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SCRIPT: Definition and Purpose of Legal Research

Prepared by: Jasmine Carol B. Ramirez

Introduction: *Insert clip from ‘CNN Philippines: The Source’ and ‘Kapuso sa Batas: Atty. Gabby
Concepcion’*

“Aside from the actual representation of lawyers at court, these are samples of the many instances a
lawyer is being consulted. Even as a law student, once people know that you are studying law, you will
be asked for your opinion on a particular event or issue.”

“Therefore, one of the essential skills a lawyer must have is legal research.”

(Purpose of Legal Research)

“A lawyer is required to provide competent representation to a client. Competent representation

requires the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for the
representation. Clearly, a lawyer must be able to research the law to provide competent representation.
– Legal Research by Rodriguez”

“As a professional, it not only improves the quality of our work – but we owe it to the client. And that
we can face liabilities if we miss critical sources: questions relating to competency in legal research may
arise in suits for damages, arising from legal incompetence or claims for malicious prosecution. – Legal
Research by Rodriguez”

“The knowledge and ability to use fundamental legal research tools and to implement an effective and
efficient research plan must become part and parcel of every lawyer's training for him or her to provide
competent representation and uphold the standards of the legal profession. – Legal Research by
Rodriguez”

“Then, we will ask, what is Legal Research?”

(Definition of Legal Research)

“In general, legal research is the process of finding the laws, rules and regulations that govern activities
in human society. It involves locating both the laws and rules which are enforced by the State and the
commentaries which explain or analyze these rules.

Legal research is also defined as the investigation for information necessary to support legal decision
making. Legal research includes each step of a process that begins with analyzing the facts of a problem
and concludes with applying and communicating the results of the investigation. - Legal Research by
Rodriguez”

“And as we go through this presentation, we will explore the sources as well as forms of legal
information as these will be the first step to acquire this skill.”
2. LEGAL AUTHORITY, Defined
-Authority that will aid in finding a solution to a legal problem
1. Primary and Secondary Legal Authority, Distinguished
-Primary Legal Authorities are authorized statements of law issued by governmental bodies;
while Secondary Legal Authorities are descriptions of, or commentary on, the law

Primary Legal Authorities are divided under the usage of the different branches of the
government, these are:

-The former is the law itself (Mandatory or Persuasive); while the latter interprets, analyzes, or
compiles the law (Persuasive)

DIFFERENT BRANCHES OF THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT

The structure of the Philippine government is divided into three branches:
 the Legislative Department (Article 6);
 the Executive Department (Article 7); and
 the Judicial Department (Article 8)

THE PRINCIPLE OF SEPARATION OF POWERS

The powers of the government, by virtue of this principle are divided into three (3) distinct
classes: the legislative, the executive and the judicial. They are distributed, respectively among
the legislative, executive, and judicial branches or departments of the government. Under the
principle of co-equal and coordinate powers among the three (3) branches, the officers entrusted
with each of these powers are not permitted to encroach upon the powers confided to the others.
If one department goes beyond the limits set by the Constitution, its acts are null and void. The
adoption of this principle was motivated by the belief that arbitrary rule would result if the same
person or body were to exercise all the powers of the government.

Primary Legal Authorities (the court must rely on)

* Constitution and Statutes (Legislative Branch)

Legislative process

Congress is responsible for making enabling laws to make sure the spirit of the constitution is
upheld in the country and, at times, amend or change the constitution itself. In order to craft
laws, the legislative body comes out with two main documents: bills and resolutions.

Resolutions convey principles and sentiments of the Senate or the House of Representatives.

These resolutions can further be divided into three different elements:

 Joint resolutions — require the approval of both chambers of Congress and the signature
of the President, and have the force and effect of a law if approved.
  Concurrent resolutions — used for matters affecting the operations of both chambers of
Congress and must be approved in the same form by both houses, but are not transmitted
to the President for his signature and therefore have no force and effect of a law.
 Simple resolutions — deal with matters entirely within the prerogative of one chamber
of Congress, are not referred to the President for his signature, and therefore have no
force and effect of a law.

Bills are laws in the making. They pass into law when they are approved by both houses and the
President of the Philippines. A bill may be vetoed by the President, but the House of
Representatives may overturn a presidential veto by garnering a 2/3rds vote. If the President does
not act on a proposed law submitted by Congress, it will lapse into law after 30 days of receipt.

Before the declaration of the martial law in the Philippines on September 21, 1972, the power to
legislate laws is vested in the Congress of the Philippines, which consists of the Senate and the
House of Representatives. Upon the imposition of the martial law, and after the dissolution of the
old Congress the power the legislative law is vested in the President of the Philippines. This is
the reason why the President issued presidential decrees and letters of instruction. When the
Batasang Pambansa was recognized Legislative power is principally vested in this body.
Although the president under the virtue of what is known of amendment numbers six continue to
issue decrease when the exigency of this situation.

This has the power on the constitution and statutes of the country:
A constitution is a written enactment by the direct action of the people providing for the form of
government and defining the power of the several departments, thus, creating a fundamental law
which is absolute and unalterable except by the authority from which it emanated.

While, a statute is the law enacted by the legislature – it must be expressed in a form and must be
passed in accordance with the precedents provided by law for its validity.

A constitution differs from a statute in that a statute must provide the details of the subject of
which it treats, whereas a constitution usually states general principles and builds the substantial
foundation and general framework of the law and government. A constitution, unlike a statute, is
intended not merely to meet existing conditions but to govern the future.

COMPOSITION OF THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

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; the House of Representatives
shall be composed of not more than 250 (unless otherwise fixed by law), 20 percent of whom
must be Party-list representatives.

Senate – 24
Currently the Philippine Senate is composed of 23 Senators
House of Representatives – not more than 250 members including the Party-list
Representatives District Representatives – 80% Party-list Representatives -20% currently
there are 285 members of the House of Representatives 229 – District representatives 56 –
Sectoral Representatives

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE OFFICIALS OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

SENATORS
- a natural born citizens of the Philippines
- at least 35 years of age on the day of the election
- able to read and write
- a registered voter
- a resident of the Philippines for not less than two (2) years immediately preceding the day of
the election
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
- a natural-born citizen of the Philippines
- at least 25 years of age on the day of the election
- able to read and write
- except for a party-list representative, a registered voter in the district in which he shall be
elected
- a resident thereof for a period of not less than one year preceding the election
ADDITIONAL QUALITICATION FOR PARTYLIST REPRESENTATIVES:
- a bona fide member of the party or organization which he seeks to represent for at least ninety
(90) days preceding the day of the election

TERMS OF OFFICE
SENATE – 2 consecutive terms allowed with 6 years per term DISTRICT AND PARTYLIST
REPRESENTATIVES - 3 consecutive terms allowed with 3 years per term

POWERS OF THE GOVERNMENT

THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
Congress (Article 6)
1. THE POWER TO ENACT LAWS
2. Police Power
3. Power of Eminent Domain
4. Power of Taxation
5. The power to choose who shall become President in case of tie (Section 4, par.4)
6. The power to impose death penalty (Art. 3, Sec 19)
7. The power to act as a constituent assembly (Art. XVII, section 1)
8. The power to declare the existence of war (Section 23)
9. The power to confirm the appointments of government officials (Section 19)
10. The power to ratify treaty (Art. 7, Section 21)
11. The power to conduct investigation in aid of legislation (Section 21)
12. Immunity from arrest for offenses punishable by not more than six years imprisonment
(Section 11) 13. The power to appropriate money (Section 24 & 25) 14. The power to impeach
(Art. XI, Sec. 2)
* Cases (Judicial Branch)

Cases
-Published reports of dispute which have come before the court including the reason for the
decision and the decision itself
-Published reports found in the Official Gazette, Philippine Reports, SCRA, SCANT, etc

Judicial power rests with the Supreme Court and the lower courts, as established by law (Art.
VIII, sec. 1 of the 1987 Constitution). Its duty is to settle actual controversies involving rights
which are legally demandable and enforceable (Art. VIII Sec. 1 (2)).

The judiciary enjoys fiscal autonomy. Its appropriation may not be reduced by the Legislature
below the appropriated amount the previous year (Art. VIII, Sec. 3).

Rules and procedures

The Rules of Court of the Philippines, as amended and the rules and regulations issued by the
Supreme Court, define the rules and procedures of the judiciary. These rules and regulations are
in the form of administrative matters, administrative orders, circulars, memorandum circulars,
memorandum orders, and OCA circulars.  The Supreme Court disseminates these rules and
regulations to all courts, publishes important ones in newspapers of general circulation, prints
them in book or pamphlet form, and uploads them to the Supreme Court website and
the Supreme Court E-Library website.

On June 21, 1988, the Supreme Court promulgated the Code of Professional Responsibility for
the legal profession.  The draft was prepared by the Committee on Responsibility, Discipline and
Disbarment of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.

COMPOSITION OF THE JUDICIAL BRANCH

SUPREME COURT
-composed of fifteen members 1 Chief Justice 14 Associate Justice
Under the Supreme Court are the Court of Appeals, Sandiganbayan, Court of Tax Appeals
Under the Court of Appeals are the Regional trial Court and Sharia District Courts
Under the RTC are the Metropolitan Trial Court, Municipal Trial Court in Cities, Municipal
Trial Court and Municipal Circuit Trial Court
Under the Sharia District Courts is the Sharia Circuit Court

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE OFFICIALS OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

SUPREME COURT
- he must be a natural-born citizen of the Philippines
- he must be at least forty (40) years of age
- he must have, for fifteen (15) years or more, been a judge of a lower court or engaged in the
practice of law in the Philippines
- he must be a person of proven competence, integrity, probity and independence.

TERMS OF OFFICE
NO TERM LIMIT – but they mandated to hold office during good behavior until they reach the
age of 70 or become incapacitated to discharge the duties of their office.

POWERS OF THE GOVERNMENT

THE JUDICIAL BRANCH
The Supreme Court (Article 8)
1. THE POWER TO INTERPRET LAWS
2. THE POWER OF JUDICIAL REVIEW.
a. The power to determine whether there has been a grave abuse of discretion lack or
excess of jurisdiction of any branch or instrumentality of the government (Sec. 4, par. 2)
3. ADJUDICATORY POWERS (Section 1, par. 2)
a. The power to determine the validity and constitutionality of the laws of the State
b. The power to settle actual controversies involving rights which are legally demandable
and enforceable
4. Assign temporarily judges of lower courts to other stations as public interest may require
5. Order the change of venue or place of trial to avoid a miscarriage of justice
6. Appoints all officials and employees of the Judiciary in accordance with the Civil Service Law

* Treaties, Executive Orders, Administrative Rules & Regulations, Ordinances (Executive

Branch)

Article VII, Section 1, of the 1987 Constitution vests executive power on the President of the
Philippines. The President is the Head of State and Head of Government, and functions as the
commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. As chief executive, the President
exercises control over all the executive departments, bureaus, and offices.

The President of the Philippines has the power to give executive issuances, which are means to
streamline the policy and programs of an administration. There are six issuances that the
President may issue. They are the following as defined in the Administrative Code of 1987:

Executive orders —  Acts of the President providing for rules of a general or permanent character
in implementation or execution of constitutional or statutory powers shall be promulgated in
executive orders.

Administrative orders — Acts of the President which relate to particular aspects of governmental
operations in pursuance of his duties as the administrative head shall be promulgated in
administrative orders.
Proclamations — Acts of the President fixing a date or declaring a status or condition of public
moment or interest, upon the existence of which the operation of a specific law or regulation is
made to depend, shall be promulgated in proclamations which shall have the force of an
executive order.

Memorandum orders — Acts of the President on matters of administrative detail, or of

subordinate or temporary interest which only concern a particular officer or government office
shall be embodied in memorandum orders.

Memorandum circulars — Acts of the President on matters relating to internal administration,

which the President desires to bring to the attention of all or some of the departments, agencies,
bureaus, or offices of the government, for information or compliance, shall be embodied in
memorandum circulars.

General or special orders — Acts and commands of the President in his capacity as commander-
in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines shall be issued as general or special orders.

COMPOSITION OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

President – Chief Executive
Vice President
Cabinet Officials
The Cabinet of the Philippines (Filipino: Gabinete ng Pilipinas usually referred to as
the Cabinet or Gabinete) consists of the heads of the largest part of the executive branch of the
national government of the Philippines. Currently, it includes the secretaries of 21 executive
departments and the heads of other several other minor agencies and offices that are subordinate
to the president of the Philippines.
The Cabinet secretaries are tasked to advise the President on the different affairs of the state
like agriculture, budget, finance, education, social welfare, national defence, foreign policy, and
the like.
They are nominated by the President and then presented to the Commission on Appointments, a
body of the Congress of the Philippines that confirms all appointments made by the head of state,
for confirmation or rejection. If the presidential appointees are approved, they are sworn into
office, receive the title "Secretary", and begin to function their duties.

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE OFFICIALS OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT
- natural-born citizen of the Philippines
- a registered voter
- able to read and write
- at least forty (40) years of age on the day of the election
- a resident of the Philippines for at least ten (10) years immediately preceding the election.

TERMS OF OFFICE
President – 1 term of 6 years without re-election
Vice President – 2 consecutive terms allowed with 6 years per term

POWERS OF THE GOVERNMENT

THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH
President (Article 7)
1. THE POWER TO IMPLEMENT LAWS
2. Administrative Power and control over the agencies of the governments(Section 17)
3. The power to appoint government officials (Section 16)
4. The power to commute sentence, grant pardon, reprieve and amnesty (Section 19)
5. The power to declare martial law (Section 18)
6. The power to suspend the privilege of writ of habeas corpus (Section 18)
7. The power to veto a law (Art. 6, Section 7)
8. The power of supervision and control over the local government (Art. X, Section 4)
9. The power to conduct treaty and international agreement with other states (Section 21)

Secondary Legal Authorities (the court may consider)

* Law review Articles, Treatises
* Restatements of the Law
* Legal Encyclopedias

2. Mandatory and Persuasive Legal Authority, Distinguished

- Mandatory must be followed because it is the legal authority for a particular jurisdiction; while
Persuasive may be followed optionally because they are legal authorities (court decisions) of
other jurisdictions

3. Sources of Authorities
*Legislature
* Supreme Court
* Administrative Bodies
* Local Government Units
* President

4. Legal Research Process

https://www.slideshare.net/MarcyTrinidad/branche
3. Types of Legal Authority
As we begin to do legal research, it is important to know the different types of
Legal Authority.
Legal researchers utilize two types of authority, referred to as primary and
secondary authority
PRIMARY v. SECONDARY
Primary authority or sources include the actual rules of law created by a
governmental body– constitutions, statutes and codes (from the legislature),
case opinions (from the courts) and regulations (from administrative
agencies). These materials may be generated from the local, state or federal
level.
Secondary authority or sources include materials that explain or comment on
areas of law such as articles, treatises, restatements, or legal encyclopedias.
Secondary authority is useful in helping you understand a particular legal
topic or as a means of finding the primary resources since there are often
citations in the text or footnotes. They help explain and summarize the law.
Let’s us try to know the difference between:
MANDATORY v. PERSUASIVE
Authorities that courts must follow are called mandatory (or binding) authority.
Authorities that courts may follow if persuaded to do so are called persuasive (or
non-binding) authority.
Primary authority (the law) may be mandatory or persuasive depending upon:
 the jurisdiction where the dispute is to be decided; and
 the level of the court that decided a particular case.

Secondary authority is always persuasive.

Secondary authority is usually not cited in a brief because it is only persuasive,
meaning that the court is not required to follow the analysis.
4. SOURCES OF LEGAL AUTHORITIES

Primary Sources – Recorded laws and rules which will be enforced by the state.

1. Constitution – The fundamental and supreme law of the land in which all other laws must
conform.
2. Statutes – Including Acts of Congress, Municipal Charters, Municipal legislations, Court
Rules, Administrative Rules and Orders, Legislative Rules, and Presidential Issuances.
3. Judicial Decisions – Our judicial system consists of hierarchy of courts, including a number of
trial courts (RTC, MTC, MCTC), one intermediate appellate court (CA), and a court of last
resort, the Supreme Court. This system incorporates the processes of appellate review, in
which higher courts review the decisions of lower courts and judicial review, in which courts
determine the validity of legislative and executive actions.

Secondary Sources – Publications which are not primary authority but which discuss or analyze legal
doctrine.

1. Treatises – Are written works dealing formally and systematically with a subject (Example:
Law textbooks)
2. Commentaries – Serves to illustrate a point, or prompt a realization, or exemplify.
3. Legal Encyclopedias
4. Websites, Blogs, etc.
5. FORMS OF LEGAL INFORMATION
Good day everyone! I am Camille E. Bacares, a member of Group 1 and I am here to discuss to
you the different forms of Legal Information.
So before I start on the various forms, let me share first what is Legal Information.
Basically, legal information means general factual information about the law and the legal
process. So how does this differ from Legal advice? They are different in the sense that Legal
information is generic and applies to all. Anyone can share legal information and it is not based
on a specific set of acts while legal advice on the other hand is very specific and applies to the
individual’s specific factual circumstances. Meaning legal advice can only be given by licensed
lawyers and it only applies the law to specific circumstances.
Now that the definition is clear, we now proceed to the different Forms of Legal Information.
1. Primary sources
 Primary sources of law are those recorded laws and rules which will be enforced by the
State. They may be found in statutes passed by the legislature, regulations and rulings of
administrative agencies and decisions of appellate courts.
 In a primarily civil law jurisdiction like the Philippines, the products of legislative
actions, codes and statutes, are the first major primary sources. Codes and statutes
have come to govern an even greater variety of human activity.
 The second major category is judicial decisions. Our Philippine Supreme Court and
Court of Appeals produce decisions that constitute our case law. Printed compilations of
these can be found below:
Case/Court Reports – Printed Compilation

 Philippine Reports. Manila: Bureau of Printing (vol. 1-126) (starting vol. 127 to present, Manila:
Supreme Court of the Philippines (1967 to present)
 Philippine Reports Annotated Edited by Vicente J. Francisco. Manila: East Pub. Co. (1933) 29v.
 Philippine Reports Annotated. Compiled, Annotated and Edited by the Editorial Staff of the
Central Lawbook Pub., v. 1+ Manila: Central Lawbook Publishing, 1987+
 Supreme Court Reports Annotated (SCRA). Q.C.: Central Book Supply (1967- ) v.1- present

 The electronic compilations of cases can be found in below websites:

Case/Court Reports – Electronic Compilation

 ChanRobles
 Court of Appeals decisions
 Court of Tax Appeals decisions
 eSCRA. Q.C.: Central Book Supply
 House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal reports (2004-2007) (CD ROM)
 Lawphil
 Lex Libris: Jurisprudence. Pasig City: CD Asia Technologies Inc. (CD ROM) and CD Asia
  My Legal Whiz; Easy Contextual Legal Research (https://www.mylegalwhiz.com/)
 Sandiganbayan decisions
 Supreme Court E-Library online and CD (Decisions from 1996-present) updated quarterly
 Supreme Court website

 A third important category in the primary source is administrative law, or the

regulations and decisions of government agencies. State agencies promulgate
regulations governing behavior within their areas of expertise. Agencies also act
in a "quasi-judicial" capacity by conducting hearings and issuing decisions to
resolve particular disputes.

2. Secondary Materials
 Publications which are not primary authority but which discuss or analyze legal
doctrine are considered secondary materials. These include treatises,
commentaries, and encyclopedias. Some of the most influential legal writings
are found in the academic journals known as law reviews of law schools, or in
publications like the IBP Journal and the Lawyers Review. Secondary materials
vary widely in purpose and quality, ranging from authoritative treatises by great
academic scholars to superficial tracts by hack writers. The best of these works
such as the Civil Code of the Philippines by Arturo M. Tolentino and Remedial
Law Compendium by Florenz D. Regalado have a persuasive influence on the
lawmaking process by virtue of the prestige of their authors or the quality of their
scholarship. Secondary sources can help analyze a problem and provide research
references to both primary sources and other secondary materials.
 Finding appropriate secondary materials is most often accomplished through the
use of law library catalogs, legal periodical indexes, and other bibliographic aids.
In addition, court decisions and other secondary sources frequently provide
citations to persuasive treatises and law review articles.

3. Finding Tools
 Our legislative, executive and judicial branches of government have been enacting and
promulgating codes, statutes, rules, regulations and court decisions and these have grown
into a large body of law. The researcher therefore needs search materials or finding tools
in order to locate these legal sources. Without a topical approach to legal sources,
researchers could not find existing statutes or decisions on point.
 A varied group of finding tools provides such access. Digests reprint headnotes
summarizing points of law from court decisions in a subject classification and
annotations summarize cases on particular topics. The SCRA Quick Index-Digest is one
finding tool available to the legal researcher. PHIL.JURIS and LEX LIBRIS, two
comprehensive and competing computer-based legal research systems, provide the
 capability to search for cases and other documents by using practically any word or
combination of words.
 Finding tools do not persuade, nor do they themselves have any primary or persuasive
authority. Finding tools are only a means for locating primary sources. It is then
necessary to read those primary sources to determine their applicability to a particular
situation. In legal research, as in other aspects of the lawyer's work, one must employ a
highly developed sense of relevance – a keen appreciation of which sources are legally
and factually relevant to the specific inquiry.