the name of
the senior citizen resid-
ing therein: Provided,
further, That the monthly
consumption does not
exceed one hundred kilo-
watt hours (100 kWh) of
electricity and thirty cu-
bic meters (30 m3) of
water: Provided, further-
more, That the privilege
is granted per household
regardless of the number
of senior citizens residing
therein;

"(d) exemption from
training fees for socioec-
onomic programs;

"(e) free medical and
dental services, diagnos-
tic and laboratory fees
such as, but not limited
to, x-rays, computerized
tomography scans and
blood tests, in all gov-

Page 9 L C A LINES
"(1) an identification
card issued by the Of-
fice of the Senior Citizen
Affairs (OSCA) of the
place where the senior
citizen resides: Provid-
ed, That the identifica-
tion card issued by the
particular OSCA shall be
honored nationwide;
"(2) the passport of the
senior citizen con-
cerned; and
"(3) other documents
that establish that the
senior citizen is a citizen
of the Republic and is at
least sixty (60) years of
age as further provided
in the implementing
rules and regulations.

"In the purchase of goods
and services which are on
promotional discount, the
senior citizen can avail of
the promotional discount
or the discount provided
herein, whichever is high-
er.

"The establishment may
claim the discounts grant-
ed under subsections (a)
and (c) of this section as
tax deduction based on
the cost of the goods sold
or services rendered: Pro-
vided, That the cost of the
discount shall be allowed
as deduction from gross
income for the same taxa-
ble year that the discount
is granted: Provided, fur-
ther, That the total
amount of the claimed tax
deduction net of VAT, if
applicable, shall be in-
cluded in their gross sales
receipts for tax purposes
and shall be subject to
proper documentation and
to the provisions of the
National Internal Revenue
Code (NICR), as
amended."

Section 5 of the
same Act, as
amended, is hereby
further amended to
read as follows:

"SEC. 5. Government
Assistance. - The gov-
ernment shall provide
the following:
"(a) Employment

"Senior citizens who
have the capacity and
desire to work, or be re-
employed, shall be pro-
vided information and
matching services to
enable them to be pro-
ductive members of so-
ciety. Terms of employ-
ment shall conform with
the provisions of the
Labor Code, as amend-
ed, and other laws,
rules and regulations.

"Private entities that will
employ senior citizens
as employees, upon the
effectivity of this Act,
shall be entitled to an
additional deduction
from their gross in-
come, equivalent to fif-
teen percent (15%) of
the total amount paid
as salaries and wages to
senior citizens, subject
to the provision of Sec-
tion 34 of the NIRC, as
amended: Provided,
however, That such em-
ployment shall continue
for a period of at least
six (6) months: Provid-
ed, further, That the
annual income of the
senior citizen does not
exceed the latest pov-
erty threshold as deter-
mined by the National
regularly reviewed to
ensure their continuing
responsiveness and sus-
tainability, and to the
extent practicable and
feasible, shall be upgrad-
ed to be at par with the
current scale enjoyed by
those in actual service;

"(j) to the extent possi-
ble, the government may
grant special discounts in
special programs for sen-
ior citizens on purchase
of basic commodities,
subject to the guidelines
to be issued for the pur-
pose by the Department
of Trade and Industry
(DTI) and the Depart-
ment of Agriculture
(DA);

"(k) provision of express
lanes for senior citizens
in all commercial and
government establish-
ments; in the absence
thereof, priority shall be
given to them; and

"(l) death benefit assis-
tance of a minimum of
Two thousand pesos
(P2, 000.00) shall be
given to the nearest sur-
viving relative of a de-
ceased senior citizen
which amount shall be
subject to adjustments
due to inflation in ac-
cordance with the guide-
lines to be issued by the
DSWD.

"In the availment of the
privileges mentioned
above, the senior citizen,
or his/her duly author-
ized representative, may
submit as proof of his/
her entitlement thereto
any of the following:

ernment facilities, sub-
ject to the guidelines to
be issued by the DOH in
coordination with the
PhilHealth;

"(f) the DOH shall ad-
minister free vaccina-
tion against the influen-
za virus and pneumo-
coccal disease for indi-
gent senior citizen pa-
tients;

"(g) educational assis-
tance to senior citizens
to pursue post second-
ary, tertiary, post ter-
tiary, vocational and
technical education, as
well as short-term
courses for retooling in
both public and private
schools through provi-
sion of scholarships,
grants, financial aids,
subsidies and other in-
centives to qualified
senior citizens, including
support for books,
learning materials, and
uniform allowances, to
the extent feasible: Pro-
vided, That senior citi-
zens shall meet mini-
mum admission require-
ments;

"(h) to the extent prac-
ticable and feasible, the
continuance of the
same benefits and privi-
leges given by the Gov-
ernment Service Insur-
ance System (GSIS),
the Social Security Sys-
tem (SSS) and the PAG-
IBIG, as the case may
be, as are enjoyed by
those in actual service;

"(i) retirement benefits
of retirees from both
the government and the
private sector shall be

Page 10 VOLUME III, ISSUE No. 2
Statistical Coordination
Board (NSCB) of the Na-
tional Economic and De-
velopment Authority
(NEDA) for that year.

"The Department of La-
bor and Employment
(DOLE), in coordination
with other government
agencies such as, but not
limited to, the Technolo-
gy and Livelihood Re-
source Center (TLRC)
and the Department of
Trade and Industry
(DTI), shall assess, de-
sign and implement
training programs that
will provide skills and
welfare or livelihood sup-
port for senior citizens.

"(b) Education
"The Department of Edu-
cation (DepED), the
Technical Education and
Skills Development Au-
thority (TESDA) and the
Commission on Higher
Education (CHED), in
consultation with non-
governmental organiza-
tions (NGOs) and peo-
ple's organizations (POs)
for senior citizens, shall
institute programs that
will ensure access to for-
mal and nonformal edu-
cation.

"(c) Health
"The DOH, in coordina-
tion with local govern-
ment units (LGUs), NGOs
and POs for senior citi-
zens, shall institute a
national health program
and shall provide an in-
tegrated health service
for senior citizens. It
shall train community-
based health workers
among senior citizens
and health personnel to
specialize in the geriatric
care and health problems
of senior citizens.

"The national health pro-
gram for senior citizens
shall, among others, be
harmonized with the Na-
tional Prevention of
Blindness Program of the
DOH.
"Throughout the country,
there shall be estab-
lished a "senior citizens'
ward" in every govern-
ment hospital. This geri-
atric ward shall be for
the exclusive use of sen-
ior citizens who are in
need of hospital confine-
ment by reason of their
health conditions. How-
ever, when urgency of
public necessity purposes
so require, such geriatric
ward may be used for
emergency purposes,
after which, such "senior
citizens' ward" shall be
reverted to its nature as
geriatric ward.

"(d) Social Services
"At least fifty percent
(50%) discount shall be
granted on the consump-
tion of electricity, water,
and telephone by the
senior citizens center
and residential care/
group homes that are
government-run or non-
stock, non-profit domes-
tic corporation organized
and operated primarily
for the purpose of pro-
moting the well-being of
abandoned, neglected,
unattached, or homeless
senior citizens, subject to
the guidelines formulated
by the DSWD.

"(1) "self and social
enhancement services"
which provide senior
citizens opportunities
for socializing, organiz-
ing, creative expression,
and self-improvement;
"(2) "after care and fol-
low-up services" for citi-
zens who are dis-
charged from the homes
or institutions for the
aged, especially those
who have problems of
reintegration with family
and community, where-
in both the senior citi-
zens and their families
are provided with coun-
seling;
"(3) "neighborhood sup-
port services" wherein
the community or family
members provide care-
giving services to their
frail, sick, or bedridden
senior citizens; and
"(4) "substitute family
care " in the form of
residential care or group
homes for the aban-
doned, neglected, unat-
tached or homeless sen-
ior citizens and those
incapable of self-care.

"(e) Housing
"The national government
shall include in its nation-
al shelter program the
special housing needs of
senior citizens, such as
establishment of housing
units for the elderly.

"(f) Access to Public
Transport
"The Department of
Transportation and Com-
munications (DOTC) shall
develop a program to as-
sist senior citizens to fully
gain access to public
transport facilities.

"(g) Incentive for Foster
Care
"The government shall
provide incentives to indi-
viduals or nongovernmen-
tal institution caring for or
establishing homes, resi-
dential communities or
retirement villages solely
for, senior citizens, as
follows:
"(1) realty tax holiday
for the first five (5)
years starting from the
first year of operation;
and
"(2) priority in the con-
struction or mainte-
nance of provincial or
municipal roads leading
to the aforesaid home,
residential community
or retirement village.
"(h) Additional Govern-
ment Assistance
"(1) Social Pension
"Indigent senior citizens
shall be entitled to a
monthly stipend
amounting to Five hun-
dred pesos (Php500.00)
to augment the daily
subsistence and other
medical needs of senior
citizens, subject to a
review every two (2)
years by Congress, in
consultation with the
DSWD.
"(2) Mandatory Phil-
Health Coverage
"All indigent senior citi-
zens shall be covered by
the national health in-
surance program of
PhilHealth. The LGUs
where the indigent sen-
ior citizens resides shall
allocate the necessary
funds to ensure the en-
rollment of their indi-
gent senior citizens in
accordance with the
pertinent laws and regu-
lations.
"(3) Social Safety Nets

"Social safety assistance
intended to cushion the
effects of economics
shocks, disasters and ca-
lamities shall be available
for senior citizens. The
social safety assistance
which shall include, but
not limited to, food, medi-
cines, and financial assis-
tance for domicile repair,
shall be sourced from the
disaster/calamity funds of
LGUs where the senior
citizens reside, subject to
the guidelines to be is-
sued by the DSWD."


Section 10 of the
same Act, as amend-
ed, is hereby further
amended to read as
follows:

"SEC. 10. Penalties. - Any
person who refuses to
honor the senior citizen
card issued by this the
government or violates
any provision of this Act
shall suffer the following
penalties:

"(a) For the first viola-
tion, imprisonment of
not less than two (2)
years but not more than
six (6) years and a fine
of not less than Fifty
t h o u s a n d p e s o s
(Php50,000.00) but not
exceeding One hundred
t h o u s a n d p e s o s
(Php100,000.00);
"(b) For any subsequent
violation, imprisonment
of not less than two (2)
years but not more than
six (6) years and a fine
of not less than One
Hundred thousand pe-
sos (Php100,000.00)
but not exceeding Two
hundred thousand pesos
(Php200,000.00); and
Page 11
L C A LINES

"(c) Any person who
abuses the privileges
granted herein shall be
punished with impris-
onment of not less
than six (6) months
and a fine of not less
than Fifty thousand
pesos (Php50,000.00)
but not more than One
hundred thousand pe-
sos (Php100,000.00).

If the offender is a cor-
poration, partnership,
organization or any simi-
lar entity, the officials
thereof directly involved
such as the president,
general manager, man-
aging partner, or such
other officer charged
with the management of
the business affairs shall
be liable therefor.

"If the offender is an al-
ien or a foreigner, he/
she shall be deported
immediately after service
of sentence.

"Upon filing of an appro-
priate complaint, and
after due notice and
hearing, the proper au-
thorities may also cause
the cancellation or revo-
cation of the business
permit, permit to oper-
ate, franchise and other
similar privileges granted
to any person, establish-
ment or business entity
that fails to abide by the
provisions of this Act."


Republic Act No. 9995
AN ACT DEFINING AND
PENALIZING THE
CRIME OF PHOTO
AND VIDEO VOYEUR-
ISM, PRESCRIBING
PENALTIES THEREFOR,
AND FOR OTHER PUR-
POSES
"Anti-Photo and Video
Voyeurism Act of
2009".

DEFINITION

(a) "Broadcast" means to
make public, by any
means, a visual image
with the intent that it be
viewed by a person or
persons.
(b) "Capture" with respect
to an image, means to
videotape, photograph,
film, record by any
means, or broadcast.
(c) "Female breast"
means any portion of the
female breast.
(d) "Photo or video vo-
yeurism" means the act of
taking photo or video cov-
erage of a person or
group of persons perform-
ing sexual act or any sim-
ilar activity or of capturing
an image of the private
area of a person or per-
sons without the latter's
consent, under circum-
stances in which such
person/s has/have a rea-
sonable expectation of
privacy, or the act of sell-
ing, copying, reproducing,
broadcasting, sharing,
showing or exhibiting the
photo or video coverage
or recordings of such sex-
ual act or similar activity
through VCD/DVD, inter-
net, cellular phones and
similar means or device
without the written con-
sent of the person/s in-
thousand pesos
(P100,000.00) but not
more than Five hundred
thousand pesos
(P500,000.00), or both,
at the discretion of the
court.
If the violator is a juridi-
cal person, its license or
franchise shall be auto-
matically be deemed re-
voked and the persons
liable shall be the officers
thereof including the edi-
tor and reporter in the
case of print media, and
the station manager,
editor and broadcaster in
the case of a broadcast
media.
If the offender is a public
officer or employee, or a
professional, he/she shall
be administratively lia-
ble.
If the offender is an al-
ien, he/she shall be sub-
ject to deportation pro-
ceedings after serving
his/her sentence and
payment of fines.

Exemption

Nothing contained in this
Act, however, shall ren-
der it unlawful or punish-
able for any peace of-
ficer, who is authorized
by a written order of the
court, to use the record
or any copy thereof as
evidence in any civil,
criminal investigation or
trial of the crime of pho-
to or video voyeurism:
Provided, That such writ-
ten order shall only be
issued or granted upon
written application and
the examination under
oath or affirmation of the
applicant and the wit-
nesses he/she may pro-
duce, and upon showing
that there are reasonable
Page 12
L C A LINES
Republic Act No. 9995
(c) To sell or distribute, or
cause to be sold or dis-
tributed, such photo or
video or recording of sex-
ual act, whether it be the
original copy or reproduc-
tion thereof; or
(d) To publish or broad-
cast, or cause to be pub-
lished or broadcast,
whether in print or broad-
cast media, or show or
exhibit the photo or video
coverage or recordings of
such sexual act or any
similar activity through
VCD/DVD, internet, cellu-
lar phones and other simi-
lar means or device.
The prohibition under par-
agraphs (b), (c) and (d)
shall apply notwithstand-
ing that consent to record
or take photo or video
coverage of the same was
given by such person/s.
Any person who violates
this provision shall be lia-
ble for photo or video vo-
yeurism as defined here-
in.

Penalties
The penalty of imprison-
ment of not less than
three (3) years but not
more than seven (7)
years and a fine of not
less than One hundred
volved, notwithstanding
that consent to record or
take photo or video cov-
erage of same was given
by such person's.
(e) "Private area of a
person" means the na-
ked or undergarment
clad genitals, public ar-
ea, buttocks or female
breast of an individual.
(f) "Under circumstances
in which a person has a
reasonable expectation
of privacy" means be-
lieve that he/she could
disrobe in privacy, with-
out being concerned that
an image or a private
area of the person was
being captured; or cir-
cumstances in which a
reasonable person would
believe that a private
area of the person would
not be visible to the pub-
lic, regardless of whether
that person is in a public
or private place.

Prohibited Acts
(a) To take photo or vid-
eo coverage of a person
or group of persons per-
forming sexual act or
any similar activity or to
capture an image of the
private area of a per-
son/s such as the naked
or undergarment clad
genitals, pubic area, but-
tocks or female breast
without the consent of
the person/s involved
and under circumstances
in which the person/s
has/have a reasonable
expectation of privacy;
(b) To copy or repro-
duce, or to cause to be
copied or reproduced,
such photo or video or
recording of sexual act
or any similar activity
with or without consider-
ation;
Page 13 VOLUME III, ISSUE No. 2
grounds to believe that
photo or video voyeurism
has been committed or is
about to be committed,
and that the evidence to
be obtained is essential to
the conviction of any per-
son for, or to the solution
or prevention of such,
crime.


Inadmissibility of Evi-
dence
Any record, photo or vid-
eo, or copy thereof, ob-
tained or secured by any
person in violation of the
preceding sections shall
not be admissible in evi-
dence in any judicial, qua-
si-judicial, legislative or
administrative hearing or
investigation.




REPUBLIC ACT NO.
9999
AN ACT PROVIDING A
MECHANISM FOR FREE
LEGAL
ASSISTANCE AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES
"Free Legal Assistance
Act of 2010"



Legal services to be per-
formed by a lawyer refers
to any activity which re-
quires the application of
law, legal procedure,
knowledge, training and
experiences which shall
include, among others,
legal advice and counsel,
and the preparation of
instruments and con-
tracts, including appear-
ance before the adminis-
trative and quasi-judicial
offices, bodies and tribu-
nals handling cases in
court, and other similar
services as may be de-
fined by the Supreme
Court.


Requirements for
Availment

For purposes of availing of
the benefits and services
as envisioned in this Act,
a lawyer or professional
partnership shall secure a
certification from the Pub-
lic Attorney's Office
(PAO), the Department of
Justice (DOJ) or accredit-
ed association of the Su-
preme Court indicating
that the said legal ser-
vices to be provided are
within the services de-
fined by the Supreme
Court, and that the agen-
cies cannot provide the
legal services to be pro-
vided by the private coun-
sel.
For purpose of determin-
ing the number of hours
actually provided by the
lawyer and/or profession-
al firm in the provision of
legal services, the associ-
ation and/or organization
duly accredited by the
Supreme Court shall issue
the necessary certification
that said legal services
were actually undertaken.
The certification issued
by, among others, the
PAO, the DOJ and other
accredited association by
the Supreme Court shall
be submitted to the Bu-
reau of Internal Revenue
(BIR) for purposes of
availing the tax deduc-
tions as provided for in
this Act and to the DOJ
for purposes of monitor-
ing.

Incentives to Lawyers
For purposes of this Act, a
lawyer or professional
partnerships rendering
actual free legal services,
as defined by the Su-
preme Court, shall be en-
titled to an allowable de-
duction from the gross
income, the amount that
could have been collected
for the actual free legal
services rendered or up to
ten percent (10%) of the
gross income derived
from the actual perfor-
mance of the legal profes-
sion, whichever is lower:
Provided, That the actual
free legal services herein
contemplated shall be
exclusive of the minimum
sixty (60)-hour mandato-
ry legal aid services ren-
dered to indigent litigants
as required under the
Rule on Mandatory Legal
Aid Services for Practicing
Lawyers, under BAR Mat-
ter No. 2012, issued by
the Supreme Court.



Information, Education
and Communication
(IEC) Campaign
The DOJ, in cooperation
with the Philippine Infor-
mation Agency (PIA), is
mandated to conduct an
annual IEC campaign in
order to inform the law-
yers of the procedures
and guidelines in availing
tax deductions and inform
the general public that a
free legal assistance to
those who cannot afford
counsel is being provided
by the State.





















CIRCULAR NO. 680
Series of 2010
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9999
L C A LINES
Page 14

Subject: Rules and
Regulations for the
Provision of Micro-Agri
Loans

Minimum Criteria to
Determine Banks Ca-
pacity to Offer Micro-
Agri Loans

The BSP will review the
application based on the
following basic principles:

1. To ensure that the
banks have the capacity
and technical capability to
offer micro-agri loans
2. To ensure that the pro-
vision of micro-agri loans
uphold adequate and ap-
propriate risk manage-
ment systems and proce-
dures as well as the mi-
crofinance best methodol-
ogies and technologies
Based on the above prin-
ciples, the BSP may con-
sider the banks micro-
agri loans as microfinance
loans upon satisfaction of
the following require-
ments:
1. The bank must have a
track record of at least
two years in implement-
ing sustainable micro-
finance programs, includ-
ing acceptable portfolio-at
-risk (PAR) levels as eval-
uated against prevailing
BSP standards.
2. The bank must have an
appropriate micro-agri
loan product manual to be
included in the banks mi-
crofinance manual as one
of the types of services or
products offered to pro-
spective clients. Loan/
account officers must be
trained about the micro-
agri loan product and that
the details of the program
can be communicated
clearly to the clients.


Appropriate Risk Man-
agement

Micro-agri loans shall be
subject to the same risk
management mechanisms
required for microfinance
loans including, but not
limited to the following:
1. Clients ability to repay
based on cash flow analy-
sis and affordability espe-
cially the new clients. The
prospective client must
have other sources of in-
come sufficient for the
periodic payment of the
loan while the loan pro-
ject is not yet generat-
ing income, evaluated
through household cash
flow analysis
2. Adequate loan moni-
toring, collection, con-
trol, provisioning con-
sistent with existing
BSP regulations
3. The loan product is
included in the banks
microfinance manual as
one of the types of ser-
vices or products of-
fered to prospective
clients
4. The micro-agri loans
must have a sub-control
ledger.



SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION ISSUANCE
JURISPRUDENCE

PEOPLE OF THE PHIL-
IPPINES
vs.
MARIANO OFEMIANO
Alias Maning
G.R. No. 187155 Feb-
ruary 1, 2010



FACTS: AAA is BBBs
eldest daughter. AAA
lived with BBB and her
lover, Mariano Ofemiano
(Ofemiano), and their
children.

On the very night of
AAAs arrival in Caloocan
City, Ofemiano sexually
molested her. The sexu-
al molestations contin-
ued almost everyday
thereafter. AAA revealed
to her mother her har-
rowing experience but
the latter dismissed her
report.

AAA visited her aunt and
found the courage to tell
the latter about her or-
deal. Enraged, her aunt
immediately reported the
matter to the authorities.

The Regional Trial Court
(RTC) convicted Ofemiano
of the crime of simple
rape.

The Court of Appeals (CA)
affirmed the decision of
the RTC.


ISSUE: Whether or not
the Court gravely erred in
convicting the Ofemiano
of the crime of rape.


RULING: The Court did
not err in convicting
Ofemiano of the crime of
rape.

The findings of the trial
court on the credibility of
witnesses and their testi-
monies are entitled to the
highest respect. Having
seen and heard the wit-
nesses and observed their
behavior and manner of
testifying, the trial court
is deemed to have been in
a better position to weigh
VOLUME III, ISSUE No. 2 Page 15
the evidence. Thus, the
trial courts evaluation
shall be binding on the
appellate court unless it
is shown that certain
facts of substance and
value have been plainly
overlooked, misunder-
stood, or misapplied.
None of the exceptions is
present in this case.

Jurisprudence holds that
the failure of the victim
to shout for help does
not negate rape. Even
the victims lack of re-
sistance, especially when
intimidated by the of-
fender into submission,
does not signify volun-
tariness or consent. Even
absent any actual force
or intimidation, rape may
be committed if the mal-
efactor has moral as-
cendancy over the vic-
tim. We emphasized
that in rape committed
by a close kin, such as
the victims father, step-
father, uncle, or the
common-law spouse of
her mother, moral influ-
ence or ascendancy sub-
stitutes for violence or
intimidation.

Thus, in this case, it was
understandable for the
victim to have silently
endured the sexual at-
tacks of her mothers live-
in partner. As correctly
observed by the appellate
court, Ofemiano evidently
used his moral ascendan-
cy over the victim to carry
out his bestial desire.

Also, the victims inability
to remember the exact
dates of the rape should
not be taken against her.
The exact time of the
commission of the crime
of rape is not a material
ingredient of this crime.
In this case, the victim
was raped almost every
night for a year by her
mothers live-in partner,
with her mother turning a
deaf ear to her cries for
help. Under these cir-
cumstances, we could not
expect the victim to recall
her experiences in an ex-
act, detailed, and flawless
testimony. It is sufficient
if the acts complained of
are alleged to have taken
place as near to the actu-
al date at which the of-
fenses are committed as
the information or com-
plaint will permit.

To sustain a conviction for
rape, there must be proof
of the penetration of the
female organ. The testi-
mony of AAA described
with clarity how Ofemi-
ano raped her and suc-
ceeded in forcing himself
on her. As established
by jurisprudence, when
the victims straightfor-
ward testimony is con-
sistent with the physical
finding of penetration,
sufficient basis exists for
concluding that that sex-
ual intercourse did take
place.


BENEDICTA M. SAM-
SON and MARCIAL M.
SAMSON
vs.
HON. JUDGE GERALD-
INE C. FIEL-
MACARAIG, BANK OF
THE PHILIPPINE IS-
LANDS, FAR EAST
BANK AND TRUST CO.,
ATTY. JULIA CECILY
COCHING-SOSITO,
and THE REGISTER OF
DEEDS FOR MARIKINA
CITY
G.R. No. 166356 Feb-
ruary 2, 2010


FACTS: Sometime in
1998, petitioners Bene-
dicta M. Samson and
Marcial M. Samson
(Spouses Samson) ob-
tained a loan amounting
to P10,000,000 from Far
East Bank and Trust Co.
(FEBTC). The loan was
secured by a real estate
mortgage over four par-
cels of land located in
Marikina City. When
spouses Samson failed to
comply with the terms of
the loan agreement,
FEBTC filed an application
for extra-judicial foreclo-
sure of the real estate
mortgage with the Office
of the Clerk of Court and
Ex-Officio Sheriff of the
Regional Trial Court (RTC)
of Marikina City. FEBTCs
application was given due
course, and a Notice of
Sheriffs Sale was issued.

The mortgaged real prop-
erties were later sold at
public auction to FEBTC as
the highest bidder, and a
Certificate of Sale was
issued in favor of the
bank.

Almost two years later,
spouses Samson, filed a
case for Annulment of
Extra-judicial Foreclosure
and/or Nullification of
Sale and the Certificates
of Title, plus Damages
and with Prayer for a
Temporary Restraining
Order [TRO] and/or Writ
of Preliminary Injunction.
They questioned the va-

Page 16
L C A LINES
lidity of the 29 June
2000 auction sale for
alleged lack of posting
and publication require-
ments.


On 20 December 2002,
the Regional Trial Court
(RTC) of Marikina City,
Branch 192, issued an
Order denying spouses
Samsons application for
TRO and/or Writ of Pre-
liminary Injunction. Six
months later, the RTC
issued an Order dismiss-
ing the complaint for fail-
ure to prosecute for an
unreasonable length of
time.

Spouses Samson filed a
Motion for Reconsidera-
tion, but this was denied
by the RTC.

The Court of Appeals
rendered judgment dis-
missing the Petition for
Certiorari. The Motion
for Reconsideration was
likewise denied.

ISSUE: Whether or not
the Court of Appeals
erred in dismissing the
petition for certiorari.


RULING: The appellate
court did not err when it
ruled that the petition for
certiorari was not the
proper remedy.

A writ of certiorari lies
only for an error of juris-
diction. It can be availed
of only if the lower tribu-
nal has acted without or
in excess of jurisdiction,
or with grave abuse of
discretion amounting to
lack or excess of jurisdic-
tion, and if there is no
appeal or any other plain,
speedy, and adequate
remedy in the ordinary
course of law. Where the
error is not one of juris-
diction but an error of law
or fact which is a mistake
of judgment, certiorari is
not available. In such
case, the remedy is ap-
peal.


The remedy to obtain re-
versal or modification of
the judgment on the mer-
its is appeal. This is true
even if the error, or one
of the errors, ascribed to
the court rendering the
judgment is its lack of
jurisdiction over the sub-
ject matter, or the exer-
cise of power in excess
thereof, or grave abuse of
discretion in the findings
of fact or of law set out in
the decision. The availa-
bility of the right to ap-
peal precludes recourse to
the special civil action for
certiorari. The RTC Order
subject of the petition was
a final judgment which
disposed of the case on
the merits; hence, it was
a subject for an ordinary
appeal, not a petition for
certiorari.

Even assuming that certi-
orari may lie, the Court
still cannot grant the in-
stant petition because the
spouses Samson failed to
show that public respond-
ent, in issuing the as-
sailed Orders, acted with-
out or in excess of juris-
diction, or gravely abused
her discretion amounting
to lack or excess of juris-
diction. There is no
showing that the RTC
judge issued the Order in
a despotic or arbitrary
manner, or that she was
motivated by passion or
personal hostility against
spouses Samson. Grave
abuse of discretion im-
plies such capricious and


whimsical exercise of
judgment as is equivalent
to lack of jurisdiction or,
in other words, where the
power is exercised in an
arbitrary manner by rea-
son of passion, prejudice,
or personal hostility, and
it must be so patent or
gross as to amount to an
evasion of a positive duty
or to a virtual refusal to
perform the duty enjoined
or to act at all in contem-
plation of law. Such is
wanting in this case.


METROPOLITAN BANK
AND TRUST CO. and
SOLIDBANK CORPORA-
TION
vs.
BERNARDITA H. PEREZ,
represented by her
Attorney-in-Fact PA-
TRIA H. PEREZ
G.R. No. 181842 Feb-
ruary 5, 2010



FACTS: Solidbank Cor-
poration (Solidbank)
forged a lease contract
with Bernardita H. Perez
(Perez), over two parcels
of land located in Bulacan
for a period of 15 years
commencing on January
1, 1998. Solidbank was
to, as it did, construct a
one-storey building spe-
cifically suited for bank
premises.

Solidbank was later ac-
quired by Metropolitan
Bank and Trust Company
(Metrobank), the latter as
the surviving entity.

On September 24, 2002,
Metrobank sent a notice
of termination of the lease
contract effective Sep-
tember 30, 2002. Perez,
objecting to the termina-
tion, filed a complaint for
breach of contract and
damages against Solid-
bank and Metrobank be-
fore the Regional Trial
Court (RTC) which ruled
in its favor.


The Court of Appeals (CA)
affirmed the decision of
the trial court even if Pe-
rez admitted that the fil-
ing fees she paid did not
cover her prayer for unre-
alized income for the en-
suing idle months, for at
the time of filing and pay-
ment, the period that the
building would be idle
could not yet be deter-
mined.

ISSUE: Whether or not
the RTC lacks jurisdiction
over the complaint for
Perezs failure to pay the
correct docket fees.


RULING: The RTC did
not lack of jurisdiction
over the complaint for
Perezs failure to pay the
correct docket fees.

In Manchester Develop-
ment Corporation v. Court
of Appeals, the Court held
that a pleading which
does not specify in the
prayer the amount sought
shall not be admitted or
shall be expunged, and
that a court acquires ju-
risdiction only upon pay-
ment of the prescribed
docket fee. This rule was
relaxed in Sun Insurance
Office, Ltd. v. Asuncion
which was echoed in the
2005 case of Heirs of Ber-
tuldo Hinog v. Melico,
where the court ruled that
while the payment of pre-
scribed docket fee is a
jurisdictional requirement,
even its non-payment at
the time of filing does not
automatically cause the
dismissal of the case, as
long as the fee is paid
within the applicable
prescriptive or regle-
mentary period, more
so when the party in-
volved demonstrates a
willingness to abide by
the rules prescribing such
payment. Thus, when in-
sufficient filing fees were
initially paid by the
plaintiffs and there was
no intention to defraud
the government, the
Manchester rule does not
apply.


The ensuing months in
which the leased premises
would be rendered vacant
could not be determined
at the time of the filing of
the complaint. It bears
recalling that the building
constructed on Perezs
leased premises was spe-
cifically constructed to
house a bank, hence, the
idle period before another
occupant with like busi-
ness may opt to lease
would be difficult to pro-
ject.

Metrobank raised the is-
sue of jurisdiction only
before the appellate court
after it participated in the
proceedings before the
trial court. While lack of
jurisdiction may be raised
at any time, a party may
Page 17 VOLUME III, ISSUE No. 2

be held in estoppel if, as
in the present case, it has
actively taken part in the
proceedings being ques-
tioned.



OFFICE OF THE OM-
BUDSMAN
vs.
MAXIMO D. SISON
G.R. No. 185954 Feb-
ruary 16, 2010


FACTS: The Isog Han
Samar Movement, repre-
sented by Fr. Noel
Labendia of the Diocese of
Calbayog, Samar, filed a
letter-complaint ad-
dressed to then Ombuds-
man, Hon. Simeon Mar-
celo, accusing Governor
Milagrosa T. Tan and oth-
er local public officials of
the Province of Samar,
including Maximo D.
Sison, of highly anoma-
lous transactions entered
into by them amounting
to several millions of pe-
sos. Sison was the Pro-
vincial Budget Officer.

The letter-complaint
stemmed from the audit
investigation conducted
by the Legal and Adjudi-
cation Office (LAO), Com-
mission on Audit (COA),
which found, among oth-
ers, that various purchas-
es totaling PhP 29.34 mil-
lion went without proper
bidding procedures and
documentations; that ca-
lamity funds were ex-
pended without a State of
Calamity having been de-
clared by the President;
and that purchases for
rice, medicines, electric
fans, and cement were
substantially overpriced.

The Office of the Ombuds-
man rendered a Decision,
finding Sison and several
other local officials of the
Province of Samar guilty
of grave misconduct, dis-
honesty, and conduct
prejudicial to the best in-
terest of the service and
dismissing him from ser-
vice.

The Court of Appeals (CA)
rendered a decision re-
versing and setting aside
the decision of the Office
of the Ombudsman
against Sison.

ISSUE: Whether or not
the Office of the Ombuds-
man may be allowed to
intervene and seek recon-
sideration of the adverse
decision rendered by the
CA.


RULING: the Office of the
Ombudsman may not be
allowed to intervene and
seek reconsideration of
the adverse decision ren-
dered by the CA.

It is fundamental that the
allowance or disallowance
of a Motion to Intervene is
addressed to the sound
discretion of the court.
The permissive tenor of
the rules shows the inten-
tion to give to the court
the full measure of discre-
tion in permitting or disal-
lowing the intervention,
thus:

SECTION 1. Who may
intervene. A person
who has a legal interest
in the matter in litiga-
tion, or in the success of
either of the parties, or
an interest against both,
or is so situated as to be
adversely affected by a
distribution or other dis-
position of property in
the custody of the court
or of an officer thereof
may, with leave of court,
be allowed to intervene
in the action. The court
shall consider whether or
not the intervention will
unduly delay or prejudice
the adjudication of the
rights of the original par-
ties, and whether or not
the intervenors rights
may be fully protected in
a separate proceeding.
L C A LINES
Page 18


VOLUME III, ISSUE No. 2 Page 19

SECTION 2. Time to
intervene. The motion
to intervene may be
filed at any time be-
fore rendition of judg-
ment by the trial
court. A copy of the
pleading-in-intervention
shall be attached to the
motion and served on
the original parties.

Simply, intervention is a
procedure by which third
persons, not originally
parties to the suit but
claiming an interest in the
subject matter, come into
the case in order to pro-
tect their right or inter-
pose their claim. Its main
purpose is to settle in one
action and by a single
judgment all conflicting
claims of, or the whole
controversy among, the
persons involved.

To warrant intervention
under Rule 19 of the
Rules of Court, two requi-
sites must concur: (1) the
movant has a legal inter-
est in the matter in litiga-
tion; and (2) intervention
must not unduly delay or
prejudice the adjudication
of the rights of the par-
ties, nor should the claim
of the intervenor be capa-
ble of being properly de-
cided in a separate pro-
ceeding. The interest,
which entitles one to in-
tervene, must involve the
matter in litigation and of
such direct and immediate
character that the inter-
venor will either gain or
lose by the direct legal
operation and effect of
the judgment.

The Office of the Ombuds-
man is not an appropriate
party to intervene in the
instant case. It must re-
main partial and de-
tached. More importantly,
it must be mindful of its
role as an adjudicator, not
an advocate.

It is an established doc-
trine that judges should
detach themselves from
cases where their deci-
sions are appealed to a
higher court for review.
The raison detre for such
a doctrine is the fact that
judges are not active
combatants in such pro-
ceeding and must leave
the opposing parties to
contend their individual
positions and the appel-
late court to decide the
issues without the judges
active participation.
When judges actively par-
ticipate in the appeal of
their judgment, they, in a
way, cease to be judicial
and have become adver-
sarial instead.



INTEGRATED BAR OF
THE PHILIPPINES
represented by its Na-
tional President, Jose
Anselmo I. Cadiz,
H. HARRY L. ROQUE,
and JOEL RUIZ BU-
TUYAN
vs.
HONORABLE MANILA
MAYOR
JOSE LITO ATIENZA
G.R. No. 175241
February 24, 2010


FACTS: The IBP, through
its then National President
Jose Anselmo Cadiz
(Cadiz), filed with the Of-
fice of the City Mayor of
Manila a letter application
for a permit to rally at the
foot of Mendiola Bridge on
June 22, 2006 from 2:30
p.m. to 5:30 p.m. to be
participated in by IBP of-
ficers and members, law
students and multi-
sectoral organizations.

Then Mayor Jose Lito
Atienza (Atienza) issued
a permit dated allowing
the IBP to stage a rally
on given date but indi-
cated therein Plaza Mi-
randa as the venue, in-
stead of Mendiola Bridge,
which permit the IBP re-
ceived on June 19, 2006.

Aggrieved, IBP filed on
June 21, 2006 before the
Court of Appeals (CA) a
petition for certiorari.
The petition having been
unresolved within 24
hours from its filing, IBP
filed before the Supreme
Court (SC) a petition for
certiorari which assailed
the appellate courts in-
action or refusal to re-
solve the petition within
the period provided un-
der the Public Assembly
Act of 1985.

The SC denied the peti-



Section 6 of the
Public Assembly Act
reads:

Section 6. Action
to be taken on the appli-
cation -

xxx

(c) If the mayor is of the
view that there is immi-
nent and grave danger of
a substantive evil war-
ranting the denial or
modification of the per-
mit, he shall immediately
inform the applicant who
must be heard on the
matter.

xxx

(e) If the mayor or any
official acting in his be-
half denies the applica-
tion or modifies the
terms thereof in his per-
mit, the applicant may
contest the decision in an
appropriate court of law.

(f) In case suit is
brought before the Met-
ropolitan Trial Court, the
Municipal Trial Court, the
Municipal Circuit Trial
Court, the Regional Trial
Court, or the Intermedi-
ate Appellate Court, its
decisions may be ap-
pealed to the appropriate
court within forty-eight
(48) hours after receipt
of the same. No appeal
bond and record on ap-
peal shall be required. A
decision granting such
permit or modifying it in
terms satisfactory to the
applicant shall, be imme-
diately executory.

(g) All cases filed in
court under this Section
shall be decided within
twenty-four (24) hours
from date of filing. Cases
filed hereunder shall be
immediately endorsed to
the executive judge for
disposition or, in his ab-
sence, to the next in
rank.

(h) In all cases, any deci-
sion may be appealed to
the Supreme Court.

Telegraphic appeals to be
followed by formal ap-
peals are hereby allowed.


In modifying the permit
outright, Atienza gravely
abused his discretion
when he did not immedi-
ately inform the IBP who
should have been heard
first on the matter of his
perceived imminent and
grave danger of a sub-
stantive evil that may
warrant the changing of
the venue. The oppor-
tunity to be heard pre-
cedes the action on the
permit, since the appli-
cant may directly go to
court after an unfavora-
ble action on the permit.

Atienza failed to indicate
how he had arrived at
modifying the terms of
the permit against the
standard of a clear and
present danger test
which, it bears repeating,
is an indispensable con-
dition to such modifica-
tion. Nothing in the is-
sued permit adverts to
an imminent and grave
danger of a substantive
evil, which blank denial
or modification would,
when granted imprimatur
as the appellate court
would have it, render
illusory any judicial scru-
tiny thereof.


Notably, Ateinza failed to
indicate in his Comment
any basis or explanation
for his action. It smacks
of whim and caprice for
Atienza to just impose a
change of venue for an
assembly that was slated
for a specific public
place. It is thus reversi-
ble error for the appel-
late court not to have
found such grave abuse
of discretion and, un-
der specific statutory
provision, not to have
modified the permit in
terms satisfactory to the
applicant.





L C A LINES
Page 20
tion for being moot and
academic, denied the
relief that the petition be
heard on the merits in
view of the pendency of
the case with the CA and
denied the motion for
reconsideration.

The rally pushed through
on June 22, 2006 at
Mendiola Bridge.

The Manila Police District
thereupon instituted a
criminal action against
Cadiz for violating the
Public Assembly Act in
staging a rally at a venue
not indicated in the per-
mit.


ISSUE: Whether or not
the CA erred in holding
that the modification of
the venue in IBPs rally
permit does not consti-
tute grave abuse of dis-
cretion.


RULING: The CA erred
in holding that the modi-
fication of the venue in
IBPs rally permit does
not constitute grave
abuse of discretion.

L C A LINES
Page 21
LCA Lines
February
Volume iii, Issue 2
J L s C O R N E R



A SUDDEN CHANGE OF MIND


My dearest Jessa,

Sweetie of my heart, Ive been so desolate since I broke
off our engagement. Simply devastated. Wont you
please consider coming back to me? You hold a place
in my heart no other woman can fill. I can never marry
any other woman quite like you. I need you so much.
Wont you forgive me and let us make a new beginning?
I love you so.

Yours always and truly,
Ben

P.S. Congratulations on you winning the lottery.