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What is Double Jeopardy?
In a legal system that promises fairness, the principle of double jeopardy protects individuals from being unjustly accused and prosecuted for the same offense more than once. This is enshrined in Article III, Section 21 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, which provides: “No person shall be twice put in jeopardy of punishment for the same offense. If an act is punished by a law and an ordinance, conviction or acquittal under either shall constitute a bar to another prosecution for the same act.”
Indeterminate Sentence Law (Act No. 4103, as amended by R.A. No. 4203)
With the passage of the Indeterminate Sentence Law, a prison term which consists of a minimum and maximum term called the indeterminate sentence was created. It is intended to favor the accused, particularly, to shorten his term of imprisonment.
The Supreme Court decides: The Supreme Court underscored that a writ of mandamus may not compel the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to exercise its discretion in a certain way, such as granting or denying a request to open and recount ballot boxes.
The Supreme Court underscored that a writ of mandamus may not compel the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to exercise its discretion in a certain way, such as granting or denying a request to open and recount ballot boxes.
Obstruction of Apprehension and Prosecution of Criminal Offenders (Presidential Decree No. 1829)
Article 20 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) enumerates the accessories who are exempt from criminal liability, particularly those who are such with respect to their spouses, ascendants, descendants, legitimate, natural, and adopted brothers and sisters, or relatives by affinity within the same degrees, with the single exception of accessories falling within the provisions of paragraph 1 of the next preceding article.However the aforesaid accessories who are exempted under Article 20 can still be held liable as principals for obstruction of justice under Presidential Decree (PD) No. 1829 or “Penalizing Obstruction Of Apprehension And Prosecution Of Criminal Offenders”.Section 1 of the PD No. 1829 provides for the acts that may be considered as obstruction of justice.