Atty. Theodore Te is a reputable man in the world of law and governance as he served as Supreme Court spokesman for a few years in the Philippine government before stepping down in 2018. A year after that, he launched his own podcast with the content creators from PumaPodcast, focused on educating the youth on the constitution, citizen rights, and more. Each episode wraps up under 20 minutes, and aims to discuss these issues in a much more comprehensible way as to not intimidate listeners who aren’t as familiar with legal matters.

It’s especially important to arm ourselves with these crucial bits of information now, as it seems that things are rapidly being redefined and changed up without us really realizing what it means. More than that, as the youth steps in to take up their responsibility to vote, they need to have at least a basic sense of understanding on what’s constitutional, and what isn’t, to better gauge future candidates running for national office. It’s also always good to be informed on national issues, and be educated on how certain laws and protocols affect each member of society.

The podcast follows a format of defining terms, discussing cases, and reflecting on its implications to the Philippines, creating easy-to-digest episodes for not-so-easy-to-digest topics. Atty. Ted Te also brings in some guests from the academe and the legal world for a few episodes to provide a more holistic discussion.

To get you started, here are some of the episodes that are most relevant to what we’re experiencing now as a country:

Episode 15: Locked up During Lockdown

 

Professor Raymund Narag and Atty. Ted Te discuss how prisons around the world are handling the COVID-19 outbreak, and how inmates are the most vulnerable right now as they live in close quarters without proper social distancing and sanitation protocols. This is also discussed in the local perspective as Prof. Narag reflects on his time inside the Quezon City Jail.

 

Episode 12-14: Emergency Powers

 

Remember that chaotic time when the pandemic just hit us and we were on the early days of quarantine, and the issue of the President asking for Emergency Powers broke through the Internet? A lot of our concerns at that time stemmed from the fact that we didn’t really fully understand what “Emergency Powers” meant. In 3 consecutive episodes, the podcast shines a light on this issue, by discussing its implications in the time of COVID-19, under the Bayanihan Act, and how it affects the Bill of Rights.

 

Episode 7: Separation of Powers

 

We all learned this in school: by law, the three branches (Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary) of the Philippine government are meant to work separately from one another to implement a system of check and balance. This means that if one branch is abusing its power, or not fulfilling its responsibilities, the other two branches have the right to step in and question its course of action. This is also crucial in approving or rejecting laws that don’t match up with the country’s best interests. What happens when that is no longer the case?

 

Episode 5: On Being Critical of Government

 

This is especially relevant now with the number of activists being arrested for being critical of the government, and there’s an even greater fear of speaking out because of the Anti-Terror Law. Although this episode was aired last year and before all the events of post-pandemic Philippines, it still remains to be an important discussion with must-know points on our rights as citizens of a democratic country.

 

Episode 4: Law 101

Now if you’re just going to listen to only one episode, this is the one as Atty. Te defines some of the most used legal terminologies in headlines, reports, and other important news that we should know. Indictment? Right to Counsel? Here’s a quick crash course on legal matters to get our mind rolling.

Te Talks by Ted Te is available on all major streaming platforms: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Listen Notes, PodParadise, and more.