Jamisola Adriano LAW

26/08/2026

Dear clients,

Atty. Anne will be in Manila for the next few days. She’ll be back in the office by September 1, 2026.

19/08/2026

The (SC) has ruled that a sales agent’s promise to issue a Contract to Sell after payment of reservation fee is not an “advertisement” under Presidential Decree No. (PD) 957, or the 𝘚𝘶𝘣𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘶𝘮 𝘉𝘶𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴’ 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦, that would form part of developer’s warranties. However, the developer may still be required to refund a buyer if it fails to honor that promise.

In a Decision written by Associate Justice Maria Filomena D. Singh, the SC’s Third Division ordered Empire East Land Holdings, Inc. (Empire East) to refund the payments made by John Edrem Bautista (Bautista) after it failed to issue the promised Contract to Sell.

Bautista paid Empire East for a residential unit PHP 130,000, consisting of a PHP 20,000 reservation fee and PHP 110,000 in additional payments. He claimed he made the payments because Empire East’s sales agent promised to issue a Contract to Sell once he paid the reservation fee. When more than a year passed without the contract being issued, Bautista stopped making payments and demanded a refund.

The SC, agreeing with both the Human Settlements Adjudication Commission (HSAC) and the Court of Appeals which ruled in Bautista’s favor, held that Bautista was entitled to a refund but clarified that the sales agent’s promise did not fall under Section 19 of PD 957.

The SC clarified that Section 19, which mandates truthful and non-misleading advertisements and sales materials, applies only to materials intended for the general public, such as those in those in newspapers, radio, TV, or similar mass communication channels. It does not cover promises made by a sales agent to individual buyers.

The SC emphasized that buyers remain protected, as developers may still be held liable under their contractual obligations and other applicable laws.

The SC ordered Empire East to refund Bautista the PHP 130,000 with interest of 6% per annum reckoned from the filing of the complaint in 2012, as well as to pay PHP 260,000 in exemplary damages, which courts award to discourage wrongful conduct and warn against similar actions.

Read the full text of the Press Release at https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/?p=171359.

Read the full text of the Decision at https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/272556-1.pdf.

Copying of this content is subject to the SC PIO’s Credit Attribution Policy: https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/credit-attributionon-policy.

01/08/2026

Kicking off 1st day of the month with a client training.

28/07/2026

The one who speaks with a louder voice, either intentionally or unintentionally, is not necessarily the one who has a better argument.

13/07/2026

We will be closed tomorrow, July 14, 2026 (Tuesday) due to a scheduled power interruption in our area.

But don't worry, we are adjusting our schedule this week. We will be open on Wednesday, July 15, to make up for it and serve you better.

Regular operations resume then. Drop us a message for any urgent concerns!

13/07/2026

Happy Monday! Our office is open today, July 13, 2026. Feel free to drop by our office for your notarization needs.

1. Affidavit of Loss
2. Affidavit of Two Disinterested Persons
3. Special Power of Attorney
4. Deed of Sale..and all other documents.

If you have any questions prior to visiting, you may send us a message through our FB page and we will be happy to answer them.

08/07/2026

Happy anniversary!

It's been 3 years since we officially opened our doors!

To all our past and existing clients, we are truly grateful to you all for trusting us with your businesses.

To all our future clients, we are looking forward to having a long and mutually beneficial partnership with you.

The whole MJS family remains committed to providing you quality and professional services that you deserve.

Join our family and let's grow together!

Happy 3rd birthday, MJS Tax & Bookkeeping Services - Talisay City, Cebu!

02/07/2026

JEPS is still down as of July 2, 2026 10:06 a.m.

Although the Supreme Court's announcement says JEPS will go live on July 1, 2026, the site remains down as of this writing.

JEPS Advisory | June 30, 2026

Please be advised that the updated version of the Judiciary Electronic Payment Solution (JEPS) will be deployed and will go live on 01 July 2026 at 8:00 A.M.

Under the new JEPS, LandBank Link.BizPortal will serve as the primary payment gateway for all JEPS transactions.

Accordingly, the following payment channels will be temporarily unavailable until further notice:

Unionbank UPay
Fortune Pay

The reintegration of UPay and Fortune Pay into the new JEPS will be implemented at a later date.

For assistance or inquiries, please contact the JEPS Support Team at [email protected].

01/07/2026

To all our valued clients, please be advised that our office will be closed every Wednesday.

Bonus: We are open every Saturday!

While our office hours is from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., we can only accommodate walk-in notarizations from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

We highly encourage everyone to message us for appointments to ensure availability.

Thank you and we look forward to serving you!

📍Unit 202, F8-Ayze Building 2, Fidel Bas St., Mohon, Talisay City, Cebu (across Talisay City Hall)

24/06/2026

You may or may not agree with this, but the law does not care about our personal opinions. The only way to change this is to amend the statute. Until that happens, the existing rules shall be applied.

However, it must be clear in our minds that exemption from criminal liability under RA 9344 does not mean absolute freedom or zero accountability at all. The child in conflict with the law shall undergo an intervention program. Also, there is no exemption from civil liability.

Dura lex sed lex.

What are your thoughts on the effectiveness of these intervention programs?