PHILIPPINE LEGISLATURE

Atty Edward Vange Arriba

Direction: Answer the following questions. Kindly EXPLAIN your answer properly.
A mere YES OR NO will not be given any credit.
1. Salome became a naturalized citizen of San Theodoros in 2002. In 2005, she
returned to the Philippines, with an intention to resettle in her old hometown
of Aringay, La Union. She returned to San Theodoros intermittently to
facilitate the sale of her house and her belongings. She reacquired
Philippine citizenship under RA 9225 in 2007. Salome, spurred by her sudden
fame after becoming the champion in a national singing show, decided to
run for President in the 2016 elections. Isagani, the second placer in the
singing show challenged Salome’s candidacy, alleging that she did not fulfill
the residency requirement since her stay in the Philippines from 2005 to 2007
cannot be counted as the rule is that the stay of an alien former Filipino
cannot be counted until he/she obtains a permanent resident visa or
reacquires Philippine citizenship. Is Isagani correct? (10 points)

2. Coco Pentelpen and Miguel Chibiri both ran as Senator last 2007. Miguel
won and was proclaimed as a Senator placing 12th in the election. Coco
Pentelpen placed 13th. Immediately after the proclamation of Miguel,
Coco filed an electoral protest. 

In 2009. Comelec granted Coco's protest and proclaimed Coco as the real
winner. 

Miguel ran again in the next preceeding election (2010 Elections) and won
via landslide. 

Coco ran again as Senator in the 2013 Elections and won. 



[A] Can Coco Pentelpen run as a senator again for the 2019 Elections? Why
or why not? (5 points)



[B] Can Miguel Chibiri run as a senator for the 2016 Elections? Why or why
not? (5 points)

3. An existing law grants government employees the option to retire upon

reaching the age of 57 years and completion of at least 30 years of total
government service. As a fiscal retrenchment measure, the Office of the
President later issued a Memorandum Circular requiring physical incapacity
as an additional condition for optional retirement age of 65 years. A
government employee, whose application for optional retirement was

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Atty Edward Vange Arriba
denied because he was below 65 years of age and was not physically
incapacitated, filed an action in court questioning the disapproval of his
application claiming that the Memorandum Circular is void. Is the
contention of the employee correct? Explain. (10 points)

4. During his Second term as Senator, Roland Dela Rosas was suspended from
office for a period of 60 days by his colleagues upon a vote of two-thirds of
all the Members of the Senate. In the next succeeding election, he filed his
certificate of candidacy for the same position. Brisa Honkyveros, A
Senatorial Candidate from the opposution, filed an action for
disqualification of Roland Dela Rosas on the ground that the Roland's
candidacy violated Section 4 of Article VI of the Constitution which provides
that No Senator shall serve for more than two consecutive terms. Roland
answered that he was not barred from running again for that position
because his service was interrupted by his 60day suspension which was
involuntary. Can Roland legally continue with his candidacy or is he already
barred? Why? (10 points)

5. A few months before the end of the present Congress, Strongwill was invited
by the Senate to shed light in an inquiry relative to the alleged siphoning
and diverting of the pork barrel of members of Congress to non-existent or
fictitious projects. Strongwill has been identified in the news as the principal
actor responsible for the scandal, the leader of a nongovernmental
organization which ostensibly funnelled the funds to certain local
government projects which existed only on paper. At the start of the
hearings before the Senate, Strongwill refused at once to cooperate. The
Senate cited him in contempt and sent him to jail until he would have seen
the light. The Congress, thereafter, adjourned sine die preparatory to the
assumption to office of the newly-elected members. In the meantime,
Strongwill languished behind bars and the remaining senators refused to
have him released, claiming that the Senate is a continuing body and,
therefore, he can be detained indefinitely. Are the senators right? (5 points)

6. Suppose that Congress passed a law creating a Department of Human

Habitat and authorizing the Department Secretary to promulgate
implementing rules and regulations. Suppose further that the law declared
that violation of the implementing rules and regulations so issued would be
punishable as a crime and authorized the Department Secretary to
prescribe the penalty for such violation. If the law defines certain acts as

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violations of the law and makes them punishable, for example, with
imprisonment of three (3) years or a fine in the amount of P10,000.00, or both
such imprisonment and fine, in the discretion of the court, can it be
provided in the implementing rules and regulations promulgated by the
Department Secretary that their violation will also be subject to the same
penalties as those provided in the law itself? Explain your answer fully. (10
points)

7. Section 32 of Republic Act No. 4670 (The Magna Carta for Public School
Teachers) reads: 



Sec. 32. Penal Provision. — A person who shall willfully interfere with, restrain
or coerce any teacher in the exercise of his rights guaranteed by this Act or
who shall in any other manner commit any act to defeat any of the
provisions of this Act shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not less
than one hundred pesos nor more than one thousand pesos, or by
imprisonment, in the discretion of the court. 



Is the proviso granting the court the authority to impose a penalty or
imprisonment in its discretion constitutional? Explain briefly. (10 points)

8. Section 8 of P.D. No. 910, entitled "Creating an Energy Development Board,

defining its powers and functions, providing funds therefor and for other
purposes," provides that: "All fees, revenues and receipts of the Board from
any and all sources x x x shall form part of a Special Fund to be used to
finance energy resource development and exploitation programs and
projects of the government and for such other purposes as may be
hereafter directed by the President." The Malampaya NGO contends that
the provision constitutes an undue delegation of legislative power since the
phrase "and for such other purposes as may be hereafter directed by the
President" gives the President unbridled discretion to determine the purpose
for which the funds will be used. On the other hand, the government urges
the application of ejusdem generis. 



[a] Explain the "completeness test" and "sufficient standard test." (5 points) 



[b] Does the assailed portion of section 8 of PD 910 hurdle the two (2) tests?
(5 points)

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9. In 1989, Zeny Reyes married Ben Tulog, a national of the State of Kongo.
Under the laws of Kongo, an alien woman marrying a Kongo national
automatically acquires Kongo citizenship. After her marriage, Zeny resided
in Kongo and acquired a Kongo passport. In 1991, Zeny returned to the
Philippines to run for Senator. 



[a] What are the qualifications of a Senator? (5 points)



[b] Is Zeny qualified to run for Senator? (5 points)

10. Can any other department or agency of the Government review a decision
of the Supreme Court? Why or why not? (10 points)

II. MODIFIED TRUE OR FALSE.

 Read each statement below carefully. Place a T on the line if you think a
statement it TRUE. If not, identify the statement which makes it FALSE and
EXPLAIN WHY (2.5 POINTS EACH)

1. The legislative power shall be vested in the Congress of the Philippines which
shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives, except to the
extent reserved to the people by the provision on initiative and referendum.

2. The Senate shall be composed of twenty-four Senators who shall be elected

at large by the qualified voters of the Philippines, as may be provided by
law.

3. No person shall be a Senator unless he is a natural-born citizen of the

Philippines, and, on the day of the election, is at least thirty-five years of age,
able to read and write, a registered voter, and a resident of the Philippines
for not less than two years immediately preceding the day of the election.

4. The term of office of the Senators shall be six years and shall commence,
unless otherwise provided by law, at noon on the thirtieth day of June next
following their election.



No Senator shall serve for more than two consecutive terms. Voluntary
renunciation of the office for any length of time shall not be considered as
an interruption in the continuity of his service for the full term for which he
was elected.

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