Lawyering's Ins and Outs

This is the talk given by Judge Maria Elisa Sempio Diy of Branch 225, Regional Trial Court of Quezon City during the first anniversary conference of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society - Philippines Chapter last August 22, 2009 in Makati City. Being a Judge in a Family Court Judge Maria Elisa Sempio Diy Branch 225, Regional Trial Court Quezon City Good morning. Before I begin my short lecture on the practical side of being a family court judge, let me just say that it is an honor to address a group composed of legal minds that give value to both the supremacy of law and one’s faith in a Supreme Being as their ultimate guide. My objective with this survey of practical pointers on the procedure in some common family cases is to equip all of us to assist anyone who might be facing an issue or predicament in the family and to allow him/her to have a happy family life or to move on in anticipation of a new family. As an instrument of the State in portraying the role of parens pa...

As I turned my television to GMA 7 last August 1 (Saturday), I was deeply saddened by the demise of President Corazon Aquino or Tita Cory early morning that day. I felt unmoved and my eyes were riveted on the tv screen, silently grieving for her death. I shared the same feelings of grief, gratitude and farewell that is felt by her loved ones, friends, and strangers including the hundreds of thousands Filipinos who have gathered at the De La Salle Greenhills gym immediately after her body was brought there for public viewing. The scenes that followed and the hundreds of articles – news, videos, pictures, blog entries about Tita Cory on tvs, radios, newspapers and the world wide web portrayed her as a religious leader, a loving mother, a forgiving person, a simple woman, and a virtuous president. But while many people made it to the Manila Cathedral and the Manila Memorial or lined the streets and waited on the five-hour cortege from the La Salle Greenhills gym to the Manila Cathe...