Laqyer's Mumbo Jumbo - Motu Propio

We are not lawyers ... but we need to understand their lexicon (lawyers always have their own lingo only they can understand. Same with doctors, nurses, and engineers) 

We spend our waking hours on YouTube, and we are always exposed to hearings and debates—and also their private conversations. All we do is scratch our heads because they use legal terminologies that sound too foreign and alien to our virgin ears, and our mind wonders what they are talking about.

Let's start decoding and decrypting these words and phrases (it is irreverent for us to enter the sanctum of the in ... but desperate times need desperate measures) so the next time they use these terms again ... we are on the same page with them.  Not in limbo.

We will try to dissect and define them in simpler language so ordinary mortals and laymen (the amateur and the non-experts) can actively participate in the discussion ... and at the same time broaden their legal and paralegal stock knowledge,

So our word or phrase that is hitting the headlines today is: MOTU PROPIO.

PHRASE: Motu Propio

MEANING:  In law, motu proprio is a Latin word which means 'on his own impulse' or on its own initiative. It describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party.

Motu Proprio - refers to an action taken by the LEB (Legal Education Board) on its own initiative, without the need of a complaint being filed, pursuant to the powers vested in it under R.A. 7662 and its amendments.

EXAMPLE:

1. A MOTU PROPIO investigation in the Philippines flood control scandal refers to a probe launched by the office of the ombudsman ON ITS OWN INITIATIVE that is without any referral from anybody.

This was exemplified by the Ombudsman creating a special panel to investigate alleged anomalies in the flood control project, with the investigators examining the alleged involvement of contractors and government officials, including politicians.

2. There is no example of a motu proprio action in the Sara Duterte impeachment case because the process began with formal, initiated complaints from individuals and was followed by the House of Representatives acting on those complaints. 

Motu proprio refers to an act taken "on one's own initiative," meaning without a formal request from another party. In this case, the complaints were formally filed, and the House's subsequent actions were in response to those filings, not taken spontaneously.

3. In Philippine politics, a motu proprio example is the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) investigating and canceling a certificate of candidacy "on its own initiative" to determine if the Certificate of Candidacy (COC) was filed for a malicious purpose, such as to cause confusion or put the election process in disrepute.