UNIVERSITY OF THE CORDILLERAS

COLLEGE OF LAW
SPECIAL PROCEEDINGS
MIDTERMS – FINALS EXAMINATION

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place a page number on the uppermost right side on each of the pages of
your notebook. The page number should be printed clearly. Write clearly your
name and section on the first page of your notebook.

Answer each number on a separate page. Sub-questions may be answered on

the same page. Give brief and concise answers with your legal and factual basis. A
mere Yes or No answer will not be given credit.

After you have finished the exam, make sure to take a clear and chronological
photograph of all your answers. Send the pictures to my email address -
nafiroger@gmail.com.

You have three (3) hours to complete the exam and send the files to me. All
answers (files) MUST be in my inbox within the three-hour limit. I will give
corresponding deductions to late submissions.

Good luck.
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1. Give the venue and jurisdiction of the following special proceedings:

a. Petition for guardianship of an incompetent who resides in Kuala Lumpur,

Malaysia by a guardian residing in Metro Manila (2%)

b. Petition for adoption by an American and his Filipino wife residing in San
Fernando La Union, of a child residing in La Trinidad, Benguet and who is a
relative within the fourth civil degree of the wife. (2%)

c. Petition for rescission of adoption of the adopted child where the adopters
reside in Dagupan, Pangasinan. (2%)

d. Petition for habeas corpus in relation to custody of a minor where the

petitioner resides in Caloocan City, Metro Manila and the minor resides in
Baguio City. (2%)

e. Petition for change of name where the fact of birth was registered in the local
civil registry of La Trinidad, Benguet. (2%)

2. Spouses Marianita and Mariano are childless couple. On April 1, 2012, as they
were celebrating their 10th anniversary as married couple, a newborn infant
placed inside a shoebox was brought to their doorstep by an anonymous woman,
who immediately left after leaving the baby. Thinking that this was an answer to
their prayer, the spouses took the child under their care and treated him as their
own child. They registered the child with the Local Civil Registrar’s Office of
Baguio City as their biological child and named him Marianito. The Local Civil
Registrar issued a Certificate of Live Birth of Marianito where it was indicated
 that he was born on April 1, 2012, and that Marianita and Mariano are his
biological parents. Sadly, Mariano died shortly before Marianito could celebrate
his second birthday. Five years thereafter, Marianita married her long-time best
friend, Pedro, who is now also a widower. After learning about the circumstances
surrounding the childhood of Marianito, Pedro informed Marianita that the
registration of Pedro was illegal. Marianita would now like to set things straight
and approached you for legal advice. Discuss your legal advice indicating your
legal basis and make a brief outline of the procedure that Marianita would
undergo. (5%)

3. Juana, a widow, and her ten-year old daughter, Maria, live in a small one-room
boarding house along Magsaysay Avenue, Baguio City. Juana works in a nearby
bar as a Guest Relations Officer (GRO). Often, Juana and her male friends have
drinking sprees in Juana’s boarding house. At times, Juana would even leave
Maria alone in the company of her drunk male friends. Alarmed by the danger to
the safety and morals of Juana’s daughter, Bruno, the father of Juana’s
deceased husband, offered to get Maria from their boarding house and bring her
to a safer environment. However, Juana refused the offer and even prevented
Bruno from getting near Maria. Bruno believes that he has the right to see and
get Maria from Juana and ultimately have custody over her granddaughter. Does
Bruno have a cause of action against Juana. If your answer is no, explain why. If
your answer is in the affirmative, explain your basis and discuss the procedure
that should be taken by Bruno (5%)

4. Armando, a married man, and Amanda, a single woman, maintained an illicit

relationship. A child was born out of their relationship. The child was named and
registered as Amandino. Upon the other hand, Armando and his legal wife,
Maria, have three common children, Jim Beam, who is 15 years old, Jack Daniel,
who is 12 years old, and Alfonso, who is 8 years old. Living with the family is
Sam Miguel, the 18-year old, illegitimate child of Armando with his first
girlfriend, Arsenia. Maria also had a son from a previous relationship named
Valentino, who is now 21 years old living separately from Maria. A year after
Amandino was born, Maria died of illness. Armando now desires to adopt
Amandino. May Armando validly adopt Amandino? If your answer is in the
negative, explain why. If your answer is yes, discuss whose consent should
Armando obtain for the adoption to prosper. (5%)

5. Pedro B. Penduco filed a petition for correction of entries in his Certificate of Live
Birth before the RTC of Baguio City. He impleaded the Local Civil Registrar of
Baguio City as the sole respondent. The material allegations in the Petition show
that his parents were not married to each other at the time he was born. In his
Certificate of Live birth however, the item with respect to the “Date and Place of
Marriage of Parents” was filled with the following entries: “January 1, 1990,
Baguio City Hall”. Additionally, Pedro alleged that his mother’s name indicated
in his Certificate of Live Birth is, “Mary” instead of her correct name which is
“Maria”. Lastly, Pedro alleged that his first name written in his Certificate of Live
Birth is, “Pedrito” and not “Pedro”, the name which he has used since childhood
up to the present. He prayed that the following entries in his Certificate of Live
Birth be cancelled or corrected as follows:

Entry From To
Date and Place of January 1, 1990, Baguio Not married
Marriage of Parents City
 Name of mother Mary Batumbakal Maria
Batumbakal
First Name of child Pedrito Pedro

If you were the judge, will you grant the reliefs prayed for by Pedro Penduco?
Discuss fully your answer. (5%)

6. On February 14, 2018, Dinah M. Maganda also known as, “Dena M. Maganda”
and “Nadin M. Maganda” filed a petition before the Regional Trial Court of Baguio
City praying that her first name registered with the Local Civil Registry of Baguio
City be changed from “DINAH” to “GRACIA” She filed the petition as a special
proceedings for change of name under Rule 103 of the Rules of Court. In the
heading of her petition, she did not indicate therein her aliases or other names
by which she is known. She also failed to make an allegation as to her residence
and the length of years that she had been residing thereat. The RTC dismissed
the petition on the ground that the petitioner failed to indicate her aliases or
other names in the heading of the petition and her failure to make an allegation
of her residence for the last three years.

a. Is the dismissal of the petition correct? Explain (5%)

b. Suppose what was prayed for by the Petitioner was the change of her
surname/family name instead, would your answer be the same? Reason. (5%)

7. Lulu was born to spouses Pedro and Mahal. Mahal died during the birth of Lulu.
After Mahal’s death, Pedro left Lulu under the care of Diego, a rich older brother
of Mahal. Thereafter, Pedro married Maria. Their marriage produced two
children, Cecilio and Cecilia. Diego died and Lulu inherited valuable properties
from her mother Mahal and her uncle Diego. After Diego’s death, Lulu, who was
only ten years old, went to live with her father and the latter’s second family. Due
to learning difficulties, Lulu stopped schooling at the age of ten. During her
minority, it was her father Pedro who administered her properties. Upon reaching
the age of majority Lulu was given full control over her estate. Considering
however her lack of education, Pedro continued to exercise actual administration
of the properties. Upon Pedro’s death, Cecilio and Cecilia took over the actual
administration of Lulu’s properties. Upon learning that Cecilio and Cecilia had
been dissipating her estate, Lulu sought the assistance of Lolita, her maternal
first cousin. Lolita later found out that Lulu was severely overweight, unkempt
and unwell. She also found out that Lulu lives in a small and dirty room with no
running water and toilet. Due to her squalid living conditions and poor hygiene,
Lulu was found by a physician to have been afflicted with tuberculosis,
rheumatism and diabetes and its complications. Lulu was also found to have a
below-average intelligence and fragile mental state rendering her unable to self-
administer her medications. Based on the foregoing, Lolita filed a petition for
guardianship over the person and properties of Lulu. The petition was granted by
the RTC and Lolita was appointed as guardian over the person and properties of
Lulu. Thereafter, Lulu was transferred to an apartment with better living
conditions. Not long thereafter, Cecilio and Cecilia took Lulu from her apartment
and transferred her to an undisclosed place.

a. Was the granting of the petition for guardianship correct? Explain your
answer with your legal basis. (5%)
 b. Suppose Lolita approached you and inquired about her legal remedies in
order that she can regain custody over the person of Lulu, what advice
would you give her? Discuss your legal advice. (5%)

8. Kim Mulbet, a natural born Filipina and Dim Manug, a former Filipino but a
naturalized Japanese citizen got married in Baguio City, Philippines in June 21,
2017. After the celebration of the marriage, the couple stayed in Japan where
Dim Manug works as a factory worker. The marriage turned sour as Dim Manug
repeatedly subjected Kim Mulbet to physical and emotional violence. After two
years of tumultuous marital relationship and unable to bear the beatings
anymore, Kim Mulbet filed a petition for divorce before the Family Court of
Japan. The petition was granted and the divorce decree subsequently became
final. Kim returned to the Philippines and fell in love for the second time with her
childhood sweetheart, Tim Mangken. They eventually planned to marry each
other. When Kim Mulbet and Tim Mangken went to the Local Civil Register of
Baguio City to apply for a marriage license, they were told that the Civil Register
of Baguio City and the Philippine Statistics Authority could not issue the
required Certificate of No Marriage to Kim Mulbet, as the civil register record
shows that she is still married to Dim Manug. Kim and Tim engaged the services
of Atty. Jack Amu, who thereafter filed a special proceeding for recognition of
foreign divorce decree under Rule 108 of the Rules of Court. The Solicitor
General filed a motion to dismiss the petition on the ground that Rule 108 covers
only petition for correction and/or cancellation of entries in the Civil Registry
thus the court has no jurisdiction to hear and decide the present petition. If you
were the judge, will you grant the motion? Explain with legal basis (5%)

9. Tan Duay, a wealthy businessman died intestate and without any unpaid
obligation. He was survived by his sons Sam Miguel, Ginsito, Jimbeam, and
Alfonso. The heirs would like to divide the properties and assets left by their
deceased father.

a. Assuming that you are the family lawyer, discuss all the possible options
available to the heirs for the settlement of the estate of their deceased father
(5%)
b. Suppose Jimbeam was intentionally left out in the distribution of the net
estate of Tan Duay, discuss his rights and remedies against the other heirs.
(5%)
c. Assume that Tan Duay instead died leaving unpaid obligations. Upon a
Petition filed by Sam Miguel, the latter was appointed administrator. After the
issuance of letters of administration, a purported will of Tan Duay was
discovered by Ginsito, who immediately filed a motion for the revocation of the
letters of administration issued in favour of Sam Miguel. The court granted
the motion on the ground that the discovery of the will automatically revokes
the letters of administration as it is dictated by public policy that the will of
the deceased must be respected with respect to the disposition of his estate. Is
the court correct? Explain your answer (5%)

10. In the intestate settlement of the estate of the deceased Bim Takein, a Filipino
of German descent, his eldest son, Nathnagein, moved for his appointment as
administrator of the estate. This was opposed by Nasphakein, the youngest son
of the deceased, who moved instead for his appointment. The settlement court
appointed Nathnagein as administrator.
 a. What is the remedy/s available to Nasphakein in order to contest the
appointment of Nathnagein as administrator and on what grounds? Explain
(5%)
b. Distinguish a regular administrator from a special administrator. (5%)
c. May the settlement court appoint a special administrator where a regular
administrator has already been appointed? Justify your answer. (5%)

11. Marianito, the appointed executor of the estate of the deceased Mariano,
submitted to the court an inventory which includes a 5, 000 square-meter lot
occupied by Mario. Mario interposed an opposition to the inclusion of the said
parcel of lot in the inventory. The probate court directed the executor and Mario
to present evidence of ownership over the contested lot. Mario refused to
participate in the proceedings on the ground of lack of jurisdiction on the part of
the probate court. This notwithstanding, the probate court proceeded with the
reception of evidence and subsequently rendered judgment declaring the
deceased to be the owner of the lot in question.

a. Is the judgment correct? Explain. (5%)

b. Explain the meaning of the limited jurisdiction of the probate/settlement
court. Give the exceptions, if there are any. (5%)

12. Discuss the three distinct, independent and mutually exclusive remedies that
can be alternatively pursued by the mortgagee creditor for the satisfaction of his
credit in case the mortgagor dies before the satisfaction of the obligation. (5%)

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