Go Baluyot & Adion Law Office

11/09/2026

Happy Birthday, Atty. Ria! 🥂⚖️ Wishing you a wonderful birthday filled with happiness, good health, and continued success. May the year ahead bring you greater opportunities, meaningful accomplishments, and many reasons to celebrate.

From all of us at Go Baluyot & Adion Law Office, may you continue to inspire through your dedication, integrity, and passion for the practice of law 😊

04/09/2026

Inspiring the youth, one generation at a time. 💙 Our Partner, Atty. PJ Baluyot, returns to his alma mater, Don Bosco Technical Institute, for their Career Day 2026 to fulfill his yearly pledge of inspiring young Bosconians to dream big and become greater versions of themselves. 🎓✨

28/08/2026

28/08/2026

On Monday, we honor the legal rights, freedom, and courage passed down by our heroes.🫡

In celebration of National Heroes Day, our office will be closed on August 31. We will reopen on Tuesday, September 1. For urgent legal inquiries, please leave us a message or email at [email protected]. Have a safe and meaningful holiday!🇵🇭

24/08/2026

The Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that a bank cannot require a depositor to return money they already withdrew on the ground of unjust enrichment when the loss was caused by the bank’s own gross negligence.

In a Decision written by Associate Justice Japar B. Dimaampao, the SC’s Third Division denied the petition filed by BDO Unibank, Inc. (BDO), holding that the bank’s disregard of its own banking policy amounted to gross negligence.

The case stemmed from Cristina Barcellano’s (Barcellano) deposit of a regional check worth PHP 151,200 from an Albay branch of Landbank into her savings account at BDO’s Lucena City branch.

The BDO teller mistakenly validated the check as local instead of regional, allowing the amount to be credited after only three banking days instead of the required seven.

Believing the funds were available, Barcellano withdrew PHP 76,000. Shortly after, BDO received a stop payment order on the check and demanded that she return the money. Although Barcellano initially agreed, she never repaid the amount. BDO later refused to release the remaining balance and filed a criminal complaint for estafa.

Both the Regional Trial Court and the Court of Appeals acquitted Barcellano, finding no fraud, deceit, or abuse of confidence on her part and blamed BDO’s own negligence.

Before the SC, BDO asked for a review of the civil aspect of the case, arguing that despite Barcellano's acquittal, she should still be required to return the money. BDO argued that her refusal amounted to unjust enrichment and that since the funds were released due to its error in processing the check, Barcellano was required to return them based on the principle of 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘪, which requires the repayment of money received by mistake.

The SC disagreed, ruling that there was no unjust enrichment because BDO failed to prove that Barcellano knowingly received and retained a benefit to which she was not entitled.

SC declared that the bank did not explain why the stop payment order was issued or show that Barcellano knew the check would not be honored. Instead, the evidence showed that she withdrew the money in good faith after BDO itself made the funds available in her account.

The SC also ruled that BDO’s own gross negligence caused its loss. It found that the bank credited the check before it had properly cleared it, incorrectly treated a regional check as a local check, and failed to detect the error until after receiving the stop payment order. These lapses showed a failure to observe basic safeguards meant to protect the bank from the risks of invalid checks.

The SC also rejected BDO’s reliance on solutio indebiti. Although the doctrine generally requires the return of money received by mistake, it does not apply when the mistake resulted from the payor’s own gross negligence. Here, BDO’s error stemmed from its failure to exercise the extraordinary diligence and reasonable prudence required of banks.

Read the full text of the press release at https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/?p=171657

Read the full text of the Decision at https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/261264-bdo-unibank-inc-vs-cristina-barcellano-y-riego/

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

20/08/2026

Office lunch before the long weekend starts! Stay safe and dry, everyone 😊 See you all on Monday ☺️

15/08/2026

'[FAMILY] DOES NOT MEAN… ONLY A MARRIED COUPLE WITH CHILDREN'

As the Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday concluded its oral arguments on the recognition of foreign divorce between two Filipinos, Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen said that there can be strong families even without marriage.

At one point, Leonen then asked Solicitor General Darlene Berberabe if a widow and a child, a single parent, a single parent with a partner they are not married to, an unmarried couple with children, same-sex partners with adopted children, and an orphan being taken care of by his or her grandparents were considered family.

Berberabe answered yes to each one.

“Therefore, when we read family there, that is to be strengthened as an autonomous social institution, it does not mean… only a married couple with children,” Leonen said.

He cited Article II, Section 12 of the Constitution, which starts with: "The State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution."

Read the whole story here:
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/998113/sc-ends-oral-arguments-on-foreign-divorce-leonen-says-who-to-love-is-human-right/story/

03/07/2026

Atty. Baluyot, corporate secretary and legal counsel of Central Luzon Doctors Hospital, attended and facilitated the annual stockholders meeting of the company 🙂

Led by President and CEO Dr. Francis Cid, CLDH presented its 2025 report, highlighting another year of sustained growth, strong performance, and positive outcomes. The meeting reaffirmed the Hospital’s commitment to sound corporate governance, operational excellence, and its mission of delivering quality healthcare to the communities it serves. 💙🏥💊🩺

30/06/2026

Everyone at Go Baluyot & Adion Law Office proudly congratulates our partner, Atty. Noel Adion, on the commencement of his term as President of the Rotary Club of Central Tarlac.

We wish President Noel and the Rotary Club of Central Tarlac a meaningful and impactful Rotary year—one filled with opportunities to uplift communities, foster fellowship, and create lasting positive change. GBA is proud of you and stands behind you as you lead with purpose and serve with heart.

This Rotary Year 2026-2027, which Begins this 1st of July,, is Led by Rotary International President Olayinka Hakeem Babalola, an Attorney and Executive from the Energy Sector in Nigeria, the Second African Leader to Head Rotary International). His Presidential Theme is " ", Calling on Members to Move Beyond Routine Activities and Focus on Sustainable, Long-Term Change.

This Year as We Celebrate Our 50th Charter Anniversary, We are Blessed to be Led by Our Forward-Thinking Club President - Noel S. Adion , also an Attorney, Former Chief of the Legal Division at the Department of Agrarian Reform, Former Associate Provincial Prosecutor at the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor (Tarlac), a Founding Partner of Go Baluyot & Adion Law Office, and a Professor at Tarlac State University's School of Law and College of Business & Accountancy.