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Philippine Law Updates
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE, VS. SIM O. MATA, JR., ACCUSED-APPELLANT. [ G.R. No. 255703, October 23, 2024 ]
It is true that under Section 481 of R.A. No. 7160, otherwise known as the "Local Government Code of 1991," a legal officer, such as Mata, is required to render his opinion on any question of law when requested to do so by his appointing authority, and to recommend measures and advise on all other matters related to upholding the rule of law. However, and as keenly pointed out during the deliberations of this case, the act of rendering legal advice—by and of itself, and no matter how erroneous—does not constitute a violation of Section 3(e) of R.A. No. 3019. Otherwise, the dockets of the Court will be clogged with criminal cases against lawyers in the government for rendering legal advice, which eventually turned out to be incorrect.