Published 9 August 2021, The Daily Tribune

“The rule of three” principle reflects the familiar quote that, indeed, good things come in threes. Even in the beloved sports of basketball, “Three-peat” has become the pinnacle of accomplishment. It is already a feat to be a champion once; but to do it three times in a row is something else.

And that, my dear readers, is how special this third-year anniversary of “A Dose of Law” feels to me. It feels like a three-peat because of the overwhelming and consistent support our readers have shown through these past three years.

Another three to celebrate: We have published a total of 333 articles to date. Three is indeed a magic number.

I also consider it a blessing to have come this far into our weekly publication. I consider this column an act of service. We aptly call it “A Dose of Law” because knowledge is like medicine. A dose of it a day may keep problems away. We started it with the goal of reaching as many people as possible, with the goal of empowering them through knowledge of the law.

Little did I know that in under three years, our column would have a solid reading base not just locally, but internationally as well. We are pleased that our column has reached the following top 20 countries: Philippines, United States, Singapore, Canada, United Arab Emirates, Australia, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Japan, Saudi Arabia, India, China, Qatar, Malaysia, Germany, Netherlands, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and France. Not only that, the top 10 farthest countries reached by our column are Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, Trinidad & Tobago, Chile and Argentina.

In other words, we have reached Asia, North America, South Africa, Europe and Australia. We have readers in five out of seven continents. I am also happy to inform our readers that our total Facebook reach is currently at 982,930, a 44 percent increase from 2020 to 2021. Our total website page views have reached 1,365,088, a 206 percent growth from 2020 t0 2021. This means we are actively engaging at least 2.2 million readers.

What a feat. Glory be to God!

Aside from reach, we wanted our articles to have significance to a wide range of audiences and to cater to a wide range of legal needs: From ordinary citizens to know more about their legal rights and remedies affecting their daily transactions; to young law students or lawyers navigating their way through the complexities of the law; and, law professors, judges, justices, bar reviewers and other legal experts who may be looking for updates on recent laws and jurisprudence.

It gives me delight that we have been accomplishing this purpose. Here is a lookback at the top 25 most read articles of “A Dose of Law”:

  1. About cyber libel
  2. Republic Act 10951: Correcting the unjust for the benefit of the wrongdoers
  3. Pathway to Philippine citizenship: Part 2
  4. Naturalization, pathway to Filipino citizenship
  5. Warrantless arrest or unwarranted arrest
  6. No return, no exchange? No deal!
  7. Pursuing small claims
  8. A series of fortuitous events
  9. Checks and crosses: Liability under BP 22
  10. Succession 101
  11. Getting back what is yours (The mortgagor’s right of redemption)
  12. Absolute community of property (Part 1)
  13. You’re annoying
  14. Yours, mine, ours: Marital property regimes of domestic and international marriages
  15. Tapping into the Wiretapping Law
  16. Debt and death
  17. Payment of professional tax
  18. To give or not to give
  19. Criminal proceedings 101: Inquest (Part 1)
  20. Holiday pay
  21. Payment in notes and coins
  22. Before settling down, first things first
  23. CCTV with audio in workplace, legal?
  24. The cost of debt (Part 3)
  25. Do’s, don’ts and legal implications of a donation

I believe that, indeed, “the greatest reward for doing is the opportunity to do more (Dr. Jonas Salk).” We aim to reach and to serve more. We hope the upcoming articles will continue to be “A Dose of Law” for your legal maladies and concerns.

This success is a much ours as it is yours, my dear readers. Thank you for your continued support!

For comments and questions, please send an email to cabdo@divinalaw.com.