Blog posts Archives — UP College of Law

Notes on pending AI legislation

'AI has transformed from an interesting tech toy to something that merits a serious policy discussion' Last year may very well have been “The year of artificial intelligence (AI).” The public takeoff of ChatGPT in early 2023 and the shock over its coherence, expressiveness, and seeming ability to “reason” through complicated problems (including bar exam questions) have caused bouts of moral panic and self-reflection in many fields. In our little corner of legal academia, some teachers are fretting about how AI-generated text should change how we evaluate students. There is also disquiet over how AI tools can either enhance or…

Reversing the Comelec

The majority opinion allows a person who continuously failed to file income tax returns to run for the highest office of government. It undermines Supreme Court decisions that stress the importance of paying taxes: “The principle is well established that taxes are the lifeblood of government and every citizen is duty bound to pay taxes and to pay taxes in the right amount.” The Commission on Elections (Comelec) decision dismissing the petitions to disqualify Ferdinand Marcos Jr. from running in the 2022 elections should be reversed. The decision was promulgated by two members of the “former First Division” after Commissioner…

Is Cryptocurrency Money?

'To answer this question, we need to consider the basic functions of money, which basically are three: means of exchange, store of value, and unit of account' Cryptocurrency has been getting negative news lately. Just last Friday, January 21, Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, lost 8.7% of its value. The other cryptocurrencies likewise suffered from a steep decline in market value. This reminds me of a question that my student asked me before, when we were discussing currency or money being the most important part of the financial system: Is cryptocurrency money? To answer this question, we need to consider the…

Beyoncé for President: Popularity is not a free pass to the Presidency

'A basic rule in political law is that a candidate for public office should have all the qualifications and none of the disqualifications for office.' There are statements making social media rounds that view the qualifications of Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. — his eligibility to run for President — as a political question. The argument goes that a political question cannot be decided by the Commission on Elections, and ultimately by the Supreme Court. This is incorrect. These statements also promote the view that a candidate (Marcos) who is leading in election surveys cannot be disqualified, ostensibly, because the people will…

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