Amicus Curiae

With the end in view of keeping abreast of changing times and easing doing business in the Philippines, the Revised Corporation Code (RCC) introduced the concept of a corporation with a single stockholder. Under the RCC, a natural person, trust, or an estate can now establish a One Person Corporation (OPC).

The extraordinary writ of quo warranto has been raised to public consciousness again recently that it begs to be understood further. It will be recalled that an action for quo warranto was filed by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) a couple of years ago to challenge Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno’s right to her to public position.

Following the World Health Organization’s declaration of the 2019 novel coronavirus (renamed COVID-19) outbreak as a public health emergency, the Philippine government on Feb. 2 deemed it prudent to implement a temporary travel ban against all foreign nationals coming from China, Hong Kong and Macau; all foreign nationals who have been to China, Hong Kong, and Macau in the last 14 days prior to the arrival to the Philippines; and transiting passengers from China, Hong Kong, and Macau.

As early as Dec. 31, 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) was informed of the steadily increasing number of cases of pneumonia of unknown etiology detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China. Over the next three weeks, researchers connected the spread of the outbreak to a market in Wuhan City

Much has been said about the feature of the Revised Corporation Code (RCC) allowing corporations to have perpetual existence under Section 11 of the RCC. Yet, there is also a nifty feature tucked in under the same section allowing the revival of those corporations whose corporate terms have expired.

On Jan. 12 — nearly half a century after its last eruption — Taal Volcano had a phreatic eruption, causing ash to fall on numerous cities and necessitating the evacuation of families living near the volcano. With the sudden turn of events, immediate evacuation and disaster preparations were necessary for the affected areas, and schools and offices were constrained to suspend their operations to make way for the same.

How difficult is it to do business in the Philippines in comparison to other economies?

One way to answer this complex question is to look at the annual Ease of Doing Business Index issued by the World Bank. As its name suggests, the Index ranks almost all the world’s economies according to how easy it is to do business.

To quote Former Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban: “Trial courts are the dispensers of justice closest to the poor.” But when the demand for justice is clearly disproportionate to that of the number of our judges in the lower courts, how can justice even be dispensed?

“Quick and Easy Online Loan,” “Fast, Easy, Loan Online,” “Quick Cash Online” — these are only a few of the marketing and advertising slogans of online lending companies which have emerged among the online community. Oblivious of the consequences, these online loans became popular among the mass of Filipino people who, in some way or other, needed the “quick and easy” cash.