Amicus Curiae

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed the way we live, particularly in relation to travel and mobility. In an attempt to curb the spread of the constantly evolving variants of the COVID-19 disease, the Philippines is among the countries that continue to close its borders to foreign travelers coming in for purposes of tourism.

For more than a year now, the current COVID-19 pandemic has affected “how we do things” in all aspects of our lives. Apart from “shocking” our health systems, this pandemic forced companies to adapt in order to survive, drastically changing working arrangements. Caught in a difficult exercise of balancing interests of protecting health and providing continuous employment, most companies implemented remote working or work-from-home (WFH) arrangements for their employees.

When Revenue Regulations (“RR”) No. 9-2021 was issued, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (“PEZA”) registered enterprises became concerned as their once VAT zero-rated local purchases will be subject to 12% VAT starting on June 27, 2021.

It was reported in the news recently, that CNN in New York, USA fired three employees who violated company policy by reporting for work unvaccinated against the COVID-19 virus1. Jeff Zucker, CNN chief, was reported to have said that CNN has a zero-tolerance policy on the matter — referring to the policy requiring employees reporting onsite to get vaccinated.

Play-to-Earn games have been gaining traction recently. With popular games like Axie Infinity and My Defi Pet, users are drawn to the unique selling proposition that one can earn money as they play.

In a nutshell, Play-to-Earn games involve the use of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) which gamers can use to progress in the game.

Almost four years after the death of Kian delos Santos, a 17-year-old student who allegedly fought back yet shown in a CCTV footage to have helplessly died in the hands of our own law enforcement officers, the growing clamor for transparency and accountability in the operations of the Philippine National Police (PNP) persists.

Management prerogative refers to every employer’s inherent right to regulate, according to his own discretion and judgment, all aspects of employment, including hiring, work assignments, working methods, the time, place and manner of work, work supervision, transfer of employees, lay-off of workers, and discipline, dismissal, and recall of employees.

When the President announced stricter quarantine measures in the National Capital Region and its nearby provinces last March, people were mandated to observe strict home quarantine thereby restricting movement to accessing essential goods and services. The stricter quarantine measure also meant the limitation of work to permitted industries resulting in an unexpected halt of wages to most.

In 10 November 2020, the Supreme Court en banc promulgated its decision in Gomez v. People, effectively reshaping the tides of judicial policy. In Gomez, the Supreme Court discussed whether the absence of the City Prosecutor’s signature and approval in an Information constitutes a jurisdictional defect that may be raised as a ground for its quashal at any stage of the proceedings.

Perhaps never in the history of the Philippines have we been made to provide personal information as frequently as during this pandemic. Almost everywhere we go, we are required to have our contact tracing apps scanned or we may have to manually fill in some logbook or contact tracing sheets and provide our age, place of residence, e-mail address, contact number, and health and travel information.