Lawyer's Mumbo Jumbo

 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 minds wander and wonder what they are talking about.

Let's start decoding and decrypting these words and phrases (it is irreverent and irrelevant 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: Restitutio in Integrum - in English Restitution.

PHRASE: Restitutio in Integrum

MEANING: In law, Restitution means the act of returning something to its rightful owner or providing compensation for a loss or injury. It is a remedy used in both criminal and civil cases to either return property that was wrongfully taken or to pay for the monetary value of the harm caused, making it a form of payment or repayment for damage

EXAMPLE: 

1. As part of Bryce Hernandez's restitution, he will surrender his Lamborghini Urus (worth 30 million), a GMC Yukon Denali valued at 12 million, and a Ferrari to ICI.

2. Henry Alcantara returned P110 million tied to the flood control scam as part of a restitution agreement with ICI

3. As of late November 2025, the government has begun the process of recovering assets linked to the Discaya family, but the full restitution is ongoing. The specific items returned as part of the restitution process include: 

-The Bureau of Customs (BOC) held a public auction for several luxury cars seized from the Discaya couple and their companies. The auction generated P34.4 million, which was remitted to the National Treasury.

-Frozen Assets - The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has issued freeze orders on various assets linked to the Discayas, including:

-Approximately ₱2.9 billion in bank accounts, vehicles, and real estate are now under freeze orders.

-A list of 18 properties worth an estimated P1 billion was forwarded by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to the AMLC for possible forfeiture