The second semester has just started in my alternate universe because of many cancellations of classes and the finals. In fact, I missed my finals in Legal Research under Prof. Jake Cimafranca because he administered it in the middle of the week when classes were still supposed to be cancelled. Brave guy, Prof. Jake is.
It’s been two weeks now but the main topic between a barber and his client would still be Typhoon Yolanda. But Yolanda can also be a conversation starter between a taxi driver and his passenger; which happened to me this week.
On my way home from classes, the taxi driver and I talked about the devastation of Tacloban. When the conversation turned to the prisoners who escaped, I remembered Art. 158 of the Revised Penal Code. Those who fail to return within 48 hours will get additional time in prison and those who return will benefit from a reduction of sentence according to Art. 98.
In class we decried how it was unfair for those who did not even try to escape because they get nothing in return.
But the taxi driver provided a new angle. He said that it was foolish to escape; there could be a chance that their cases might be dropped. Who would know if the complainants and their witnesses might have died in the aftermath of the typhoon.
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