r/LegalPh

Hello po, question lang po regarding sana sa sustento ng asawa ko sa anak niya from his ex. Before i ask po, explain ko po muna yung situation.

Bale 1 year old pa lang po yung bata, and minimum wager lang po asawa ko. ₱15,600 monthly yung gross na sahod niya (may bawas pa po ng government mandated benefits), na hinahati pa namin sa bills namin sa bahay, pagkain, pati na rin sa pamasahe niya pumasok araw-araw. 50/50 po kami sa mga gastusin namin sa bahay.

Consistent naman po siyang nagpapadala ng ₱3,000 monthly (₱1,500 kada cut-off). Ito lang din po talaga yung pinakasagad na kakayahan ng kinikita niya para makakain pa siya at makapasok sa trabaho.

My question is, enough na po ba yung ₱3,000 monthly based sa kinikita ng asawa ko? Nagdedemand po kasi yung mother ng bata na gawing ₱5,000 monthly yung sustento, kahit hindi pa nag aaral yung bata. But we all know naman po na sa mahal ng kuryente at bilihin ngayon, imposibleng maibigay 'yun based sa sahod niya.

Nagre-reklamo din po yung ex na hindi raw tumataas yung binibigay ng asawa ko dahil siya na nga lahat nagastos sa kanila. Ngayon po, nagbabanta at nagt-threat na po siya na ipapa-VAWC niya raw yung asawa ko kung hindi itataas sa ₱5k, kahit may mga resibo naman kaming itinatabi na regular siyang nagpapadala buwan-buwan.

Dagdag ko lang din po, nagmamatigas po yung ex na hindi niya ipinapakita o ipinapahiram yung anak niya sa asawa ko simula nung naghiwalay sila. Tuwing hihilingin ng asawa ko na makita man lang kahit sa video call, nagagalit at kung ano-ano ang dahilan, pero pagdating sa pera, panay ang banta.

Any thoughts, legal advice, or practical tips po kung paano i-handle ang ganitong situation? Pwede ba talaga siyang makasuhan ng VAWC kahit nagbibigay naman siya base sa kakayahan niya? Ano rin po ang pwedeng gawin ng asawa ko tungkol sa visitation rights niya? Thank you po.

Need some advice for a friend po if what legal actions can he take.

So my friend and his girlfriend broke up ( due to a third party) a couple of months ago.
About a year prior to the break up, he gave a phone to her under a post paid plan but is still under his name.

Now since they broke up, ayaw nang ibalik ni girl yung phone.
Though he is still paying for the monthly bills to avoid bad records from the telco where they got the phone plan from.

The whole family of the guy are now blocked and Hindi na maka communicate ky girl.
There are multiple attempts of reaching out even to the family of his ex-partner but they just keep on promising that they already informed her and she will send the phone back but there is still no attempt of sending the phone.

Is there any legal actions na pwede nyang gawin so that he can retrieve the phone back and they can move on with their lives?

Just to add. The guy is currently abroad for training and can’t physically get the phone. His ex is a DepEd teacher currently working in a different island.

Hello, ask ko lang po kung ano po ang steps and requirements to change guardianship of a minor?

For context: may offer po kasi na scholarship yung company ko and I want to maximize our benefits. Our mother is still present po but she’s a former OFW (technically unemployed) and yung tanging income lang sa house bukod sa salary ko is yung mga paupahan namin. I have our mother’s consent to transfer guardianship to me since gusto na rin niya makabawas sa gastos sa tuition fee. My company pays decently naman po and they do not ask for the grades or what not and need lang nila is yung breakdown ng school fees. Now, since ang eligible sa scholarship ay anak mo dapat, since wala akong anak, pwede daw ang kapatid given na ako ang legal guardian with documentation/notary. Sayang po kasi yung opportunity na ‘to and we could save money for my sibling’s higher education. She’s enrolled in a private school po and hindi po kasi option ang mag transfer since she has special needs po.

Thank you so much.

Problem:

Is the agreement fair? My parents are about to sign a 30 year cell site land rental agreement

• It feels strange that the engineer and the referrer seem heavily involved in defining the terms and pricing. Is this normal in telecom tower deals?
• ₱5M for a 30-year lease sounds very low to me, especially considering how long the land will be tied up. •That’s roughly ₱13k–14k/month averaged over 30 years, without considering inflation.
•The negotiation process feels overly secretive. Initially, they didn’t even want to disclose the actual telecom/cell site company involved.
•I’m also worried my parents may be pressured into signing quickly without fully understanding the long-term implications.

Context:
Here’s what I know so far:
• Property is in a rural residential area, close to neighboring houses
• Around 150 sq/m will be used
• Contract term is 30 years
• Total payment being offered is ₱5M for the entire term
• Around ₱1M goes to the engineer connected to the project
• Another ₱1M goes to the referrer/middleman

Previous attempts/actions: We have already consulted a lawyer regarding the legal side of the contract, but I also wanted to hear from people who have actual experience dealing with these kinds of companies, agents, engineers, or middlemen involved in cell site negotiations.

CSC disapproved the appointment due to incorrect qs used in publication

The disapproved appointment was received on May 5, 2026 and the agency republished the position using the correct qs on the same date until May 15, 2026. The hiring process started on May 18, 2025 and the final delib was conducted May 19,2025. Will now issue new appointment dated May 21, 2025.

Is this violative of the 15-day appeal period? Since that is not technically vacant?

Good evening po, i just want to ask a quick question. My partner got her clearance withheld by the president of her org in her university. Because some of her blockmates didn't pay some fees for their org, when she concerned it to their org adviser she was indifferent to her concerns even after showing proof about how her blockmates ignored her messages reminding them about paying the fees. Now due to the pressure on not getting her clearance and not graduating she covered her blockmates fees. But I'm worried for her money since based on her blockmates attitude on paying academic fees, what more for fees that's just connected to fellow students. Can i legally file a blotter to her blockmates and the professor to the barangay where the university is located if her blockmates do not pay her back? Thank you for anyone that can answer!

Hi, can you recommend some tips on how to pay my debt. I have been involve in gambling and I have ovedues in different OLA worth 300k. I dont know what to do. Can you help me figure it out.

My child is currently using my ex-partner’s last name. When I gave birth, we were still okay, so we decided to use his last name when we registered the birth certificate.

But things changed very quickly after that, and we eventually lost communication. I’ve been raising my son alone since he was just one month old. I even changed my contact number and social media accounts, the ex never made any effort to reach out or support our child financially.

Because of this, I wanted to ask if it’s possible to change my child’s last name to mine instead.

I’d also like to know what the requirements are, how the process works, and how much it would usually cost.

Thank you.

panahon bago mag-pandemic. namili si San Miguel Corp. ng mga lupa na tatamaan ng Bulacan Airport at isa sa mga lupa ng mga lolo at lola ko yung kasama sa binili ng San Miguel. pero nakakapagtaka paano natuloy yung deal nila kung di alam ng mga kamana sa lupa na nabenta pala ng lola ko yung lupa at sinolo nya yung pera na nakuha. namatay na lola ko pero buhay pa yung tita ko na ampon nila ng lolo ko. BTW ang lola ko ay sampid lamang dahil ang asawa nya (lolo ko) ang tunay na kasama sa mga kamana. Ang sabi ng tita ko, kasapakat yung Administrator ng munisipyo at abugado ng San Miguel kaya natuloy yung bentahan ng palaisdaan. gang ngayon wala pa din resulta ng reklamo ko pero may nagpunta daw na tao ni San Miguel sa amin at hinahanap yung tita ko. unfortunately di na dun nakatira yung tita ko kaya wala sila naabutan na tao. gang ngayon wala pa din resulta yung isinumbong ko almost 2 years na din cguro. walang napala yung mga kamana kahit piso.

I want my grandfather’s side of the family to experience public shame because most of them are cheater enablers.

My grandmother won her VAWC case after fighting for 13 long years, and my grandfather was jailed for one week before he posted bail after selling some portions of his land. Before that, my grandfather’s family harassed my grandmother and forced her to sign papers stating that she was withdrawing the case against him. They threatened that if she refused to sign, she would be forced to leave the house that she and my grandfather built together, even though it is considered conjugal property since they are legally married.

Out of fear, my grandmother agreed. When I asked her why, she said that even the barangay captain was involved and that they were pressuring her to leave their home. My grandfather has had a mistress for 15 years, and they even have children together. We also learned that my grandfather allegedly married his mistress, which became another reason for us to consider filing a bigamy case.

What hurts the most is how my grandfather’s side of the family continues to tolerate the cheating and mistreat my grandmother. She is only fighting for the house and land because she wants to secure something for her children and grandchildren because the mistress was interested in my grandparents’ house and land. One of my grandfather’s siblings even promised that they would take care of us grandchildren and never abandon us, yet they still deceived my grandmother.

Because of this, my grandmother tried to make sure everything was properly documented through written agreements. However, whenever she prepared agreements for them to sign, the signatures would come from different people instead of the actual person named in the document. The same thing happened with agreements regarding the land, different individuals were signing on behalf of others.

My grandmother is afraid of them because they are influential, wealthy, and have family members who are lawyers, which gives them the confidence to harass her. I know I sound desperate, but I want people to know what they are doing because they seem to feel untouchable due to their money and status. I want them to feel ashamed of their actions whenever they go outside. Is there possible way to expose or post them publicly but i won't getting sued?

What makes this even more painful is that my grandmother already suffered two mild strokes, yet they never once showed compassion or consideration for her condition.

For context, my mother adopted a child through simulated birth around four decades ago. Despite my parents’ efforts to raise him in a stable and loving environment, he grew up to become violent, irresponsible, and verbally abusive. He also has a gambling addiction and frequently creates conflict within the family. We no longer feel safe around him.

My mother wants to know if there is any legal way to disown him or legally sever the parent-child relationship. Since the adoption was done through simulated birth many years ago, we are unsure what legal remedies may still exist today.

Any legal insight would be appreciated.

I’m in a middle of an ejectment case unlawful detainer and my lawyer decided to drop me as a client because of my "attitude". It felt that he didn’t like that I kept on following up on status of the case every other week. To my defense, I understand that these things take time but I’m completely blind on what to expect - timeline and what’s next. What could happen now? Can I sue my lawyer? Because getting a new lawyer at this time will not only incur unexpected expenses but will further delay the case.

Kung nagkaroon kami ng kasunduan sa barangay tungkol sa sustento pero di niya tinupad. Ano ang maaaring sunod na proseso na pwedeng gawin?

I availed unit from a preselling project ng DMCI more than 2 years ago. I was diligently paying the monthly equity until I decided to gave it up due to change in directions. I tried sya pasalo but wala talaga gusto kahit super baba ko pinapasalo. So I filed for cancellation and refund thru Maceda law.

After few weeks of email exchanges, they finally sent me a computation for the refund. Tbh, I was somehow expecting around 30-40% of the total na nabayad ko na equity, but sadly I was offered 15% of the total amount. Naloka ako. Part of the deductions they did: marketing cost (about 20% of the total payment I made), liquidated damages (about 15%), cancellation/forfeiture (about 50%). Naloka ako.

Should I accept the offer or what remedy can I do to somehow negotiate with DMCI?

Thank you po sa sasagot.

ILLEGAL DISMISSAL?

Background: I was employed as a probationary employee at a media agency in the Philippines starting December 3, 2025. My regularization date was June 3, 2026. I was terminated effective May 22, 2026 — giving me only 27 days notice before my regularization date, when the law requires 30. I WAS NOT GIVEN A CHANCE TO EXPLAIN MYSELF. NO DUE PROCESS FOLLOWED. HR DIRECTOR LAUGHING AND WAS JOKING AROUND WHILE I'M CRYING AND SHAKING DURING THE MAY 7 MEETING.

What they cited as grounds:

1. Four performance incidents (errors and execution mistakes) over 5 months
2. An integrity violation — claiming I lied about my attendance on March 31 (Holy Tuesday)

What they did NOT do:

• Never issued a single Notice to Explain (NTE) for any incident
• Never filed any Incident Report (IR) at the time any incident occurred
• Never gave me 5 days to respond in writing to any charge
• Never issued a written warning
• Never placed me on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)
• Never conducted a formal hearing
• Only gave me 27 days notice before regularization date — not 30

What makes this worse:

On April 22, 2026 — my 3rd month evaluation — my director told me I would be given a chance to improve. The integrity issue (March 31 attendance) was also raised informally during this same meeting. I explained myself — I told my supervisor I went to the building but decided not to enter, and that when I said "pumasok" to a colleague I meant I went there, not that I clocked in. My supervisor heard this and moved on. He then told me I had a chance.

15 days later on May 7, I was handed a termination letter citing the same four performance incidents and the same integrity issue — without any new incident in between, without any PIP, without any formal process. During the May 7 meeting, the people delivering the news were laughing and smirking. HR's own email later acknowledged I was "not in the proper state of mind" to sign. I had not slept in over 24 hours.

After the meeting, I was told in writing by their LEAD that my sick leaves and terminal leaves "can only be approved/processed once you sign the letter." My earned leave was conditioned on signing the termination document — this is in writing.

Their defense:

• They say emails and Teams meetings constitute due process
• They say no IRs are needed because of "repeated mistakes"
• They say I was "given a chance to explain" via Teams or email
• ALL ARE JUST CAUSE

My position:

• Emails and Teams meetings do not substitute for a formal written NTE with 5 days to respond
• "Repeated mistakes" does not exempt employers from due process — there is no such exception in the Labor Code
• The integrity charge was heard informally on April 22, I gave my defense, supervisor moved on and promised improvement — they cannot revive it 15 days later as a termination ground
• On the integrity charge specifically: biometrics show no entry — which is consistent with my account that I went to the building but did not enter. I said I 'pumasok' — which in Filipino means going toward work, being at the building, showing up. It does not necessarily mean clocking in or entering the premises. I did not falsify any attendance record. I did not submit any fraudulent document. I used a colloquial expression in a casual conversation with a colleague — and that expression was misunderstood, never clarified with me, and elevated into a formal finding of dishonesty in my termination letter.
• They are arguing that all reasons they mentioned on the Termination Contract were just cause. On my defense, how can you prove those are VALID when you didn't even reached out to me so I could explain my side?

My questions:

1. Is my framing of this as illegal dismissal (both cause AND procedure invalid) legally sound — or is this more likely a valid dismissal with procedural defect only (Agabon — nominal damages only)?
2. On the integrity charge specifically — does the fact that I gave my verbal defense on April 22 and was told I had a chance help establish that the charge was effectively settled at that point? Or is the informal nature of that conversation a weakness?
3. Can "repeated mistakes" legally justify skipping IRs and NTE entirely? Is there any jurisprudence supporting that position?
4. Any advice on what to watch out for during the SENA teleconference?

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!

ILLEGAL DISMISSAL?

Background: I was employed as a probationary employee at a media agency in the Philippines starting December 3, 2025. My regularization date was June 3, 2026. I was terminated effective May 22, 2026 — giving me only 27 days notice before my regularization date, when the law requires 30. I WAS NOT GIVEN A CHANCE TO EXPLAIN MYSELF. NO DUE PROCESS FOLLOWED. HR DIRECTOR LAUGHING AND WAS JOKING AROUND WHILE I'M CRYING AND SHAKING DURING THE MAY 7 MEETING.

What they cited as grounds:

1. Four performance incidents (errors and execution mistakes) over 5 months
2. An integrity violation — claiming I lied about my attendance on March 31 (Holy Tuesday)

What they did NOT do:

• Never issued a single Notice to Explain (NTE) for any incident
• Never filed any Incident Report (IR) at the time any incident occurred
• Never gave me 5 days to respond in writing to any charge
• Never issued a written warning
• Never placed me on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)
• Never conducted a formal hearing
• Only gave me 27 days notice before regularization date — not 30

What makes this worse:

On April 22, 2026 — my 3rd month evaluation — my director told me I would be given a chance to improve. The integrity issue (March 31 attendance) was also raised informally during this same meeting. I explained myself — I told my supervisor I went to the building but decided not to enter, and that when I said "pumasok" to a colleague I meant I went there, not that I clocked in. My supervisor heard this and moved on. He then told me I had a chance.

15 days later on May 7, I was handed a termination letter citing the same four performance incidents and the same integrity issue — without any new incident in between, without any PIP, without any formal process. During the May 7 meeting, the people delivering the news were laughing and smirking. HR's own email later acknowledged I was "not in the proper state of mind" to sign. I had not slept in over 24 hours.

After the meeting, I was told in writing by their LEAD that my sick leaves and terminal leaves "can only be approved/processed once you sign the letter." My earned leave was conditioned on signing the termination document — this is in writing.

Their defense:

• They say emails and Teams meetings constitute due process
• They say no IRs are needed because of "repeated mistakes"
• They say I was "given a chance to explain" via Teams or email
• ALL ARE JUST CAUSE

My position:

• Emails and Teams meetings do not substitute for a formal written NTE with 5 days to respond
• "Repeated mistakes" does not exempt employers from due process — there is no such exception in the Labor Code
• The integrity charge was heard informally on April 22, I gave my defense, supervisor moved on and promised improvement — they cannot revive it 15 days later as a termination ground
• On the integrity charge specifically: biometrics show no entry — which is consistent with my account that I went to the building but did not enter. I said I 'pumasok' — which in Filipino means going toward work, being at the building, showing up. It does not necessarily mean clocking in or entering the premises. I did not falsify any attendance record. I did not submit any fraudulent document. I used a colloquial expression in a casual conversation with a colleague — and that expression was misunderstood, never clarified with me, and elevated into a formal finding of dishonesty in my termination letter.
• They are arguing that all reasons they mentioned on the Termination Contract were just cause. On my defense, how can you prove those are VALID when you didn't even reached out to me so I could explain my side?

My questions:

1. Is my framing of this as illegal dismissal (both cause AND procedure invalid) legally sound — or is this more likely a valid dismissal with procedural defect only (Agabon — nominal damages only)?
2. On the integrity charge specifically — does the fact that I gave my verbal defense on April 22 and was told I had a chance help establish that the charge was effectively settled at that point? Or is the informal nature of that conversation a weakness?
3. Can "repeated mistakes" legally justify skipping IRs and NTE entirely? Is there any jurisprudence supporting that position?
4. Any advice on what to watch out for during the SENA teleconference?

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!

Sa isang BPO workplace HR investigation scenario, if ang employee nag-submit ng screenshots/messages na may possible harassment or bullying, valid pa rin ba yung complaint based sa content lang ng messages?

Or puwede bang ma-dismiss or ma-invalidate yung case dahil questionable yung paraan kung paano nakuha yung evidence, or dahil hindi fully dineclare ng employee yung source ng information during the HR hearing?

Hello, I’m hoping someone can help or share their experience. My mom recently passed away and we found out she had a personal loan with Bank (possibly also a credit card/credit-to-cash loan, but we’re still checking).

We, her children, did not co-sign anything and we’re not sure about the loan details yet. She also does not have an estate/assets to settle the debt from.

My questions are:
Are family members/children automatically responsible for paying her personal loan?
Does the bank usually require payment from the family if there’s no estate?
Is there usually loan insurance that covers this situation?
What documents should we prepare before talking to the bank?

We’re planning to speak with Bank, but I wanted to understand what to expect first. Thank you.