Criminal Law

The Firm is adept in handling criminal cases, either in the prosecution of criminal charges as private prosecutor or in the defense of individuals charged with the commission of a crime, including white collar crimes. The Firm has been actively involved in several notable criminal cases. The Firm acted as private prosecutor in the case of People v. Claudio Teehankee Jr., better known as the Hultman-Chapman case where the accused, the son and namesake of a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was convicted of multiple murder and frustrated murder and which conviction was affirmed by the Supreme Court. In the case of People v. Manalili, better known as the Cochise-Beebom case, ACCRALAW acted as private prosecutor against the murderers of students Cochise Bernabe and Beebom Castanos who in a case of mistaken identity, were abducted and murdered. In People v. Bryan Dy and Giovanni Bernardino, the Firm acting as private prosecutor, successfully prosecuted the rapist of an American student tourist by the son of a Governor. Mention should also be made of the case of People v. Luis Beltran, Maximo Soliven, et al., a criminal case for libel filed by a sitting president, President Cory Aquino, against the newspaper The Philippine Star. The Firm acted as defense counsel for Maximo Soliven and the other officers of The Philippine Star and successfully reversed a judgment of conviction.