Atty. Phil Juris

T he Supreme Court has affirmed that circumstantial evidence, when forming an unbroken chain of events, is sufficient to sustain a conviction beyond reasonable doubt , even in the absence of direct evidence. In a Decision penned by Associate Justice Mario V. Lopez, the Second Division upheld the conviction of the accused for violations of Republic Act No. 9995, or the Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act of 2009. Factual Background The case stemmed from four separate charges involving the clandestine recording of female victims while bathing inside their residence. The victims—three sisters and their cousin—discovered that their uncle, who frequented their home to supervise renovations, had secretly placed a mobile phone inside a soap box in the bathroom. The device was positioned in a manner that allowed it to capture images of persons bathing. One of the victims, upon entering the bathroom, noticed a light emanating from the soap container. Upon inspection, she found a mobile phone act...

  The Supreme Court has ruled that the installation of surveillance cameras that capture activities within a neighboring private property violates the constitutional and civil right to privacy, even if the area is not used as a residence. In a Decision penned by Associate Justice MARIANO C. DEL CASTILLO, the Court’s Second Division granted the petition of Spouses Bill and Victoria Hing and reinstated the injunction ordering the removal of surveillance cameras installed by the respondents. Background of the Case The controversy arose between neighboring property owners in Mandaue City, Cebu. Spouses Hing owned a parcel of land where construction was ongoing. Adjacent to their property was a commercial establishment operated by a corporation associated with respondents Alexander and Allan Choachuy. After failing to secure an injunction in a prior case, the respondents caused the installation of video surveillance cameras mounted on their building, including a revolving camera that ca...