JD Thesis 1 - MY RESEARCH PROBLEM PRIORITIZATION MATRIX

Name: _________________________________________ JD3

Directions:
1. List down three topics of interest (according to your order of priority, familiarity and competence)
which you would like to have for your proposal.
2. State the main objective.
3. Indicate the significance of your topic to the following: legislature, executive department, present
generation, future generation, lawyers, law students, and others.
4. You may extend the table/columns if necessary.

Topic Rationale/Objective Significance

Priority Topic 1
Defense of Insanity: an
escape clause for criminals?
-To know the prevalence of using
insanity as a defense and how It is easy to use
does criminals prove it. insanity plea as an escape
from possible prosecution
-To have a research about the due to committing a criminal
statistics of those criminals who offense. Insanity is the best
recently got acquitted due to defense for an individual to
insanity defense and its avoid criminal liability.
aftermath. However, there are some
conditions that must be
-To know how accurate the taken into consideration. An
process of proving insanity in the insane person under
Philippine courts. Paragraph 1, Article 1 of the
Revised Penal Code of the
-To know if there can be a Philippines, the person is
proposed amendment in making exempt from criminal liability
such defense harder to prove by if he or she acted during
criminals lucid interval. There should
be clear and convincing
evidence to prove the
defendant's insanity.

When insanity is used

as a defense, the burden is
on the defense as the
appellant has to prove that
the perpetrator is insane
immediately before the
commission of the crime or
at the moment of its
execution. There should be
proof that the accused acted
without discernment.

It is important to
know how well does the
court decide if the insanity
plea is real or not because it

Priority Topic 2
The theory of broken
windows: the influence of the
environment on the crime
rate in the Philippines
Priority Topic 3
Is the concept of religious
freedom still relevant amidst
emerging modern laws?
Establishing the Mens Rea
and Actus Reus of Assault on
Religious Freedom
-To make a comprehensive
analysis about the impact of the
environment on the crime rate.
-To know the statistics and make
a research about how does the
community raised a person that
became a criminal due to its
surrounding and factors that
affecting his being.
-This research aims to make an
output to know if freedom of
religion with regard to opposing
the emergence of modern laws is
still important or it should be
amended to give way to the set
of new laws that the society aims
to address.
-To make a comprehensive
analysis about the impact of the
emergence of modern laws in
the exercise of religious freedom
in our country.
-To explore the arguments
regarding the supporters of the
modern laws in contrast with the
views of the people who protect
their freedom of religion and
their beliefs.
will affect the lives of others.
A criminal can be acquitted
and be scot-free when they
availed this defense. It can
be abuse and use by those
criminals who wants to get
away with their crime.
The physical and
emotional impact of crime
can be devastating both for
those who are harmed and
for their families and friends.
No matter what the crime or
circumstances in which it
was committed, it may
diminish the victims' sense of
control and self-worth.
Crime however, affects
different people in different
ways. But we should also
know how does the
environment affect a person
to become a criminal. Past
and changing crime rates
indicate something about
our environment with regard
to the development of a
person and how it started to
do wrong.
Due to the emergence
of modern laws around the
world, our country is facing a
new era of proposals in the
Senate and House of
Representatives such as
SOGIE Bill, Divorce, and
Same-sex Marriage. The
freedom of religion is under
attack since then. It was a
continuous debate about
how it may affect the rights
of others if such modern
laws will contravene with the
religious beliefs of a person.
It is a hot topic today
that many people uphold
their rights and religion to
contravene with the laws
that promotes a drastic

“Is RA 10631 still sufficient to
address the growing cases of
bestiality in the country?”
-To research about the effects of
the drastic change in the society
that support the passage of
modern laws that may directly
affect the freedom of religion
and its expression.
-This research aims to know if RA
10631 is still sufficient to address
the prevalence of bestiality cases
in the country. Also, if the Animal
Welfare Act is the law that must
penalize such acts or there is a
need of a new law to address the
sexual crimes against animals.
change in our society.
Freedom of religion
is under attack since the
dawn of the new era of
modern laws. It became a
huge barrier for these
proposals to become a law
but due to the diverse group
that support the passage of
these bills, the freedom of
religion is being besmirched
with opposing views and
criticism. This study aims to
explore the idea of the
effects of modern laws in
compromising the exercise of
the freedom of religion of a
person against those who
wants to bid liberty to do the
things that they want under
the emergence of these
proposals.
All of these modern
laws show exclusion or non-
mention of the other sector
immediately affected by the
bill. It is immediately a one-
sided bill which is supposed
to be anti-discrimination.
This research aims to make
an output to know if
freedom of religion with
regard to opposing the
emergence of modern laws is
still important or it should be
amended to give way to the
set of new laws that the
society aims to address.
Taboo as a subject to
be sure, sexual crimes
against animals are not
exceptional, isolated
incidents. The case facts run
a wide range – from
individual animals assaulted
by their owners in their
homes, to organized
bestiality events held at
clandestine, often rural
-This thesis aims to address the locations.
prevalence of cases regarding
sexual assault of animals in the -Not surprisingly, limited
Philippines. Few days ago, we research – such as a 2002
heard the news about a study – places these crimes
construction worker “raping” a in the context of what
pig in Sual, Pangasinan. Most of experts in animal abuse and
the reaction of netizens about criminal justice refer to as
the news stated that such acts “The Link,” i.e. the well-
are disturbing for a human eye. documented connection
between violence to animals
-Bestiality occurs when a human and violence to humans.
engages in sexual acts with an Below are some examples of
animal. It is prevalent throughout media-covered incidents:
the world and is more common 2010: Drug smuggler
than most think. For instance, in arrested in bestiality case
parts of Colombia, it is a rite of 2017: Second man charged in
passage for a male to have sex sexual assault of therapy dog
with a donkey. In the United 2018: Brown County horse
States, bestiality is legal in the molestation case provides
District of Columbia as well as puzzle for legal, psychiatric
nine states—Hawaii, Kentucky, communities
Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio,
Texas, Vermont, West Virginia, These are only some of the
and Wyoming. In Mexico, it is cases that shows how
reported that there are shows prevalent bestiality is.
where a person can pay to see a
woman and a donkey engage in -Internationally, 45 states in
sexual acts. There aren’t exact the United States have laws
figures detailing the commonality which expressly criminalize
of bestiality, but it is legal in the sexual assault of an
many parts of the world. In 2013, animal, though these
Denmark had a law which stated provisions are often poorly
that bestiality can be permitted equipped to accomplish
as long as the animal didn’t meaningful convictions. If the
suffer; but of course, how can abuser is also the owner of
one tell if an animal has suffered? the animal, it was stated at
Who is to judge? Is the trier of the animal victims in
fact to judge suffering from an bestiality cases are in danger
animal’s perspective or a of being returned to their
human’s? And how does one abusers if the state laws are
judge “suffering”? Does physical weak or underutilized on the
or psychological pain count? This issue of forfeiture. Where
law was also found in Sweden the law requires that an
and Finland. However, in 2014, “evidence” animal must wait
Sweden banned bestiality, and out the weeks and months of
Denmark followed suit in 2015 a pending criminal
amid concerns of sex tourism prosecution before (ideally,
with animals, although it is still upon the abuser’s conviction)
legal in Finland. being legally available for
adoption, it is a bitter – and
 -The fact that bestiality is a often costly – frustration for
common occurrence in some all involved.
parts of the world is horrifying.
Furthermore, a person should -This research aims to know
not be able to circumvent the law if it is now time for the
by stating (and proving) that he Philippines to take a step in
or she never penetrated the criminalizing the act of
animal in order to avoid criminal bestiality rather than putting
prosecution. In the future, it under the provisions of RA
lawmakers must do more to 10631.
protect the welfare of an animal,
and can work to deter this
behavior with increased
penalties, such as: two to three
years’ imprisonment coupled
with psychiatric help and placing
the perpetrator’s name on a
bestiality registry to prevent him
or her from owning animals. The
decision is for the lawmakers; but
whatever they decide they must
put the welfare of the sexually
abused animal first and prevent
those who wish to fornicate with
animals from continuing their
practice.

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