Project Jurisprudence

Best Supreme Court Quotable

Lines

Inspired by my conversation with my law professor, Atty. Gil P. Viloria, Jr., one of my
heroes, I decided to compile my favorite lines and quotes from some pieces of
jurisprudence promulgated by the Supreme Court of the Philippines. The following are
my personal picks and, should the reader have any suggestion, he may leave a
comment below.

[1] Antonio v. Reyes

Statistics never lie, but lovers often do, quipped a sage. This sad truth has unsettled
many a love transformed into matrimony. Any sort of deception between spouses, no
matter the gravity, is always disquieting. Deceit to the depth and breadth unveiled in the
following pages, dark and irrational as in the modern noir tale, dims any trace of
certitude on the guilty spouses capability to fulfill the marital obligations even more. (J.
Tinga; G.R. No. 155800; March 10, 2006)

[2] Palaganas v. People

For what is a man, what has he got? If not himself, then he has naught. To say the
things he truly feels; And not the words of one who kneels. The record shows I took the
blows - And did it my way!

The song evokes the bitterest passions. This is not the first time the song "My Way" has
triggered violent behavior resulting in people coming to blows. In the case at bar, the
few lines of the song depicted what came to pass when the victims and the aggressors
tried to outdo each other in their rendition of the song. (J. Chico-Nazario; G.R. No.
165483; September 12, 2006)

[3] Oposa v. Factoran

While the right to a balanced and healthful ecology is to be found under the Declaration
of Principles and State Policies and not under the Bill of Rights, it does not follow that it
is less important than any of the civil and political rights enumerated in the latter. Such a
right belongs to a different category of rights altogether for it concerns nothing less than
self-preservation and self-perpetuation aptly and fittingly stressed by the petitioners
the advancement of which may even be said to predate all governments and
constitutions. As a matter of fact, these basic rights need not even be written in the
Constitution for they are assumed to exist from the inception of humankind. If they are
now explicitly mentioned in the fundamental charter, it is because of the well-founded
fear of its framers that unless the rights to a balanced and healthful ecology and to
health are mandated as state policies by the Constitution itself, thereby highlighting their
continuing importance and imposing upon the state a solemn obligation to preserve the
first and protect and advance the second, the day would not be too far when all else
would be lost not only for the present generation, but also for those to come
generations which stand to inherit nothing but parched earth incapable of sustaining life.
(J. Davide, Jr; G.R. No. 101083; July 30, 1993)

[4] People v. Salinas

In rape cases, there are no half measures or even quarter measures nor is their gravity
graduated by the inches of entry. Partial penile penetration is as serious as full
penetration; the rape is deemed consummated in either case. In a manner of speaking,
bombardment of the drawbridge is invasion enough even if the troops do not succeed in
entering the castle. (J. Cruz; G.R. No. 107204; May 6, 1994)

[5] Chua-Qua v. Clave

With the finding that there is no substantial evidence of the imputed immoral acts, it
follows that the alleged violation of the Code of Ethics governing school teachers would
have no basis. Private respondent utterly failed to show that petitioner took advantage
of her position to court her student. If the two eventually fell in love, despite the disparity
in their ages and academic levels, this only lends substance to the truism that the heart
has reasons of its own which reason does not know. But, definitely, yielding to this
gentle and universal emotion is not to be so casually equated with immorality. The
deviation of the circumstances of their marriage from the usual societal pattern cannot
be considered as a defiance of contemporary social mores. (J. Regalado; G.R. No.
49549; August 30, 1990)

[6] Calalang v. Williams

Social justice is neither communism, nor despotism, nor atomism, nor anarchy, but the
humanization of laws and the equalization of social and economic forces by the State so
that justice in its rational and objectively secular conception may at least be
approximated. (J. Laurel; G.R. No. 47800; December 2, 1940)

[7] DECS v. San Diego

There can be no question that a substantial distinction exists between medical students
and other students who are not subjected to the NMAT and the three-flunk rule. The
medical profession directly affects the very lives of the people, unlike other careers
which, for this reason, do not require more vigilant regulation. The accountant, for
example, while belonging to an equally respectable profession, does not hold the same
delicate responsibility as that of the physician and so need not be similarly treated.

There would be unequal protection if some applicants who have passed the tests are
admitted and others who have also qualified are denied entrance. In other words, what
the equal protection requires is equality among equals.

The Court feels that it is not enough to simply invoke the right to quality education as a
guarantee of the Constitution: one must show that he is entitled to it because of his
preparation and promise. The private respondent has failed the NMAT five times. While
his persistence is noteworthy, to say the least, it is certainly misplaced, like a hopeless
love. (J. Cruz; G.R. No. 89572; December 21, 1989)

[8] Santiago v. COA

Retirement laws should be interpreted liberally in favor of the retiree because their
intention is to provide for his sustenance, and hopefully even comfort, when he no
longer has the stamina to continue earning his livelihood. After devoting the best years
of his life to the public service, he deserves the appreciation of a grateful government as
best concretely expressed in a generous retirement gratuity commensurate with the
value and length of his services. That generosity is the least he should expect now that
his work is done and his youth is gone. Even as he feels the weariness in his bones and
glimpses the approach of the lengthening shadows, he should be able to luxuriate in the
thought that he did his task well, and was rewarded for it. (J. Cruz; G.R. No. 92284; July
12, 1991)
[9] Chi Ming Tsoi v. CA

It appears that there is absence of empathy between petitioner and private respondent.
That is a shared feeling which between husband and wife must be experienced not
only by having spontaneous sexual intimacy but a deep sense of spiritual communion.
Marital union is a two-way process. An expressive interest in each other's feelings at a
time it is needed by the other can go a long way in deepening the marital relationship.
Marriage is definitely not for children but for two consenting adults who view the
relationship with love amor gignit amorem, respect, sacrifice and a continuing
commitment to compromise, conscious of its value as a sublime social institution. (J.
Torres, Jr; G.R. No. 119190; January 16, 1997)
[10] People v. Takbobo

The nuptial vows which solemnly intone the matrimonial promise of love "(f)or better or
for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part," are
sometimes easier said than done, for many a marital union figuratively ends on the
reefs of matrimonial shoals. In the case now before us for appellate review, the
marriage literally ended under circumstances which the criminal law, disdainful of
romanticism, bluntly calls the felony of parricide. (J. Regalado; G.R. No. 102984; June
30, 1993)

[11] Concerned Employee v. Mayor

Had respondent desisted from continuing her affair with Leao after learning he was
married, this would have exhibited not only prudence on her part, but also a willingness
to respect a legal institution safeguarded by our laws and the Constitution. Yet her
persistence in maintaining sexual relations with Leao after that revelation instead
manifests a willful subversion of the legal order, a disposition we are unwilling to
condone, even if avowed in the name of love. The Court, like all well-meaning persons,
has no desire to dash romantic fancies, yet in the exercise of its duty, is all too willing
when necessary to raise the wall that tears Pyramus and Thisbe asunder. (J.
Tinga; A.M. No. P-02-1564; November 23, 2004)

[12] Lejano v. People

In our criminal justice system, what is important is, not whether the court entertains
doubts about the innocence of the accused since an open mind is willing to explore all
possibilities, but whether it entertains a reasonable, lingering doubt as to his guilt. For, it
would be a serious mistake to send an innocent man to jail where such kind of doubt
hangs on to ones inner being, like a piece of meat lodged immovable between teeth.

Will the Court send the accused to spend the rest of their lives in prison on the
testimony of an NBI asset who proposed to her handlers that she take the role of the
witness to the Vizconde massacre that she could not produce? (J. Abad; G.R. No.
176389; December 14, 2010)

[13] In Re: Cunanan

The judicial department of government is responsible for the plane upon which the
administration of justice is maintained. Its responsibility in this respect is exclusive. By
committing a portion of the powers of sovereignty to the judicial department of our state
government, under 42a scheme which it was supposed rendered it immune from
embarrassment or interference by any other department of government, the courts
cannot escape responsibility fir the manner in which the powers of sovereignty thus
committed to the judicial department are exercised.

The relation at the bar to the courts is a peculiar and intimate relationship. The bar is an
attache of the courts. The quality of justice dispense by the courts depends in no small
degree upon the integrity of its bar. An unfaithful bar may easily bring scandal and
reproach to the administration of justice and bring the courts themselves into disrepute.
(J. Diokno; In Re: Cunanan; March 18, 1954)

[14] Taada v. Tuvera

The days of the secret laws and the unpublished decrees are over. This is once again
an open society, with all the acts of the government subject to public scrutiny and
available always to public cognizance. This has to be so if our country is to remain
democratic, with sovereignty residing in the people and all government authority
emanating from them. (J. Cruz; G.R. No. L-63915; December 29, 1986)

[15] LCP v. COMELEC

The Supreme Court is not final because it is infallible; it is infallible because it is final.
And because its decisions are final, even if faulty, there must be every energy expended
to ensure that the faulty decisions are few and far between. The integrity of the judiciary
rests not only upon the fact that it is able to administer justice, but also upon the
perception and confidence of the community that the people who run the system have
done justice. (J. Bersamin quoting J. Robert Jackson; G.R. No. 176951; June 28, 2011)

[16] Joaquin v. Javellana

Hence, a judge's official conduct and his behavior in the performance of judicial duties
should be free from the appearance of impropriety and must be beyond reproach. One
who occupies an exalted position in the administration of justice must pay a high price
for the honor bestowed upon him, for his private as well as his official conduct must at
all times be free from the appearance of impropriety.Because appearance is as
important as reality in the performance of judicial functions, like Caesar's wife, a judge
must not only be pure but also beyond suspicion. A judge has the duty to not only
render a just and impartial decision, but also render it in such a manner as to be free
from any suspicion as to its fairness and impartiality, and also as to the judge's integrity.

It is obvious, therefore, that while judges should possess proficiency in law in order that
they can competently construe and enforce the law, it is more important that they should
act and behave in such a manner that the parties before them should have confidence
in their impartiality. (J. Vitug; A.M. No. RTJ-00-1601; November 13, 2001)

[17] Cebu Royal Plant v. Deputy Minister of Labor

We take this opportunity to reaffirm our concern for the lowly worker who, often at the
mercy of his employers, must look up to the law for his protection. Fittingly, that law
regards him with tenderness and even favor and always with faith and hope in his
capacity to help in shaping the nation's future. It is error to take him for granted. He
deserves our abiding respect. How society treats him will determine whether the knife in
his hands shall be a caring tool for beauty and progress or an angry weapon of defiance
and revenge. The choice is obvious, of course. If we cherish him as we should, we must
resolve to lighten "the weight of centuries" of exploitation and disdain that bends his
back but does not bow his head. (J. Cruz; G.R. No. L-58639; August 12, 1987)

[18] The Shell Company v. National Labor Union

It is argued that the laborer can rest during the day after having worked the whole night.
But can the repose by day produce to the human body the same complete recuperative
effects which only the natural rest at night can give him? It is also said that due to our
warm climate, some prefer to work at night, thus avoiding the heat of the day. But this is
true only in words but not in actual practice. We believe that since time immemorial the
universal rule is that a man works at night due to some driving necessity rather than for
reasons of convenience. (J. Briones; GR No. L-1309; July 26, 1948)

[19] People v. Olesco

In rape, the sweetheart defense must be proven by compelling evidence: first, that the
accused and the victim were lovers; and, second, that she consented to the alleged
sexual relations. The second is as important as the first, because this Court has held
often enough that love is not a license for lust. (J. Del Castillo; G.R. No. 174861; April
11, 2011)

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