=============================================================================  the power of eminent domain

=============================================================================  the power of taxation

Political Law
 Escalating human rights violations =============================================================================

=============================================================================
 enforced or involuntary appearance
 extra-judicial killings
 impunity

Political Law
The writ of amparo
 means ‘protection’
 Legislative power  is of Mexican origin
 its present form is found in Articles 103 and 107 of the Mexican Constitution
 is vested in Congress.
Political Law

=============================================================================

=============================================================================

=============================================================================

 Is Philippine law part of the international legal system?  The Senate

 Yes, Philippine law is part of international law especially if it contains  is the upper chamber of the Congress of the Philippines
provisions giving greater or less validity to the legislation of other states, for
it has circumstantially the elements of international law Political Law

=============================================================================
Political Law

=============================================================================

 Key principles of human rights

=============================================================================

 The fundamental powers of the State are:  fairness

 respect
 the police power  equality
  dignity  local and overseas
Political Law  organized and unorganized
 public or private (Lopez vs MWSS)

==========================================================================
In its most common sense, the principle refers to private contracts, stressing that contained
clauses are law between the parties, and implies that nonfulfillment of respective obligations
is a breach of the pact.
1. A Constitution…
 according to Cooley is that ‘body of rules and maxims in accordance with
 Thus, as held in one case, management retains the prerogative, whenever exigencies which the powers of sovereignty are habitually exercised
of the service so require, to change the working hours of its employees. (Sime Darby  This definition is comprehensive enough to cover the written and the
Pilipinas, Inc. vs. NLRC. unwritten Constitutions

Labor Law Political Law

============================================================================= 2. Pacta sunt servanda

 With reference to international agreements, "every treaty in force is binding
 Batas Pambansa
upon the parties to it and must be performed by them in good faith."
 Pacta sunt servanda is related to good faith, while pacta sunt servanda does
 laws passed during the time of President Ferdinand Marcos
not equate with good faith[clarification needed.
Political Law
 This entitles states to require that obligations be respected and to rely upon
the obligations being respected.
 This good faith basis of treaties implies that a party to the treaty cannot
=============================================================================
invoke provisions of its municipal (domestic) law as justification for a failure
 Who is the father of human rights law? to perform.
 However, with regards to the Vienna Convention and the UNIDROIT
 John Locke Principles it should be kept in mind that these are heavily influenced by civil
law jurisdictions.
Natural Law, Political Law  To derive from these sources that pacta sunt servanda includes the principle
=============================================================================
of good faith is therefore incorrect.
International Law
 Extent of the protection accorded to labor

All employees are entitled to protection, whether:

 The only limit to pacta sunt servanda are the peremptory norms of general Article VI, Section 16(1), 1987 Constitution
international law, called jus cogens (compelling law). The legal principle clausula Political Law

rebus sic stantibus, part of customary international law, also allows for treaty
obligations to be unfulfilled due to a compelling change in circumstances. 8. Limitations of the State protection accorded to labor
 While the State is mandated to protect labor, it is also required to safeguard
the prerogatives of employers.
3. There are two kinds of elections for members of Congress  The law, in protecting the rights of labor authorizes neither oppression nor
 regular elections self-destruction of the employer
 special elections
Manila Trading and
Supply Co. vs Zulueta

4. Most nations today follow one of two major legal traditions: 9. What is international law?
 common law  International law consists of rules and principles of general application
 civil law dealing with the conduct of states and of international organizations and with
their relations inter se, as well as with some of their relations with persons,
5. Human rights whether natural or juridical.
 are the supreme, inherent, and inalienable rights to:
 life Political Law

 dignity 10. Two steps are involved in the amendment or revision of our Constitution:
 self-development  1st, the proposal
 2nd, the ratification
Commission on Human Rights’ definition
Political Law

6. Republic Act 9775

 The Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009
11. Territory
Political Law, Criminal Law
 one of the elements of a state
 is the fixed portion of the surface of the earth inhabited by the people of the
7. The Senate shall elect its President and the House of Representatives its Speaker, by State
Political Law
a majority vote of all its respective Members.
12. One is a common carrier even if he has no fixed and publicly known route, maintains
Each House shall choose such other officers as it may deem necessary.
no terminals, and issues no tickets.
 Asia Lighterage Shipping, Inc. vs CA Other powers may be given to them by the rules of their respective houses for
purposes of efficient staff services of legislative work.
13. Characteristic elements of partnership
Political Law

The contract of partnership is:

 consensual
 nominate 16. Classifications of obligations
 bilateral  According to the primary classification of the Civil Code
 onerous  pure vs conditional
 commutative  pure vs that with a period or term
 principal  alternative or facultative vs conjunctive
 preparatory  joint vs solidary
 divisible vs indivisible
Civil Law  with a penal clause vs without penal clause

14. What is the doctrine of estoppel? 17. The Philippines

 a doctrine based on grounds of public policy, fair dealing, good faith, and
justice
 its purpose is to forbid one to speak against his own act, representations, or
commitments to the injury of one whom they were directed and who
reasonably relied thereon
 is a democratic and republican state
18. In law, an en banc session (French for "in bench") is a session in which a case is
heard before all the judges of a court (before the entire bench) rather than by a panel
of judges selected from them.

PNB vs CA Political Law, Remedial Law

Remedial Law
19. How does the UN define human rights?
15. Powers and functions of Senate President and House Speaker
 Those rights, which are inherent in our nature and without which we cannot
live as Human beings
The Constitution does not define the powers and functions of the Senate President
and the Speaker of the House. They are, however, implied from their position as 20. The Labor Code
administrative heads and presiding officers of their respective chambers.  is the principal repository of our labor laws
 it was promulgated on May 1, 1974 and took effect on November 1, 1974,
As such, they preside over their sessions, preserve order and decorum, decide all six (6) months after its promulgation
questions of order, sign acts, resolutions, orders and warrants, issue subpoenas, and
appoint personnel, and discipline them. 21. A quorum
  is such a number of the membership of an assembly or collective body as is  for property belonging to the Republic of the Philippines but titled in the
competent to transact its business. name of any political subdivision or of any corporate agency or
 In other words, it is that number that makes a lawful body and gives it power instrumentality
to pass a law or ordinance or do any other valid corporate act
Civil Law
 ordinarily, a quorum is at least ½ plus 1 of the members of a body
27. What is the doctrine of hold-over?
Political Law
 The doctrine under which a public officer whose term has expired or services
have been terminated is allowed to continue holding his office until his
22. Assure the right of workers to security of tenure and humane conditions of work successor is appointed or chose and had qualified

Political Law
 basic policy of the State on labor
28. Transfer of employees, inherent right of management
Labor Law  The Supreme Court has recognized and upheld the prerogative of
management to transfer an employee from one office to another within the
23. Common Law business establishment, provided there is no demotion in rank or diminution
 is a term used to refer to law that is developed through decisions of the court, of salary, benefits, and other privileges; and the action is not motivated by
rather than by relying solely on statutes or regulations discrimination, made in bad faith, or effected as a form of punishment or
 also known as “case law,” or “case precedent,” common law provides a demotion without sufficient cause.
contextual background for many legal concepts  This is a privilege inherent in the employer’s right to control and manage its
enterprise effectively.
24. The 1987 Constitution
 is the 4th fundamental law to govern the Philippines since it became Mendoza vs. Rural Bank of Lucban
independent on July 4, 1946 Benguet Electric Cooperative vs. Fianza
Labor Law
Political Law
29. Insurance premium
25. Status of national law in the international legal system  is the consideration paid an insurer for undertaking to indemnify the insured
 National law provides for evidence of international customs and general against a specified peril
principles which are authoritative sources of international law.
Mercantile Law
Political Law
30. Private carrier
 one which, without being engaged in the business of carrying as a public
26. Official authorized to convey real property of the government
employment, undertakes to deliver goods or passengers for compensation
 executive head of the agency or instrumentality
Home Insurance Co. vs
American Steamship Agency
31. Maritime domain of a state
 also called the fluvial domain 35. Although holding neither purse nor sword, the judiciary occupies a vital and
indispensable part in our system of government, for it is the ultimate guardian of the
32. The Lawyer’s Oath Constitution.
 I, do solemnly swear that I will maintain allegiance to the Republic of the
Philippines, I will support the Constitution and obey the laws as well as the Political Law

legal orders of the duly constituted authorities therein; I will do no falsehood,

36. How are rules of International Law
nor consent to the doing of any in court; I will not wittingly or willingly
created?
promote or sue any groundless, false or unlawful suit, or give aid nor consent
 Rules of international law are created by general practice of states.
to the same; I will delay no man for money or malice, and will conduct
myself as a lawyer according to the best of my knowledge and discretion, Political Law
with all good fidelity as well to the courts as to my clients; and I impose
upon myself these voluntary obligations without any mental reservation or 37. The vendor
purpose of evasion. So help me God.  need not be the owner at the time the sale is perfected
Political Law
 it is sufficient that he is the owner at the time the thing sold is delivered

33. Aside from the Rules of Court, other rules on criminal procedure may be found in: Article 1459, New Civil Code
Civil Law
 the 1987 Philippine Constitution, more particularly under Article III (Bill of
Rights)
38. What is right to life?
 various acts passed by the legislatures like BP Blg.129
 The constitutional protection of the right to life is not just a protection of the
 Presidential Decrees
right to be alive or to security of one’s limb against any form of physical
 administrative circular and decisions of the Supreme Court
harm
 it extends the right to a good life
34. Preamble, 1987 Constitution:
39. Policy of insurance
 We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God, in  is a contract of adhesion
order to build a just and humane society, and establish a Government that
shall embody our ideals and aspirations, promote the common good,  the terms and conditions of the contract are set by one of the parties, and
conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our the other party has little or no liability to negotiate more favorable terms
posterity, the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and is thus placed in a take it or leave it position
and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace, do ordain
and promulgate this Constitution. Mercantile Law

Political Law 40. Doctrine of jus soli

  Latin, ‘right of the soil’  that element of personal misconduct in the private and social duties which a
 the doctrine recognizing the right of anyone born in the territory of a state to person owes to his fellow human beings or to society in general, which
nationality or citizenship characterizes the act done as an act of baseness, vileness or depravity, and
Political Law contrary to the accepted and customary rule of right and duty between two
human beings
41. Intent in Civil Law is different from intent in Criminal Law.  conduct done knowingly contrary to justice, honesty, or good morals
 intentional, knowing, or reckless conduct causing bodily injury to another or
intentional, knowing or reckless conduct which, by physical menace, puts
42. Minimum age of employment another in fear of imminent serious bodily injury
 as a general rule, the minimum age of employment is 15 years old Code of Pennsylvania
Legal Ethics
43. The State
 has the authority, under its police power, to define and punish crimes and to 48. In partnership law, transactions beyond partner’s authority is binding
lay down the rules of criminal procedure  if it is in the usual course of business

44. Territory
 as a practical requirement, it must neither be:
49. Right of management to transfer employees
 too big as to be difficult to administer and defend
 too small as to be unable to provide for the needs of the population
45. Human rights belong to everyone. They can’t be taken away from marginalized
individuals.
Political Law
46. Proper party
 is one who has sustained or is in immediate danger of sustaining injury as a
result of the act complained of
 until and unless such actual or potential injury is established, the complainant
cannot have the legal personality to raise the constitutional question
Political Law
Civil Law
 But like all other rights, there are limits. The managerial prerogative to
transfer personnel must be exercised without grave abuse of discretion and
putting to mind the basic elements of justice and fair play.
 Having the right should not be confused with the manner that right is
exercised.
 Thus, it cannot be used as a subterfuge by the employer to rid himself of an
undesirable worker.
 In particular, the employer must be able to show that the transfer is not
unreasonable, inconvenient or prejudicial to the employee.
 Should the employer fail to overcome this burden of proof, the employee’s
transfer is tantamount to constructive dismissal.
The Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co. vs. Gramaje
Globe Telecom, Inc. vs. Florendo-Flores

47. Moral turpitude includes the following:

  the bank
In Dusit Hotel Nikko vs. NUWHRAIN
 agrees to pay the depositor on demand
 it was held that the several offers made by the employer to transfer an
employee was indicative of bad faith. More so when the contemplated 52. Culpa aquiliana
transfer was from a higher position to a much lower one. Further, the offers  quasi-delict
were made after said employee was dismissed due to redundancy under a
Special Early Retirement Program (SERP). The employer tried to recall the 53. Bill of Rights
termination when it was learned that she was going to file a complaint with
the NLRC for illegal dismissal. As a ploy to stave off the filing of said case,  A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights,
the offers were made to the employee but she had not been transferred to is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country.
another position at all. Six months from the time the employer made the  The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public
offers to her, the latter never heard from the former again. officials and private citizens.
 Certainly, good faith cannot be attributed on the part of the hotel. More
importantly, the offers made could not have the effect of validating an
otherwise arbitrary dismissal. 54. Marriage
Labor Law  is a civil contract

55. Limitations on the power of the lawmaking body to enact penal legislation
50. What are the fundamental rights of a state?
The Bill of Rights of the 1987 Constitution imposes the following limitations:
Rights of states  No ex post pacto law or bill of attainder shall be enacted
 self-defense  Article III, Section 22
 independence
 equality in law  No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense without due process
 jurisdiction over its territory and persons and things therein of law.
 Article III, Section 14 (1)
Political Law

56. Doctrine of lis pendens

51. Depositor vs the Bank  Latin, ‘a pending suit’
 the depositor  the jurisdiction, power, or control which a court acquires over the property
 lends the bank money involved in a suit pending the continuance of the action and until final
judgment thereunder
  Winston Churchill admired his noble and heroic stand against royal
Civil Law, Remedial Law
supremacy
57. Assure the rights of workers to self-organization and collective bargaining.
 GK Chesterton wrote that he was the greatest historical character in English
history
Article 3, Labor Code
 basic policy of the State on labor Legal Ethics

Labor Law
64. In criminal law, the right of the accused to confrontation and cross-examination
58. A citizen
 may be waived
 is one who is a member of a State who was accorded with full civil and
political rights, subject to disqualifications provided by law, and who is duly
65. What is Republic Act (RA) No. 7662?
protected inside and outside of the State where he is a citizen.
 An act providing for reforms in the legal education, creating for the purpose,
 Together with other citizens, they make up a political community.
a legal education board and for some other purposes
Legal Ethics
Political Law, Legal Ethics
59. The contract between the bank and its depositor 66. Maritime or fluvial domain of a state
 is governed by the provisions of the Civil Code on simple loan  inland and external waters

Mercantile Law
67. Jus cogens
60. Bill of Lading
 from Latin: compelling law; from English: peremptory norm
 the written acknowledgment of receipt of goods and agreement to transport
 refers to certain fundamental, overriding principles of international law
them to a specific place to a person named or to his order
 There is near-universal agreement for the existence of the category of jus
cogens norms, and its existence is memorialized in Article 53 of the Vienna
61. Is a state bound by a treaty to which it is a party? Or one to which it is not a party?
Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT): “treaty is void if, at the time of
 Generally no, but a non-party may take obligation by accepting or signing it.
its conclusion, it conflicts with a peremptory norm of general international
Political Law
law.”
62. In Transportation law, a ship  However, in practice, the attempt to classify certain rules, rights, and duties
as peremptory norms have not been very successful.
 is any vessel used for the carriage of goods by the sea  Examples of jus cogens norms include prohibitions against crimes against
humanity, genocide, and human trafficking.
Mercantile Law
Political Law

63. St. Thomas More

 he was voted lawyer of the millennium by the legal profession 68. Article III, 1987 Philippine Constitution
  Bill of Rights
 the same should be resolved against the party responsible therefore who
69. Everything has a law built into its nature. prepared the contract

Natural Law Mercantile Law, Civil Law

70. What is the right to liberty? 74. Invalidity of treaties

 Liberty is the freedom to do right and never wrong…ever guided by reason  error of fact
and the upright and honorable conscience of man  corruption
 liberty of abode and travel  duress or coercion
 freedom of religion  violation of jus cogens
 freedom of expression
Political Law
 right against involuntary servitude and freedom from slavery
 right to suffrage
75. What does Rule 138-A of the Rules of Court contain?
 right to marry and found a family
 Law student practice rule
 right against unreasonable searches and seizure
Legal Ethics, Remedial Law
71. Negotiable papers
 this term is applied to bills of exchange and promissory notes, which are 76. Legally, the territory…
assignable by indorsement or delivery  can expand over a large territory such as
 Russia
Mercantile Law  China
 or cover only a small area
72. The Code of Professional Responsibility  such as Abu Dhabi
 forbids lawyers from engaging in unlawful, dishonest, immoral or deceitful
conduct. 77. In OSS Security & Allied Services, Inc.
 Immoral conduct has been defined as that conduct which is so willful,  the High Court ruled that an employee has a right to security of tenure but
flagrant, or shameless as to show indifference to the opinion of good and this does not give her such a vested right in her position as would deprive the
respectable members of the community. employer of its prerogative to change her assignment or transfer her where
her service will be most beneficial to the employer’s client
Dantes vs Atty. Dantes
Legal Ethics Labor Law

73. What is a contract of adhesion? 78. Republic Act (RA) 9745

 Where the language used in the contract is such as to create ambiguity
  An act penalizing torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment 82. The powers of Congress may be classified generally into:
or punishment  legislative
 signed into law on November 10, 2009  non-legislative

79. Reason for affording protection to labor Political Law

 Protection to labor is intended to raise the worker to equal footing with the
employer and shield him from abuses brought about by the necessity for 83. Legal Ethics
survival (Sanchez vs Harry Lyons)  is a prescribed subject in all law schools
 In this connection, Article 24 of the Civil Code ordains that ‘in all  it provides the needed moral foundation in the study of law intended to guide
contractual property or other relations, when one of the parties is at a the student throughout his life
disadvantage on account of his moral dependence, ignorance, indigence,  it has been one of the subjects in Bar Examinations in the Philippines since
mental weakness, tender age or other handicap, the courts must be vigilant 1918
for his protection.’
Legal Ethics

Labor Law
84. Construction in favor of Labor
80. Fiduciary
 means ‘trust’  All doubts in the implementation and interpretation of the provisions of this
Code, including its implementing rules and regulations, shall be resolved in
Mercantile Law, Civil Law, Legal Ethics favor of labor.

81. A study of law students and practicing lawyers in Arizona discovered that when Article 4, Labor Code
students enter law school, they suffer from depression at approximately the same rate Labor Law
as the general population.
85. Bank of deposit
However, by the spring of the 1 year of law school, 32% of law students suffer from
st
 a bank that receives money for safekeeping
depression, and by the spring of the 3rd year of law school, the figure escalates to an
Mercantile Law
astonishing 40%.
86. What is international humanitarian law?
Two years after graduation, the rate of depression falls, but only 17%, or roughly
 It is the law that governs armed conflict short of war, when a state may use
double the level of the general population.
force (jus ad bello) and how combatants should behave (jus in bello)
Legal Ethics
Political Law

87. Classifications of contract of carriage or transportation:

  common or private 3. The Universal Declaration on Human Rights (1948)
 goods or passengers  was rapidly followed by the two basic instruments of human rights law
 for a fee (for hire) or gratuitous
 land, water or maritime, or air  The International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights
 domestic/inter-island/coastwise or international/foreign  The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Subsequent international instruments have dealt with such topics as:

 rights of women and children
 rights of refugees and stateless persons
 rights of laborers and migrant workers
 racial and ethnic discrimination
Human Rights Law, International Law

4. Constitutional Provisions on Labor

 Promotion of social justice
 The State shall promote social justice in all phases of national
development.

Article II, Section 18, 1987 Constitution

Constitutional Law, Labor Law

5. Statute
1. Marriage contracted by any party below 18 years of age  is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a city,
 is void state, or country

Persons and Family Relations Statutory Construction

2. CHR is an “A” accredited NHRI, fully complying with the Paris Principles adopted 6. Preamble
by the United Nations General Assembly in 1995. As an NHRI, the Commission  is derived from the Latin ‘preambulare’ which means ‘to walk before’
upholds six fundamental characteristics — independence, pluralism, broad mandate,  It is an introduction to the main subject.
transparency, accessibility, and operational efficiency.  It is the prologue of the Constitution.
Human Rights Law, Constitutional Law
Constitutional Law
7. The right of prosecution and punishment for a crime Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and the International Criminal
 is one of the attributes that by a natural law belongs to the sovereign power Court) as well as in domestic prosecutions
instinctively charged by the common will of the members of society to look International Law, Criminal Law

after, guard and defend the interests of the community, the individual and
social rights and the liberties of every citizen and the guarantee of the
exercise of his rights. 12. Criminal Law vs Criminal Procedure
 Criminal Law is substantive
US vs Pablo  it defines crimes, treats of their nature, and provides for their punishment
Criminal Law
 Criminal Procedure is remedial
8. The promotion of social justice, however, is to be achieved not through a mistaken
 it provides for the method by which a person accused of a crime is
sympathy towards any given group.
arrested, tried, and punished
Calalang vs Williams Criminal Procedure
Constitutional Law, Civil Law, Labor Law
13. Once executed, a lien becomes the legal right of a creditor to sell the collateral
9. Employees are protected against: property of a debtor who fails to meet the obligations of a loan or other contract. The
 oppressive employers property that is the subject of a lien cannot be sold by the owner without the consent
 unscrupulous union leaders (Heirs of Teodulo Cruz vs CIR) of the lien holder.

Labor Law Civil Law, Mercantile Law

10. What should be done in order to rescind the transfer of title?

14. Mandamus
 There must be notice to the buyer or there must be an overt act showing an
 Latin, ‘we command’
intention to rescind
Remedial Law
Sales
11. Crimes against humanity
15. Notwithstanding the proliferation of international instruments, reprehensible
 are certain acts that are deliberately committed as part of a widespread or
violations of human rights continue to be committed in many countries.
systematic attack or individual attack directed against any civilian or an
identifiable part of a civilian population
In certain cases, these human rights violations have been unconscionable.
 The first prosecution for crimes against humanity took place at the
Nuremberg trials. Human Rights Law, International Law
 Crimes against humanity have since been prosecuted by other international
courts (for example, the International Court of Justice, the International
16. Limitations on the power of the lawmaking body to enact penal legislation
 The Bill of Rights of the 1987 Constitution imposes the following limitations:
 No ex post facto law or bill of attainder shall be enacted
 Article III, Section 22
 No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense without due process
of law
 Article III, Section 14 (1)
Criminal Law
17. The general banking laws are also applicable to government banks such as:
 Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP)
 Philippine National Bank (PNB)
 Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP)
Banking Laws
18. The Writ of Replevin
 from the column of PAO Chief Persida Acosta
I would just like to be clarified with the legal proceedings. It all started when my
family was severely affected by Typhoon Yolanda in Leyte. I was then operating a
tricycle here in Manila and was earning a decent amount. I sent some money to my
family in Leyte to help them get back on their feet. However, it was simply not
enough because we lost everything in Leyte including livestock, our house, and all
our belongings. That is why I decided to seek help from my former neighbor in
Cubao.
I borrowed from him P50,000 to be paid after six months. As collateral, I left my
tricycle with him. Due to hard work and some luck, I was able to pay my obligation
to him within the six-month deadline. However, he is now refusing to return my
tricycle because according to him, his son was using it to earn a living. He and I
know that the tricycle rightfully belongs to me but he is simply refusing to return it.
What should I do?
 The 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure specifically allows an action to recover
personal property together with an option to seek for a Writ of Replevin. This
writ may be sought simultaneously with the main civil action to recover
possession or at any time before the opposing party files his answer. Section
1, Rule 60 of the Rules of Court states:
 Section 1.Application. — A party praying for the recovery of possession
of personal property may, at the commencement of the action or at any
time before answer, apply for an order for the delivery of such property
to him, in the manner hereinafter provided.
 Section 2.Affidavit and bond. — The applicant must show by his own
affidavit or that of some other person who personally knows the facts:
 That the applicant is the owner of the property claimed,
particularly describing it, or is entitled to the possession thereof;
 That the property is wrongfully detained by the adverse party,
alleging the cause of detention thereof according to the best of
his knowledge, information, and belief;
 That the property has not been distrained or taken for a tax
assessment or a fine pursuant to law, or seized under a writ of
execution or preliminary attachment, or otherwise placed under
custodia legis, or if so seized, that it is exempt from such seizure
or custody; and
 the actual market value of the property
The applicant must also give a bond, executed to the adverse party in
double the value of the property as stated in the affidavit
aforementioned, for the return of the property to the adverse party if
such return be adjudged, and for the payment to the adverse party of
such sum as he may recover from the applicant in the action.
Considering that you are the legitimate owner of the tricycle, you are
entitled to possess it by virtue of your full payment of your previous
debt to your neighbor. You may avail of this remedy granted by the
 said Rule. Under this rule, you may seek for the recovery of your It is of no moment if a Filipino below 18 years receives the consent of his parents to
tricycle even while your main case is pending in court. get married. The legal capacity must, by itself, belong to the marrying parties, and
not by those who may grant their consent to the marriage. The marriage is void
A Writ of Replevin is a provisional remedy that provides instant
whether one or both parties are aged below 18 at the time the marriage was
relief to the person being deprived of his property. You need to
celebrated.
comply with the requirements of the said rule in seeking for a Persons and Family Relations
favorable ruling from the court.
Upon issuance of the writ, the sheriff would be directed to take the
22. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy.
tricycle from your neighbor. At that point, the property will be
returned to you. It is best to seek for a personal consultation with a Statutory Construction
lawyer so that you may begin this court process and file the
appropriate pleadings in court in order to recover your tricycle.
23. The Commission on Human Rights
19. Commencement of employer-employee relationship  is mandated to conduct investigations on human rights violations against
 Employer-employee relationship commences upon hiring of a person as an marginalized and vulnerable sectors of the society, involving civil and
employee. political rights
Human Rights Law, Constitutional Law
 In the absence of hiring, no actual employer-employee relationship could
exist.
24. During our time, the main problem is how to enforce human rights law, and how to
Ruga vs NLRC
Labor Law punish violators of human rights.

20. People vs Jabinal on ex post facto law Such violators usually consists of dictators and other authoritarian leaders, and state
 No criminal liability would attach to such possession of said firearm in spite authorities notably the police and the military.
Human Rights Law
of the absence of a license and permit. Jabinal must be absolved; Jabinal may
not be punished for an act which at the time it was done was held not to be
25. Kelsen defines law as a specific social technique
punishable.
 the social technique which consists in bringing about the desired social
conduct of men through the threat of a measure of coercion which is to be
21. A Filipino is considered as to have entered the legal age when he reaches the age of
applied in case of contrary conduct
eighteen (18) years. Once 18, he is deemed legally capacitated to enter into
contracts, including the special contract of marriage. Natural Law

26. Practical examples of liens

  A lien is often granted when an individual takes out a loan from a bank to
purchase an automobile.
 The individual purchases the vehicle and pays the seller using the funds from
the bank, but grants the bank a lien on the vehicle.
 If the individual does not repay the loan, the bank may execute the lien, seize
the vehicle, and sell it to repay the loan.
 If the individual does repay the loan in full, the lien holder (the bank) then
releases the lien, and the individual owns the property free and clear of any
liens.
Even if De Lima is found guilty, a new death penalty law passed by the Senate
cannot be applied to her. "That would constitute an ex post facto law. That would be
unconstitutional," University of the Philippines constitutional law professor Dan
Gatmaytan said.
The Philippine Constitution prohibits the passing of any retroactive law. Article III of
the Bill of Rights, Section 22 says: "No ex post facto law or bill of attainder shall be
enacted."
Criminal Law

Civil Law, Mercantile Law

27. The Commission on Human Rights (CHR)

 commits to deliver prompt, responsive, accessible, and excellent public 31. Rescission
service for the protection and promotion of human rights in accordance with  refers to the cancellation of an agreement or contract either through mutual
universal human rights principles and standards agreement of the parties or for cause.
Human Rights Law, Constitutional Law
Oblicon, Sales

28. Stare decisis 32. Preamble

 is Latin for “to stand by things decided.” In short, it is the doctrine of  not essential in a constitution
precedent
Constitutional Law
Statutory Construction, Criminal Law, Civil Law, Remedial Law
33. Employment
29. International Humanitarian Law  is deemed property within the meaning of the constitutional guarantee,
 It protects persons who are not or are no longer participating in the hostilities hence, an employee cannot be deprived of his employment without due
and restricts the means and methods of warfare. process of law
International Law
Labor Law

30. A new death penalty law won't apply to De Lima's case. The 1987 Constitution of the 34. Criminal Law vs Criminal Procedure
Philippines also prohibits the passing of any retroactive law.  Criminal Law declares what acts are punishable.
 Criminal Procedure provides how the act is to be punished.
 39. Kinds of Ex Post Facto Laws
Criminal Procedure  One which makes an action done before the passing of the law, and which
was innocent when done, criminal, and punishes such action.
35. Statutes are rules made by legislative bodies; they are distinguished from case law or  One which aggravates the crime or makes it greater than when it was
precedent, which is decided by courts, and regulations issued by government committed.
agencies.  One which changes the punishment and inflicts a greater punishment than
that which the law annexed to the crime when it was committed.
Statutory Construction
 One which alters the legal rules of evidence and receives less testimony than
the law required at the time of the commission of the offense in order to
convict the accused.
36. From the time of perfection to delivery  One which assumes to regulate civil rights and remedies only BUT, in effect,
 risk is borne by the buyer imposes a penalty or deprivation of a right, which, when done, was lawful.
 One which deprives a person accused of a crime of some lawful protection to
Oblicon, Sales
which he has become entitled such as the protection of a former conviction or
37. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court acquittal, or a proclamation of amnesty. (In Re Kay Villegas Kami)
 seeks to implement international humanitarian law under Protocol II of the Criminal Law
Geneva Convention on the Laws of War
40. Therefore he who bids the law rule may be deemed to bid God and Reason alone
 under the ICC statute, criminal penalties will be imposed on the worst forms
rule, but he who bids man rule adds an element of the beast; for desire is a wild beast,
of human rights violations such as:
and passion perverts the minds of rulers, even when they are the best of men.
 genocide
 crimes against humanity
Politics by Aristotle
 crimes against children or innocent civilians during internal conflicts Natural Law
41. The Al-Amanah Islamic Bank
This constitutes a major step toward a solution of the problem of human  is also subject to all banking and pertinent laws
rights law enforcement.
Human Rights Law, International Law Banking Laws

38. Can a recruitment agency appoint agents or representatives without prior approval
from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)?
 No. Appointment of agents or representatives require prior approval as
mandated by Article 29 of the Labor Code.
Labor Law
42. Some canonical examples of the common good in a modern liberal democracy
include: the road system; public parks; police protection and public safety; courts and
the judicial system; public schools; museums and cultural institutions; public
transportation; civil liberties, such as the freedom of speech and the freedom of
association; the system of property; clean air and clean water; and national defense.
Natural Law, Constitutional Law
 judge or judges, other court officials, the jury (if any), the lawyers for each party, the
43. A marriage solemnized by any person not legally authorized to perform marriages, parties to the case, and witnesses giving testimony.
unless one or both parties believed in good faith that the solemnizing officer had the
legal authority to do so The area behind the bar is open to the public. This restriction is enforced in nearly all
 is void courts. In most courts, the bar is represented by a physical partition: a railing or
barrier that serves as a bar.
Persons and Family Relations
Legal Ethics
44. What is the vision of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR)?
 A just and humane Philippine society of persons equal in opportunity, living 48. Systems of Criminal Procedure
a life of dignity, and forever vigilant against abuses and oppression  There are three well-recognized systems of criminal procedure which have
evolved since ancient times:
Human Rights Law, Constitutional Law  inquisitorial system
 accusatorial system
 mixed systems
45. A party can rescind a contract when the other party fails to comply with his legal
obligation. This is done through judicial rescission (in court). Criminal Procedure

Oblicon, Sales
46. Writ of mandamus
 is a judicial remedy in the form of an order from a court to any government,
subordinate court, corporation, or public authority, to do (or forbear from
doing) some specific act which that body is obliged under law to do (or
refrain from doing), and which is in the nature of public duty, and in certain
cases one of a statutory duty
Remedial Law
47. The origin of the term bar is from the barring furniture dividing a medieval European
courtroom, similar to the origin of the term bank for the bench-like location of
financial transactions in medieval Europe.
49. A contract is what the law defines it to be, taking into consideration its essential
elements, and not what the contracting parties call it.
Ace Foods, Inc. vs Micro Pacific Technologies
Oblicon, Sales
50. No vested right to position
 In OSS Security & Allied Services, Inc., vs. NLRC, the High Court ruled that
an employee has a right to security of tenure but this does not give her such a
vested right in her position as would deprive the employer of its prerogative
to change her assignment or transfer her where her service will be most
beneficial to the employer’s client.

In the USA, Europe and many other countries referring to the law traditions of Labor Law

Europe, the area in front of the barrage is restricted to participants in the trial: the
51. Human Rights are the basic rights and freedoms to which all human beings are
entitled, like civil and political rights, the right to life and liberty, freedom of thought
and speech/expression, equality before the law, social, cultural and economic rights,
the right to food, the right to work, and the right to education.
Human Rights Law
52. Social justice is "neither communism, nor despotism, nor atomism, nor anarchy," but
the humanization of laws and the equalization of social and economic forces by the
State so that justice in its rational and objectively secular conception may at least be
approximated. Social justice means the promotion of the welfare of all the people, the
adoption by the Government of measures calculated to insure economic stability of
all the competent elements of society, through the maintenance of a proper economic
and social equilibrium in the interrelations of the members of the community,
constitutionally, through the adoption of measures legally justifiable, or extra-
constitutionally, through the exercise of powers underlying the existence of all
governments on the time-honored principle of salus populi est suprema lex.
Calalang vs Williams
Constitutional Law, Civil Law, Labor Law
53. The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) was created as a response to the atrocities
committed during Martial Law. When the 1987 Philippine Constitution was drafted,
Article XIII on Social Justice and Human Rights clearly defined the creation of the
Commission.
Human Rights Law, Constitutional Law
54. Three kinds of entities that introduce funds into the economy:
 banks
 entities that obtain funds from the public in the form of deposits and re-
lend it to the public
 quasi-banks
 those that obtain funds in the form of deposit substitutes and re-lend the
same and not from the public or depositors
 finance companies and other financial intermediaries
 those that lend funds from their own assets
Banking Laws
55. To be considered as ‘wages,’ the remuneration should arise from a relationship of
employer-employee.
If the remuneration is not the product of an employer-employee relationship but of
some other relationship such as principal-contractor, attorney-client, doctor-patient,
etc., the remuneration is not considered as ‘wages.’
Labor Law
56. In virtually all countries, newly enacted statutes are published in some kind of
journal, gazette, or chronological compilation, which is then distributed so that
everyone can look up the statutory law.
Statutory Construction
57. Human rights are freedoms established by custom or international agreement that
protect the interests of humans and the conduct of governments in every nation.
Human Rights Law
58. You’ve probably been hearing the word “rescission” or “rescinding” lately. These
legal terms have something to do with contracts and in simple terms, it is the act of
canceling an agreement.
Oblicon, Sales
59. International humanitarian law
 is also known as the law of war or the law of armed conflict
International Law

60. In Chu vs. NLRC, an employee complained that his right was violated by the transfer
effected by management. He argued that management cannot transfer him because
his “Special Contract of Employment” which was executed after his retirement at age
60 to extend his service, stipulated that his position is “Head” of the Warehousing,
Sugar, Shipping and Marine Department. His transfer to the Sugar Sales Department,
according to him, caused him inconvenience and was unreasonable. The Supreme
Court overruled his argument. The mere specification in the employment contract of
the position to be held by the employee is not such stipulation. An employee’s right
to security of tenure does not give him such a vested right in his position as would
deprive the company of its prerogatives to change his assignment or transfer him
where he will be most useful.
Labor Law
61. The real nature of a contract may be determined from the express terms of the written
agreement and from the contemporaneous and subsequent acts of the contracting
parties. However, in the construction or interpretation of an instrument, the intention
of the parties is primordial and is to be pursued. The denomination or title given by
the parties in their contract is not conclusive of the nature of its contents.
Oblicon, Sales
62. Inquisitorial system of criminal procedure
 has been in existence since the early stages of legal development
 the prosecution of crimes is wholly in the hands of the prosecuting officer
and the court
 the procedure is characterized by secrecy
 the presence of the accused before the magistrate is not a requirement
 Indeed, the magistrate may proceed with the inquiry and render judgment on
the case even in the absence of the accused.
 The judgment, however, does not become final until it has been ratified and
confirmed by the court of last resort.
US vs Samio
Criminal Procedure
63. Technically speaking, the Preamble forms no integral part of our Constitution. Of
itself alone, it cannot be invoked as a source of private right enforceable by the courts
or of any governmental power not expressly granted or at least, clearly implied
therefrom.
It is significant to note, however, that a majority of the constitutions of the world
contain a preamble.
Constitutional Law
64. The law enumerates who are authorized to solemnize marriages. Beyond the list, the
marriage which transpired is considered void.
However, if any of the parties genuinely believed that the officer had the authority to
solemnize the marriage, then the marriage shall remain valid.
Good faith means that the parties exerted reasonable inquiry and investigation on the
authority of the officer who was to solemnize the ceremony.
Persons and Family Relations
65. Human rights are distinct from civil liberties, which are freedoms established by the
law of a particular state and applied by that state in its own jurisdiction.
Human Rights Law
66. Human rights laws have been defined by international conventions, by treaties, and
by organizations, particularly the United Nations. These laws prohibit practices such
as torture, slavery, summary execution without trial, and arbitrary detention or exile.
Human Rights Law, International Law
67. What is the mission of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR)?
  As conscience of government and the people, we seek truth in human rights  househelpers and persons in the personal service of another
issues. As beacon of truth, we make people aware of their rights, and guide  homeworkers engaged in needlework
government and society towards actions that respect the rights of all,  workers in any registered cottage industry who perform the work in their
particularly those who cannot defend themselves — the disadvantaged, respective homes
marginalized, and vulnerable.  workers in any registered cooperative when so recommended by the Bureau
of Cooperative Development and approved by the Secretary of Labor and
Human Rights Law, Constitutional Law Employment
Labor Law

68. A universal problem encountered by lawmakers throughout human history is how to

organize published statutes. Such publications have a habit of starting small but 71. Five persons primarily interested in the business of banking:
growing rapidly over time, as new statutes are enacted in response to the exigencies  government
of the moment. Eventually, persons trying to find the law are forced to sort through  depositors
an enormous number of statutes enacted at various points in time to determine which  investors
portions are still in effect.  creditors
 borrowers
The solution adopted in many countries is to organize existing statutory law in topical Banking Laws
arrangements (or "codified") within publications called codes, then ensure that new
statutes are consistently drafted so that they add, amend, repeal or move various code 72. The very essence of a contract of sale is the transfer of ownership in exchange for a
sections. In turn, in theory, the code will thenceforth reflect the current cumulative price paid or promised.
state of the statutory law in that jurisdiction. In many nations statutory law is
distinguished from and subordinate to constitutional law. This may be gleaned from Article 1458 of the Civil Code which defines a contract of
Statutory Construction
sale as follows:
 Art. 1458. By the contract of sale one of the contracting parties obligates
himself to transfer the ownership and to deliver a determinate thing, and the
other to pay therefor a price certain in money or its equivalent.
69. Refusal to transfer
Oblicon, Sales
 An employee who refuses to be transferred, when such transfer is valid, is
guilty of insubordination.
73. The inquisitorial system of criminal procedure
Westin Philippine Plaza Hotel vs. NLRC
Labor Law
 had its day in the Philippines during the Spanish period and remained in
force up to the coming of the Americans
70. Not covered by the law on wages  As a matter of fact, when General Order No. 58 was promulgated on April
 farm tenancy or leasehold 23, 1900 by then military Governor Otis, the system was not discarded in
 toto in order to ‘prevent the transition from being too violent and to facilitate
the change from one system to another.’ 79. As a general rule, parties to a contract are bound by its terms and must comply with
all its provisions or be considered in breach (violation).’
Criminal Procedure
Oblicon, Sales
74. International human rights law (IHRL) is the body of international law designed to
promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels. 80. As a form of international law, international human rights law is primarily made up
Human Rights Law, International Law
of treaties, agreements between sovereign states intended to have binding legal effect
between the parties that have agreed to them; and customary international law.
75. Writ of mandamus
 It cannot be issued to compel an authority to do something against statutory
Other international human rights instruments, while not legally binding, contribute to
provision.
the implementation, understanding and development of international human rights
 For example, it cannot be used to force a lower court to reject or
law and have been recognized as a source of political obligation.
authorize applications that have been made, but if the court refuses to Human Rights Law, International Law
rule one way or the other then a mandamus can be used to order the court
to rule on the applications.
81. A contract of sale may be:
76. The law is reason unaffected by desire.
 absolute or
 conditional
Aristotle (Politics)
Natural Law
Oblicon, Sales

77. The 1987 Philippine Constitution primarily gave the Commission on Human Rights
82. Statute
(CHR) the mandate to protect and promote the rights and dignity of every human
 The term statute is also used to refer to an International treaty that establishes
being in the country. The State values the dignity of every human person and
an institution, such as the Statute of the European Central Bank, a protocol to
guarantees full respect for human rights.
the international courts as well, such as the Statute of the International Court
of Justice and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Sec. 11, Art. II, Philippine Constitution
Human Rights Law, Constitutional Law
 Statute is also another word for law.
 The term was adapted from England in about the 18th century.
Statutory Construction

78. Object and value of preamble 83. A marriage is void if is solemnized without a license, except as otherwise provided.
 Sets down origin and purposes of the Constitution
 May serve as an aid in its interpretation Persons and Family Relations
84. The Common Good
 The term itself may refer either to the interests that members have in
common or to the facilities that serve common interests.
 For example, people may say, “the new public library will serve the common
good” or “the public library is part of the common good”.
85. Social justice, therefore, must be founded on the recognition of the necessity of
interdependence among divers and diverse units of a society and of the protection
that should be equally and evenly extended to all groups as a combined force in our
social and economic life, consistent with the fundamental and paramount objective of
the state of promoting the health, comfort, and quiet of all persons, and of bringing
about "the greatest good to the greatest number."
Calalang vs Williams
Constitutional Law, Civil Law, Labor Law
86. An inquisitorial system
 is a legal system where the court or a part of the court is actively involved in
investigating the facts of the case, as opposed to an adversarial system where
the role of the court is primarily that of an impartial referee between the
prosecution and the defense.
 Inquisitorial systems are used primarily in countries with civil legal systems
as opposed to common law systems.
 Countries using common law, including the United States, may use an
inquisitorial system for summary hearings in the case of misdemeanors such
as minor traffic violations.
 The distinction between an adversarial and inquisitorial system is
theoretically unrelated to the distinction between a civil legal and common
law system.
 Some legal scholars consider inquisitorial misleading, and prefer the word
nonadversarial.
 The function is often vested in the office of the public procurator, as in
China, Japan, Germany, and Scotland.
Criminal Procedure
87. The bar
 may also refer to the qualifying procedure by which a lawyer is licensed to
practice law in a given jurisdiction.
Legal Ethics
88. Refusal to transfer
 It constitutes willful disobedience of a lawful order of an employer.
Benguet Electric Cooperative vs. Fianza
Labor Law
89. Farm tenancy or leasehold
 not covered by the law on wages
Labor Law
90. The relationship between international human rights law and international
humanitarian law is disputed among international law scholars. This discussion forms
part of a larger discussion on fragmentation of international law. While pluralist
scholars conceive international human rights law as being distinct from international
humanitarian law, proponents of the constitutionalist approach regard the latter as a
subset of the former. In a nutshell, those who favors separate, self-contained regimes
emphasize the differences in applicability; international humanitarian law applies
only during armed conflict.
On the other hand, a more systemic perspective explains that international
humanitarian law represents a function of international human rights law; it includes
general norms that apply to everyone at all time as well as specialized norms which
apply to certain situations such as armed conflict between both state and military
 occupation (i.e. IHL) or to certain groups of people including refugees (e.g. the 1951
Refugee Convention), children (the Convention on the Rights of the Child), and Statutory Construction

prisoners of war (the 1949 Third Geneva Convention).

Human Rights Law, International Law
91. Corollary thereto, a contract of sale is classified as a consensual contract, which
means that the sale is perfected by mere consent. No particular form is required for
its validity.
Upon perfection of the contract, the parties may reciprocally demand performance,
i.e., the vendee may compel transfer of ownership of the object of the sale, and the
vendor may require the vendee to pay the thing sold.
Oblicon, Sales
95. Mandamus
 may be a command to do an administrative action or not to take a particular
action, and it is supplemented by legal rights
Remedial Law
96. In an inquisitorial system, the trial judges (mostly plural in serious crimes) are
inquisitors who actively participate in fact-finding public inquiry by questioning
defense, prosecutors and witnesses.
They could even order certain pieces of evidence to be examined if they find
presentation by the defense or prosecution to be inadequate.

Criminal Procedure
92. Natural law
 in Latin ‘ius naturale’ or ‘lex naturalis’ 97. The law of crimes against humanity has primarily developed through the evolution of
Natural Law customary international law.
International Law, Criminal Law

93. Banks in the Philippines are classified into:

 universal banks
 commercial banks 98. Natural Law
 thrift banks  is a philosophy asserting that certain rights are inherent by virtue of human
 rural banks nature, endowed by nature—traditionally by God or a transcendent source—
 cooperative banks and that these can be understood universally through human reason
 Islamic banks
Natural Law
 government-owned bank
 other banks as may be classified by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)
99. While a preamble is not a necessary part of a constitution, it is advisable to have one.
Banking Laws
In the case of the Constitution of the Philippines, the Preamble which is couched in
94. American jurisprudence defines statutory construction as that branch of the law general terms, provides the broad outline of, and the spirit behind, the Constitution.
dealing with the interpretation of laws enacted by a legislature.
Constitutional Law

100. Oftentimes, when business relationships turn sour and the parties no longer are
interested in pursuing their agreement or contract, the law allows either party or both
to “rescind” or cancel the agreement. When both agree, it is a mutual rescission and
does not result in any problem.
Oblicon, Sales
101. The issuance of a valid marriage license to both contracting parties is a must before
the marriage is officiated. However, the law itself provides for exceptions to the
necessity of having a marriage license, as follows:
 marriage among Muslims or members of ethnic cultural minorities;
 solemnized outside the Philippines where no marriage license is required;
 marriage between a man and a woman who have cohabited as husband and
wife for at least five years. The cohabitation must be characterized by
exclusivity;
 marriages held in articulo mortis (at the point of death);
 marriages held in remote places.
Persons and Family Relations
102. In contrast, a contract to sell
 is defined as a bilateral contract whereby the prospective seller, while
expressly reserving the ownership of the property despite delivery thereof to
the prospective buyer, binds himself to sell the property exclusively to the
prospective buyer upon fulfillment of the condition agreed upon, i.e., the full
payment of the purchase price.
 A contract to sell may not even be considered as a conditional contract of
sale where the seller may likewise reserve title to the property subject of the
sale until the fulfillment of a suspensive condition, because in a conditional
contract of sale, the first element of consent is present, although it is
conditioned upon the happening of a contingent event which may or may not
occur.
Oblicon, Sales
103. The refusal of the employees to be transferred may be held justified if there is a
showing that the transfer was directed by the employer under questionable
circumstances.
For instance, in Yuco Chemical Industries, Inc. vs. Ministry of Labor and
Employment, the employees were being transferred during the height of union
concerted activities in the company where they were active participants.
Further, the transfer from the province to Manila was made after classes started, the
employer knowing fully well that they were working students.
Rendering the transfer more questionable is the fact that there was no showing that
the company cannot hire employees in Manila who can perform the job assigned to
the employees sought to be transferred, which job did not require any special
dexterity which only said employees can perform.
Labor Law
104. Househelpers and persons in the personal service of another
 not covered by the law on wages
Labor Law
105. Salus Populi Est Suprema Lex
 the welfare of an individual yields to that of the community
Constitutional Law, Civil Law, Labor Law
106. Among the different kinds of banks in the Philippines, universal and commercial
banks are the dominant groups, representing approximately 70 % of the resources of
the banking system.
 Banking Laws
107. The Commission on Human Rights recognizes that peace and order are necessary
conditions for the conduct of any political exercise, such as elections and even the
expected plebiscite, anywhere in the country.
Human Rights Law, Constitutional Law
108. International humanitarian law is part of international law, which is the body of rules
governing relations between States. International law is contained in agreements
between States – treaties or conventions –, in customary rules, which consist of State
practice considered by them as legally binding, and in general principles.
International Law
109. The Congress shall give highest priority to the enactment of measures that protect
and enhance the right of all the people to human dignity, reduce social, economic and
political inequalities, and remove cultural inequalities by equitably diffusing wealth
and political power for the common good.
Sec. 1, Art. XIII, Philippine Constitution
Human Rights Law, Constitutional Law
110. The inquisitorial system applies to questions of criminal procedure, not substantive
law; that is, it determines how criminal inquiries and trials are conducted, not the
kind of crimes for which one can be prosecuted or the sentences that they carry. It is
most readily used in some civil legal systems. However, some jurists do not
recognize this dichotomy and see procedure and substantive legal relationships as
being interconnected and part of a theory of justice as applied differently in various
legal cultures.
Criminal Procedure
111. The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Vienna Declaration and
Programme of Action in 1993, in terms of which the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights was established.
In 2006, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights was replaced with the
United Nations Human Rights Council for the enforcement of international human
rights law.
Human Rights Law, International Law
112. If a contract brings you to court, it’s a poorly-prepared contract. The rationale for this
statement is this – if the rights and obligations of the parties are clearly provided and
defined, there’s a lesser chance of misinterpretation.
This, of course, is not necessarily true. Even a carefully drafted contract, prepared by
the big law firms, may still end up in court if the parties do not comply in good faith
with their respective obligations. Still, it would be better to know the basic elements
of a contract.
Oblicon, Sales
113. As determined by nature, the law of nature is implied to be objective and universal; it
exists independently of human understanding, and of the positive law of a given state,
political order, legislature or society at large.
Natural Law
114. Universal Declaration of Human Rights
 is a UN General Assembly declaration that does not in form create binding
international human rights law.
 Many legal scholars cite the UDHR as evidence of customary international
law.
 More broadly, the UDHR has become an authoritative human rights
reference. It has provided the basis for subsequent international human rights
instruments that form non-binding, but ultimately authoritative international
human rights law
Human Rights Law, International Law
115. It is when one party defaults or fails to comply with his obligation that problems
begin because the breaching party or the other party may not always agree to cancel 120. International humanitarian law applies to armed conflicts. It does not regulate
the contract. whether a State may actually use force; this is governed by an important, but distinct,
part of international law set out in the United Nations Charter.
Oblicon, Sales International Law

116. Under the General Banking Law of 2000 (GBL), a universal bank is defined as a
commercial bank with the additional authority to exercise the powers of an 121. Bigamous or polygamous marriages are void.
investment house and invest in non-allied enterprises.
Persons and Family Relations
An ordinary commercial bank does not have that authority.
Banking Laws 122. There is currently no international court to administer international human rights law,
but quasi-judicial bodies exist under some UN treaties (like the Human Rights
Committee under the ICCPR).

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has jurisdiction over the crime of genocide,
war crimes and crimes against humanity.
117. A judicial function is required when a statute is invoked and different interpretations
are in contention.
The European Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human
Statutory Construction
Rights enforce regional human rights law.

118. What is the mantra of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR)? Although these same international bodies also hold jurisdiction over cases regarding
 Dignity of all international humanitarian law, it is crucial to recognize that the two frameworks
constitute different legal regimes.
Human Rights Law, International Law
Human Rights Law, Constitutional Law

123. Homeworkers engaged in needlework

119. In Abbott Laboratories, Inc. vs. NLRC, the dismissal of a medical representative who
acceded in his employment application to be assigned anywhere in the Philippines,  not covered by the law on wages
but later refused to be transferred from Manila to a provincial assignment, was held
Labor Law
valid. The reason is, when he applied and was accepted for the job, he agreed to the
policy of the company regarding assignment anywhere in the Philippines as
demanded by his employer’s business operation.
124. A contract is a meeting of the minds between two persons whereby one binds
Labor Law himself, with respect to the other, to give something or to render some services.

Oblicon, Sales
125. Construction of rules
 As provided for in Section 6, Rule 1 of the Rules of Court, ‘these rules shall
be liberally construed in order to promote their objective of securing a just,
speedy, and inexpensive disposition of every action and proceeding.’
Criminal Procedure
126. There are branches, subsidiaries and affiliates of foreign banks in the Philippines that
are licensed either as universal or commercial banks. Others have offshore banking
units with more limited functions.
Banking Laws
127. As a philosophical concept, the common good is best understood as part of an
encompassing model for practical reasoning among the members of a political
community.
The model takes for granted that citizens stand in a “political” or “civic” relationship
with one another and that this relationship requires them to create and maintain
certain facilities on the grounds that these facilities serve certain common interests.
The relevant facilities and interests together constitute the common good and serve as
a shared standpoint for political deliberation. When citizens face various questions
about legislation, public policy or social responsibility, they resolve these questions
by appeal to a conception of the relevant facilities and the relevant interests. That is,
they argue about what facilities have a special claim on their attention, how they
should expand, contract or maintain existing facilities, and what facilities they should
design and build in the future.
Natural Law, Constitutional Law
128. The Bar vs The Bench
 In conjunction with bench, bar may differentiate lawyers who represent
clients (the bar), from judges or members of a judiciary (the bench).
 In this sense, the bar advocates and the bench adjudicates.
 Yet, judges commonly remain members of the bar; and lawyers are
commonly referenced as ‘Officers of the Court.’
Legal Ethics
129. The Preamble serves 2 very important ends:
 It tells us who are the authors of the Constitution and for whom it has been
promulgated;
 It states the general purposes which are intended to be achieved by the
Constitution and the government established under it, and certain basic
principles underlying the fundamental charter.
Constitutional Law
130. Thomas Aquinas, a Catholic philosopher of the Middle Ages, revived and developed
the concept of natural law from ancient Greek philosophy.
Natural Law
131. But, in the case of Zafra vs. Hon. CA, despite the petitioner-employees’ agreement in
their application for employment to be transferred or assigned to any branch, their
refusal to be transferred from Cebu to Manila which was made a condition for their
training abroad (Germany) was held valid.
According to the High Court, the fact that petitioners, in their application for
employment, agreed to be transferred or assigned to any branch should not be taken
in isolation, but rather in conjunction with the established company practice in PLDT
(the respondent employer) of disseminating a notice of transfer to employees before
sending them abroad for training.
This should be deemed necessary and later to have ripened into a company practice
or policy that could no longer be peremptorily withdrawn, discontinued, or
eliminated by the employer.
Fairness at the workplace and settled expectations among employees require that this
practice be honored and this policy commended. Despite their knowledge that the
lone operations and maintenance center of the 33 ALCATEL 1000 S12 Exchanges
for which they trained abroad would be “homed” in Sampaloc, Manila, PLDT
officials neglected to disclose this vital piece of information to petitioners before they
acceded to be trained abroad.
On arriving home, they did not give complaining workers any other option but placed
them in an either/or straightjacket that appeared too oppressive for those concerned.
Needless to say, had they known about their pre-planned reassignments, petitioners
could have declined the foreign training intended for personnel assigned to the
Manila office.
The lure of a foreign trip is fleeting while a reassignment from Cebu to Manila entails
major and permanent readjustments for petitioners and their families.
While transfer of an employee ordinarily lies within the ambit of management
prerogatives, however, a transfer amounts to constructive dismissal when the transfer
is unreasonable, inconvenient, or prejudicial to the employee, and involves a
demotion in rank or diminution of salaries, benefits, and other privileges.
In the present case, petitioners were unceremoniously transferred, necessitating their
families’ relocation from Cebu to Manila. This act of management appears to be
arbitrary without the usual notice that should have been done even prior to their
training abroad.
From the employees’ viewpoint, such action affecting their families are burdensome,
economically and emotionally. It is no exaggeration to say that their forced transfer
is not only unreasonable, inconvenient, and prejudicial, but also in defiance of basic
due process and fair play in employment relations.
Labor Law
132. The law (Civil Code) specifies grounds when a contract is rescissible (Art. 1381).
These grounds are actually defects in the contract which are why rescissible contracts
are sometimes called defective contracts.
 Examples of such grounds are:
 contracts entered in fraud of creditors
 those which refer to things under litigation (special circumstances must
apply)
Other than the legal causes of rescission provided in Art. 1381, the Civil Code also
allows a party to rescind when the other party violates its terms.  This remedy is
found in Art. 1191.
The Supreme Court had the occasion to explain the difference between the two:
“Article 1191, is not predicated on economic prejudice to one of the, parties but on
breach of faith by one of them that violates the reciprocity between them.”
So, if your reason for “rescinding” or canceling is not based on any defect in the
contract but on the breach or violation of the other party, then Art. 1191 will apply
for which you must go to court and ask for judicial rescission (plus damages) or your
failure to comply with your own obligations under the same agreement can be used
against you by the other party.
Oblicon, Sales
133. Workers in any registered cottage industry who perform the work in their respective
homes
 not covered by the law on wages
Labor Law
134. The BSP, which is the Philippine central bank, acting through its Monetary Board, is  the rules governing criminal procedure ought, therefore, to be construed
mandated by law to ensure that the control of 60 per cent of the resources or assets of liberally enough to protect the substantial rights of the accused
the banking system is held by domestic banks that are at least majority-owned by
Philippine nationals. Criminal Procedure

Banking Laws
139. Where legislature attempts to do several things one of which is invalid, it may be
discarded if the remainder of the act is workable and in no way depends upon the
135. A person, once married, is not allowed to enter into another marriage until the first invalid portion, but if that portion is an integral part of the act, and its excision
spouse dies, or until the marriage is declared void by the courts. changes the manifest intent of the act by broadening its scope to include subject
matter or territory which was not included therein as enacted, such excision is
An exception to this rule is if one spouse has been judicially declared as ‘judicial legislation’ and not ‘statutory construction.’
presumptively dead.
Statutory Construction

Another exception is if the contracting parties belong to the Muslim faith which
140. Crimes against humanity are not codified in an international convention, although
allows men to have a maximum of four (4) wives.
there is currently an international effort to establish such a treaty, led by the Crimes
Persons and Family Relations Against Humanity Initiative.
International Law, Criminal Law

136. In the American legal system, it must be a judicially enforceable and legally
protected right before one suffering a grievance can ask for a mandamus.
141. Historically, natural law refers to the use of reason to analyze human nature to
deduce binding rules of moral behavior from nature's or God's creation of reality and
A person can be said to be aggrieved only when he or she is denied a legal right by
mankind.
someone who has a legal duty to do something and abstains from doing it. Natural Law
Remedial Law

137. A contract is also defined as “a juridical convention manifested in legal form, by

142. The GBL governs universal and commercial banking. Special laws or charters
virtue of which one or more persons bind themselves in favor of another or others, or
regulate the operations of the other banks, but the GBL still applies to them insofar as
reciprocally, to the fulfillment of a prestation to give, to do, or not to do.”
it is not in conflict with those laws or charters. In fact, the Philippine Cooperative
Code of 2008 recognizes the primacy of the GBL in the regulation of cooperative
A contract binds both contracting parties and has the force of law between them.
banks.
Oblicon, Sales
Banking Laws

138. To serve their intended purpose 143. Salus Populi Est Suprema Lex
  This phrase is based on the implied agreement of every member of society
that his own individual welfare shall, in cases of necessity, yield to that of the
149. In Damasco vs. NLRC, [G. R. No. 115755, December 4, 2000], the refusal of the
community; and that his property, liberty and life shall, under certain
employee to be transferred from Olongapo City to Metro Manila was not considered
circumstances, be placed in jeopardy or even sacrificed for the public good.
serious misconduct or willful disobedience of lawful order in connection with her
Constitutional Law, Civil Law, Labor Law work.

144. Partnership Even if the employer directed her to be assigned at his store in Metro Manila, her act
 according to the Civil Code, it is a contract of refusing to be detailed in Metro Manila could hardly be characterized as a willful
 according to the American concept, it is a relation or intentional disobedience of her employer’s order.

Partnership, Agency, & Trust On the contrary, it was the employer’s order that appears to be whimsical if not
vindictive.
145. United Nations human rights bodies do have some quasi-legal enforcement
mechanisms. These include the treaty bodies attached to the seven currently active Reassignment to Metro Manila is prejudicial to the employee, as she and her family
treaties, and the United Nations Human Rights Council complaints procedures, with are residing in Olongapo City. This would entail separation from her family and
Universal Periodic Review and United Nations Special Rapporteur (known as the additional expenses on her part for transportation and food. Her reassignment order
1235 and 1503 mechanisms respectively). was unreasonable, considering the attendant circumstances.
Human Rights Law, International Law
Labor Law
146. In criminal procedure, formal defects and technicalities which do not affect the
substantial rights of the parties 150. There can be no contract unless the following requisites are present:
 should be cured during the trial  consent of the contracting parties;
Criminal Procedure
 object certain which is the subject matter of the contract; and
 cause of the obligation which is established
147. The enforcement of international human rights law is the responsibility of the nation
state; it is the primary responsibility of the State to make the human rights of its These three requisites are important because there’s no perfected contract
citizens a reality. without them.
Human Rights Law, International Law Oblicon, Sales

148. The Court of Appeals was created on December 3, 1935 by virtue of Commonwealth
151. The rules implementing the various banking laws are embodied in the Manual of
Act No. 3 and formally organized on February 1, 1936.
Remedial Law, Constitutional Law
Regulations for Banks issued by the BSP. From time to time, additional circulars and
 other issuances are promulgated by the BSP to regulate new matters, if not to amend,
repeal or otherwise modify existing rules.
Banking Laws
152. International humanitarian law is rooted in the rules of ancient civilizations and
religions – warfare has always been subject to certain principles and customs.
International Law
153. Workers in any registered cooperative when so recommended by the Bureau of
Cooperative Development and approved by the Secretary of Labor and Employment
 not covered by the law on wages
Labor Law
154. The Preamble
 has a value for purposes of construction
 The statement of the general purposes may be resorted to as an aid in
determining the meaning of vague or ambiguous provisions of the
Constitution proper.
 By way of illustration, the government is without power to impose taxes for
private purpose because according to the Preamble, it is established for
public purpose
 the promotion of the common good, not for private purpose
155. When our police officers assumed their mandate, they took an oath to serve the
Filipino people and protect our rights. As the motto of the Philippine National Police
(PNP) commits, “to serve and protect.”
There is then no acceptable excuse when our police officers become the first ones to
violate our laws and the people’s rights, especially the vulnerable.
Human Rights Law, Constitutional Law
156. Marriages contracted through mistake of one of the parties as to the identity of the
other
 are void
The mistake here pertains to the physical identity of one of the parties, and
not with regard to the character, health, rank or fortune of the other party to
the marriage.
It may seem very cinematic but the usual samples that apply to this void
marriage include a twin appearing at the marriage instead of the other
brother, or a man who exchanged I dos with a woman so heavily veiled, only
to find out she is a woman other than his fiancé. These marriages are void
because legally, there is an absence of consent to the marriage.
Persons and Family Relations
157. The concept of natural law was documented in ancient Greek philosophy, including
Aristotle, and was referred to in Roman philosophy by Cicero.
Natural Law
158. In over 110 countries, national human rights institutions (NHRIs) have been set up to
protect, promote or monitor human rights with jurisdiction in a given country.
Although not all NHRIs are compliant with the Paris Principles, the number and
effect of these institutions are increasing.
The Paris Principles were defined at the first International Workshop on National
Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in Paris from 7 to 9
October 1991, and adopted by UN Human Rights Commission Resolution 1992/54 of
1992 and General Assembly Resolution 48/134 of 1993. The Paris Principles list a
number of responsibilities for national human rights institutions.
Human Rights Law, International Law
159. In the words of the Supreme Court:
  Time and time again, we have emphasized that the Rules of Court should not
be interpreted to sacrifice the substantial rights of a litigant at the altar of
technicalities to the consequent impairment of the sacred principles of
justice. 163. In Westin Philippine Plaza Hotel vs. NLRC, the willfulness of the employee’s
insubordination was shown by his continued refusal to report to his new work
Alonzo vs Villamor assignment. Thus, upon receipt of the order of transfer, the employee simply took an
Case & Nantz vs Jugo extended vacation leave. Then, when he reported back to work, he did not discharge
Criminal Procedure his duties as linen room attendant despite repeated reminders from the personnel
office as well as his union. Worse, while he came to the hotel every day, he just went
160. The New Central Bank Act, which is the BSP charter, is applicable as it contains to the union office instead of working at the linen room. More than that, when he
provisions on banking regulation in line with the mandate of the BSP as the primary was asked to explain why no disciplinary action should be taken against him, the
overseer of banks in the Philippines. employee merely questioned the transfer order without submitting the required
explanation. Based on the foregoing facts, the employee’s intransigence was very
Relevant too is the Charter of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC), evident.
the insurer of bank deposits.
Labor Law
Banking Laws

161. Contracts are generally perfected by mere consent, which is the reason why there’s 164. In practice, many human rights are difficult to enforce legally, due to the absence of
such a thing as oral contracts. It’s a meeting of the minds between the parties: there’s consensus on the application of certain rights, the lack of relevant national legislation
a definite offer by one person and there’s an absolute acceptance by another. or of bodies empowered to take legal action to enforce them.
Human Rights Law
Oblicon, Sales
165. Court of Appeals
 Its principal mandate is to exercise appellate jurisdiction on all cases not
162. Legal requirements, writ of mandamus falling within the original and exclusive jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
 The party requesting a writ of mandamus to be enforced should be able to
show that he or she has a legal right to compel the respondent to do or refrain
Remedial Law, Constitutional Law
from doing the specific act.
 The duty sought to be enforced must have two qualities:
 It must be a duty of public nature and
166. References to natural law are also found in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible,
 the duty must be imperative and should not be discretionary
later expounded upon in the Middle Ages by Christian philosophers such as Albert
the Great and Thomas Aquinas.
Furthermore, mandamus will typically not be granted if adequate relief
can be obtained by some other means, such as appeal.
 Natural Law
167. Patrimony
 is an inheritance coming by right of birth
 It is a right or estate inherited from one's father or from an ancestor on the
father's side.
Constitutional Law, Property, Natural Law
168. A Partnership is a separate legal entity from that of the participants in the partnership.
Partnership, Agency, & Trust
169. An effective prudential regulator is central to a safe and sound banking system.
In the Philippines, that role is fulfilled entirely by the BSP.
Section 4 of the GBL expressly states that the ‘operations and activities of banks
shall be subject to supervision of the Bangko Sentral’. Supervision, as defined in
Section 4, not only contemplates the promulgation by the BSP of rules of conduct
and standards of operations for banks (now set out in the Manual of Regulations for
Banks, as supplemented or modified by the BSP from time to time), but also
visitorial powers, that is, the conducting of examinations and investigations of the
activities of banks with a view to determining their compliance with those rules and
standards, and enforcing prompt and corrective action in cases of breaches of the
same.
Ultimately, the aim is to ensure the continued solvency and liquidity of banks.
Banking Laws
170. Source of the Constitution’s authority
 the Filipino people
 A sovereign people
Constitutional Law
171. Subject matter of a contract
 A thing, right or service may be the object or subject matter of a contract.
 All things that are outside the commerce of man (e.g., the moon) may not be
the object of a contract.
 Rights that are transmissible (e.g., the right to possess a real property) may
be the subject of a contract.
 Services, on the other hand, must not be contrary to law, morals, good
customs, public order of public policy (e.g., services of an assassin or a
prostitute).
Oblicon, Sales
172. We ruled that the Rules of Court frowns upon hair-splitting technicalities that do not
square with their liberal tendency and with the ends of justice.
Case & Nantz vs Jugo
Criminal Procedure
173. The Paris Principles list a number of responsibilities for national institutions, which
fall under five headings.
 First, the institution shall monitor any situation of violation of human rights
which it decides to take up.
 Second, the institution shall be able to advise the Government, the Parliament
and any other competent body on specific violations, on issues related to
legislation and general compliance and implementation with international
human rights instruments.
 Third, the institution shall relate to regional and international organizations.
 Fourth, the institution shall have a mandate to educate and inform in the field
of human rights.
 Fifth, some institutions are given a quasi-judicial competence.
The key elements of the composition of a national institution are its independence
and pluralism. In relation to the independence the only guidance in the Paris
Principles is that the appointment of commissioners or other kinds of key personnel
 shall be given effect by an official Act, establishing the specific duration of the 177. Modern natural law theories were greatly developed in the Age of Enlightenment,
mandate, which may be renewable. combining inspiration from Roman law with philosophies like social contract theory.
Compliance with the Paris Principles is the central requirement of the accreditation
Key proponents were Alberico Gentili, Francisco Suárez, Richard Hooker, Thomas
process that regulates NHRI access to the United Nations Human Rights Council and
Hobbes, Hugo Grotius, Samuel von Pufendorf, Matthew Hale, John Locke, Francis
other bodies. This is a peer review system operated by a subcommittee of the Global
Hutcheson, Jean Jacques Burlamaqui, Emmerich de Vattel, Cesare Beccaria and
Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI).
Francesco Mario Pagano.
Human Rights Law, International Law
It was used to challenge the divine right of kings, and became an alternative
174. Subsequent marriages that are void under Article 53 of the Family Code justification for the establishment of a social contract, positive law, and government
 If either of the spouses had previous marriages, the law mandates them to —and thus legal rights—in the form of classical republicanism.
complete other necessities before remarrying.
 These requirements include the recording of the judgment of nullity of Conversely, the concept of natural rights is used by others to challenge the legitimacy
marriage, the distribution of the marital properties, and the distribution of of all such establishments.
presumptive legitimes of the children.
Natural Law
 If any of the parties remarry without complying with the requirements, the
subsequent marriage shall be null and void.
178. The purpose of mandamus is to remedy defects of justice. It lies in the cases where
there is a specific right but no specific legal remedy for enforcing that right.
175. As a rule, the BSP conducts regular investigations of banks not more than once a
year. However, the Monetary Board, by an affirmative vote of five members, may Remedial Law

order a special examination of a bank. In this regard, the BSP is required to

179. Cause of a contract
immediately address findings of irregularities or deficiencies.
 The cause varies according to the type of contracts:
 for onerous contracts, the cause is the promise of a thing or service
When examining a bank, the BSP also has the authority to examine an enterprise that
by the other
is wholly or majority-owned by the bank.
 for remunatory contracts, the cause is the service or benefit which is
Banking Laws
being remunerated; and
 for contracts of pure beneficence, the cause is the mere liberality of
176. An employee could not validly refuse the lawful transfer orders on the ground of the benefactor.
parental obligations, additional expenses, and the anguish he would suffer if assigned
away from his family. These concepts may appear alien, but since this is merely a brief
Allied Banking Corporation vs CA discussion, suffice it to state that a “cause” is technically different
Labor Law from a contract’s object (or subject matter, as discussed above) or
motive.
180. Universal codification of international humanitarian law began in the nineteenth Banking Laws

century. Since then, States have agreed to a series of practical rules, based on the
183. Contemporarily, the concept of natural law is closely related to the concept of natural
bitter experience of modern warfare. These rules strike a careful balance between
rights.
humanitarian concerns and the military requirements of States.
Indeed, many philosophers, jurists and scholars use natural law synonymously with
As the international community has grown, an increasing number of States have
natural rights (Latin: ius naturale), or natural justice while others distinguish between
contributed to the development of those rules. International humanitarian law forms
natural law and natural right.
today a universal body of law.
Human Rights Law, International Law
Natural Law

184. The Constitution begins and ends with the words:

181. National patrimony
 is the store of wealth or accumulated reserves of a national economy.
 In addition to monetary reserves and other financial holdings, national
patrimony also encompasses a nation's non-monetary wealth or reserves,
such as its national monuments, cuisine, and artistic heritage.
Property, Constitutional Law
 “We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God….do
ordain and promulgate this Constitution..”
 Thus, the Filipino people themselves (not just their representatives) are
the source from which the Constitution comes and being so, it is the
supreme law of the land.

182. Under the PDIC Charter

 the PDIC can also examine banks once a year with the prior approval of the
BSP. 185. Court of Appeals
 To avoid the overlapping of efforts, the PDIC has to ‘maximize the efficient  Its decisions are final except when appealed to the Supreme Court on
use of relevant reports, information and findings of the Bangko Sentral which questions of law.
it shall make available to the PDIC.
Remedial Law, Constitutional Law
 Under the amendments to the PDIC Charter made by Republic Act No.
10846, if the PDIC has submitted to the Monetary Board a report of 186. Writ of mandamus
examination asking that corrective action be taken against a bank determined  Generally, it is not available in anticipation of any injury except when the
by the PDIC to be conducting unsafe and unsound banking practices, and no petitioner is likely to be affected by an official act in contravention of a
corrective action is taken by the Monetary Board within 45 days of statutory duty or where an illegal or unconstitutional order is made.
submission of the report, then the PDIC can, motu proprio, institute the
necessary corrective action and thereafter inform the Monetary Board of the Remedial Law
action taken.
187. In Phil. Telegraph and Telephone Corp. vs. Laplana, the employee was a cashier at
the Baguio City Branch of PT&T who was directed to transfer to the company’s
branch office at Laoag City. In refusing the transfer, the employee averred that she
had established Baguio City as her permanent residence and that such transfer will
involve additional expenses on her part, plus the fact that an assignment to a far place
will be a big sacrifice for her as she will be kept away from her family which might
adversely affect her efficiency. In ruling for the employer, the Supreme Court held
that the transfer from one city to another within the country is valid as long as there is
no bad faith on the part of the employer. It said: “Certainly the Court cannot accept
the proposition that when an employee opposes his employer’s decision to transfer
him to another workplace, there being no bad faith or underhanded motives on the
part of either party, it is the employee’s wishes that should be made to prevail.”
Labor Law
188. How does Justice Barham define patrimony?
 Patrimony is the total mass of existing or potential rights and liabilities
attached to a person for the satisfaction of his economic needs.
Property
189. The management of a locally incorporated bank (such as a subsidiary of a foreign
bank)
 is vested in a board of directors with five to 15 members, at least two of
whom must be independent directors. Foreign nationals may become
directors to the extent of the foreign equity in the bank concerned
Banking Laws
190. A partnerships consist of 2 or more individuals.
Partnership, Agency, & Trust
191. Universal jurisdiction is a controversial principle in international law, whereby states
claim criminal jurisdiction over people whose alleged crimes were committed outside
the boundaries of the prosecuting state, regardless of nationality, country of residence
or any other relationship to the prosecuting country.
The state backs its claim on the grounds that the crime committed is considered a
crime against all, which any state is authorized to punish. The concept of universal
jurisdiction is therefore closely linked to the idea that certain international norms are
erga omnes, or owed to the entire world community, as well as the concept of jus
cogens.
In 1993, Belgium passed a "law of universal jurisdiction" to give its courts
jurisdiction over crimes against humanity in other countries. In 1998, Augusto
Pinochet was arrested in London following an indictment by Spanish judge Baltasar
Garzón under the universal-jurisdiction principle.
The principle is supported by Amnesty International and other human rights
organizations, which believe that certain crimes pose a threat to the international
community as a whole, and that the community has a moral duty to act.
Others, like Henry Kissinger, argue that "widespread agreement that human rights
violations and crimes against humanity must be prosecuted has hindered active
consideration of the proper role of international courts. Universal jurisdiction risks
creating universal tyranny—that of judges".
Human Rights Law, International Law
192. Because of the intersection between natural law and natural rights, natural law has
been cited as a component in the United States Declaration of Independence (1776),
and claimed by natural law proponents thus to be incorporated into its constitution, as
well as in the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789),
hence providing a foundation for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
of the United Nations General Assembly.
Natural Law
193. Patrimony is always attached to a natural or juridical person. A husband has a
patrimony; the wife has a patrimony....
Civil Law
194. Court of Appeals
 It also exercises original jurisdiction on the issuance of writs of mandamus,
prohibition, injunction, certiorari, habeas corpus and all other writs whether
or not in aid of its appellate jurisdiction.
Remedial Law, Constitutional Law
195. When is it construction and when is it judicial legislation?
 To declare what the law shall be is a legislative power, but to declare what
the law is or has been, is judicial.
 However, the courts “do and must legislate” to fill in the gaps in the law.
 The Court decided to go beyond merely ruling on the facts of the existing
law and jurisprudence.
Floresca v. Philex Mining; Republic v. CA and Molina
Statutory Construction, Constitutional Law, Civil Law, Remedial Law
196. In Dosch vs. NLRC, the refusal of the employee to be transferred was upheld because
no law compels an employee to accept a promotion and because the position he was
supposed to be promoted to did not even exist at that time.
Labor Law
197. The Monetary Board
 has prescribed the criteria of individuals to be elected as bank directors, in
line with the fit-and-proper rule, to maintain the quality of bank management,
and better protect depositors and the public in general
 Here, the Monetary Board considers the integrity, experience, education,
training and competence of the individual concerned. The election of bank
directors must be confirmed by the Monetary Board.
Banking Laws
198. The Preamble
 retains the use of the term ‘Filipino people’ to signify their oneness and
solidarity.
 It is different from the term ‘people of the Philippines’ which may refer to
the entire body of inhabitants, a mere aggrupation of individuals, including
aliens.
199. The use of natural law, in its various incarnations, has varied widely throughout
history. There are a number of theories of natural law, that differ from each other
with respect to the role that morality plays in determining the authority of legal
norms. This article deals with its usages separately rather than attempt to unify them
into a single theory.
Natural Law
200. Marriage contracted by a party who at the time of the marriage was psychologically
incapacitated is void.
 This is probably the most “abused” and misunderstood ground for the
Declaration of Nullity of Marriage in the Philippines.
 Often, Filipinos come to court and petition for the nullification of their
marriage on the perception that any irreconcilable difference between
spouses equate to psychological incapacity.
 Our laws do not provide an exact definition of psychological incapacity, but
for purposes of nullifying a marriage, psychological incapacity must be
restricted to an incapacity to comply with the essential marital obligations of
marriage.
 The incapacity must involve a senseless, protracted and constant refusal to
comply with the essential marital obligations by one or both of the spouses
although he, she or they are physically capable of performing such
obligations.
 It likewise refer to a mental, not physical, incapacity that causes a party to be
incognitive of the basic marital covenants that be assumed during the union.
  The incapacity must be present at the time of the marriage, although it
became manifest only after marriage.
 Additionally, the incapacity must be characterized as grave and one that
appears to be incurable.
Persons and Family Relations
201. In theory, the patrimony of a debtor is the totality of his assets and liabilities which
are susceptible of pecuniary evaluation. As a practical matter, the debtor's patrimony
consists of assets which are subject to execution for the benefit of a creditor.
Civil Law
202. The grant of mandamus is therefore an equitable remedy; a matter for the discretion
of the court, the exercise of which is governed by well-settled principles.
Remedial Law
203. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
 is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by
representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions
of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General
Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 (General Assembly resolution 217
A) as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations.
 It sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally
protected and it has been translated into over 500 languages.
Human Rights Law, International Law
204. Board meetings may be conducted via teleconferencing or videoconferencing.
Accordingly, directors of a bank need not all be physically present in one room to
hold a valid meeting.
A bank director must, however, participate in at least 50 % of all board meetings
every year and physically attend at least 25 % of all such meetings.
Banking Laws
205. Mandamus, being a discretionary remedy, the application for that must be made in
good faith and not for indirect purposes.
Acquiescence cannot, however, bar the issue of mandamus. The petitioner must, of
course, satisfy the Court that he or she has the legal right to the performance of the
legal duty as distinct from mere discretion of authority.
Remedial Law
206. Every person has a patrimony.
Civil Law
207. Pursuant to Article 9 of the Civil Code which provides that: “No judge or court shall
decline to render judgment by reason of the silence, obscurity or insufficiency of the
laws.”
It argues that the application or interpretation placed by the Court upon a law is part
of the law as of the date of the enactment of the said law since the Court’s application
or interpretation merely establishes the contemporaneous legislative intent that the
construed law purports to carry into effect.
Yet, the Court argues that the Court can legislate, pursuant to Article 9 of the New
Civil Code. However, even the legislator himself recognizes that in certain instances,
the courts “do and must legislate” to fill in the gaps in the law; because the mind of
the legislator, like all human beings, is finite and therefore cannot envisage all
possible cases to which the law may apply.
Floresca v. Philex Mining
Statutory Construction, Constitutional Law, Civil Law, Remedial Law
208. Ordinary presumptive death
  Article 390, Civil Code
 After an absence of seven years, it being unknown whether or not the
absentee still lives, he shall be presumed dead for all purposes, except for
those of succession. The absentee shall not be presumed dead for the purpose
of opening his succession till after an absence of ten years. If he disappeared
after the age of seventy-five years, an absence of five years shall be sufficient
in order that his succession may be opened.
209. Refusal to transfer to overseas assignment distinguished from refusal to transfer
within the country.
 In the case of Allied Banking Corporation vs. CA, the Supreme Court
distinguished transfer from the Philippines to overseas post and transfer from
city to city within the Philippines.
 The High Court observed that the transfer of an employee to an overseas
post, as in the Dosch case, (where the refusal of the employee was upheld as
valid) cannot be likened to a transfer from one city to another within the
country, as in the 1991 case of Phil. Telegraph and Telephone Corp. as well
as the instant case.
 Consequently, the refusal to be transferred within the Philippines based on
personal grounds was considered willful disobedience of a lawful order.
Labor Law
210. Characteristics of Ex Post Facto Law
 must refer to criminal matter
 prejudicial to the accused
 retroactive in application
Criminal Law
211. Partnership
 may either be a:
 general partnership
 where partners have unlimited liability for the debts and
obligation of the partnership, or
 limited partnership
 where one or more of the partners have unlimited liability and
some partners have liability only up to the amount of their
capital contributions
Partnership, Agency, & Trust
212. As in other domestic corporations, all corporate powers of a locally incorporated
bank are exercised by its board of directors.
After the election of the directors, the shareholders can participate in the management
of the bank only in certain fundamental matters, such as the amendment of the
articles of incorporation or by-laws of the bank, its dissolution, or its merger or
consolidation with another bank
Banking Laws
213. Those who see biblical support for the doctrine of natural law often point to
Abraham's interrogation of God on behalf of the iniquitous city of Sodom.
Abraham even dares to tell the Most High that his plan to destroy the city (Genesis
18:25) would violate God’s own justice: “That be far from Thee to do after this
manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that so the righteous should be as the
wicked; that be far from Thee; shall not the Judge of all the earth do justly?"
This almost Socratic reply became for later writers the beginnings of natural rights
theory.
In this respect, natural law as described in the interaction between Abraham and God
predates the later Greek exposition of it by Plato, Socrates and Aristotle.
Natural Law
214. Patrimony
 The common law equivalent would be estate.
  A person's estate is the aggregate of things over which he or she may assert appeal is not a natural right but statutory in nature that can be regulated by
ownership, and which is passed on at their death, to their lawful heirs. law. RA 8249 pertains only to matters of procedure, and being merely an
 Similarly, civil law defines that estate as patrimony. amendatory statute it does not partake the nature of ex post facto law.”
 In French civil law, la patrimoine refers to the estate, generally of a decedent Criminal Law
(person deceased) or in terms of the management of the assets of a person
alive but to whom the law does not allow self-management (eg. a child or an
adult in need of guardianship).
218. Transfer due to standard operating procedure of management
Civil Law  Where the rotation of employees from the day shift to the night shift was a
standard operating procedure of management, an employee who had been on
215. The Constitution a day shift for sometime may be transferred to the night shift.
 calls the Filipino people ‘sovereign’
 The first person approach consisting of the use of the pronoun ‘we’ and ‘our’ Castillo vs. CIR
Labor Law
has also been retained instead of the impersonal third person approach (ex:
the Filipino people; their) in the Preamble of the 1935 Constitution
219. Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of
all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in
 the intention is to stress that the Filipino people, in ordaining and
the world…
promulgating the Constitution, do so on their own authority as a
Preamble, Universal Declaration of Human Rights
sovereign people and not by virtue of the authority or permission given Human Rights Law, International Law
by a superior foreign power

Constitutional Law
220. The BSP published the Handbook on Corporate Governance ‘to improve corporate
216. Human Rights Victims Claims Board governance in the Philippine banking system’.
 the body responsible to administer recognition and reparation programs to
the Martial Law Regime’s victims The BSP also issued the rules of procedure on administrative cases involving
Human Rights Law, Constitutional Law directors and officers of banks. It is also aligning its rules with international best
practices that foster good corporate governance in the banking sector, such as the
Principles for Enhancing Corporate Governance promulgated by the Basel
Committee on Banking Supervision.

217. In Lacson v. Exec. Sec. In this regard, the BSP has required each bank to appoint a full-time chief compliance
 the Court held that in general, ex post facto law prohibits retrospectivity of officer to manage a compliance system designed to identify and mitigate business
penal laws. RA No. 8249 is not a penal law.... The contention that the new risks that may erode the franchise value of the bank.
law diluted their right to a two-tiered appeal is incorrect because “the right to
 Banking Laws
221. Judicial legislation
 means new legal rules made by judges
 It means the power of the judicature to make rules for the regulation of their
own procedure by adopting their delegated legislative powers.
 It varies from precedent whereby judges create new laws.
 Usually the judicial branch has no power to veto any legislation, but they can
use judicial review to label properly challenged legislation.
Statutory Construction, Constitutional Law, Civil Law, Remedial Law
222. A mandamus is normally issued when an officer or an authority by compulsion of
statute is required to perform a duty and that duty, despite demand in writing, has not
been performed. In no other case will a writ of mandamus issue unless it be to quash
an illegal order.
Remedial Law
225. To protect the funds of the depositors and creditors of banks, the Monetary Board
223. Court of Appeals
 Under Batas Pamabansa Blg. 129 or the Judiciary Reorganization Act of
1980, in addition to its original mandate, it was vested the authority to
assume jurisdiction over actions for annulment of judgements of the
Regional Trial Courts and the power to try and conduct hearings, receive
evidence and perform all acts necessary to resolve factual issues falling
within its original and appellate jurisdiction.
Remedial Law, Constitutional Law
224. However, an even earlier set of laws is attributed to the Seven Laws of Noah. The
seven Noahide laws as traditionally enumerated are the following:
 Not to worship idols
 Not to curse God
 To establish courts of justice
 Not to commit murder
 Not to commit adultery or sexual immorality
 Not to steal
 Not to eat flesh torn from a living animal
According to the Genesis flood narrative, a deluge covered the whole world,
killing every surface-dwelling creature except Noah, his wife, his sons and their
wives, and the animals taken aboard Noah's Ark. According to this, all modern
humans are descendants of Noah, thus the name Noahide Laws in reference to
laws that apply to all of humanity. After the flood, God sealed a covenant with
Noah with the following admonitions:
 Flesh of a living animal: "Only flesh with the life thereof, which is the
blood thereof, shall ye not eat.”
 Murder and courts: "And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at
the hand of every beast will I require it; and at the hand of man, even at
the hand of every man's brother, will I require the life of man. Whoso
sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of
God made He man."
may regulate the payment of compensation, allowances, fees, bonuses, stock options,
profit-sharing and fringe benefits to bank directors and officers, in exceptional cases
and when circumstances warrant, such as when the bank is under comptrollership or
conservatorship, when it is found to be conducting business in an unsafe and unsound
manner, or when it is in an unsatisfactory financial condition.
Towards this end, the Monetary Board requires that the total amount of unbooked
valuation reserves and deferred charges be deducted from the net income of the bank
in the event of profit sharing.
Further, when the total compensation package (including salaries, allowances, fees
and bonuses) of directors and officers is significantly excessive when compared with
peer group averages, the Monetary Board may order a reduction of the package to a
more reasonable level.
 It must also be noted that the compensation of directors in general is regulated by 230. In Calder v. Bull
Section 30 of the Corporation Code, which mandates that the total annual  the Court said that when the law alters the legal rules of evidence or mode of
compensation of directors must not exceed 10 % of the bank’s net income before tax trial, it is an ex post facto law.
during the preceding year.
Exception:
Banking Laws

unless the changes operate only in limited and unsubstantial manner to the
226. National purposes and aims in adopting the Constitution disadvantage of the accused. (Beazell v. Ohio)
 As set forth in the Preamble, they are:
 to build a just and humane society Criminal Law
 to establish a Government that shall:
 embody our ideals and aspirations 231. Patrimony
 promote the common good  Any kind of property ... That which is capable of being inherited.
 conserve and develop our patrimony  Things capable of being possessed by a single person exclusively of all
 secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of others.
independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime
John Bouvier’s Dictionary
of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace Civil Law

232. Republic Act 7610

227. A partnership might be suitable for foreign companies wishing to venture into
business in the Philippines.  a special law providing for special protection to children from all forms of
abuse
Partnership, Agency, & Trust
Human Rights Law, Criminal Law
228. Transfer pursuant to company policy
 Transfers can be effected pursuant to a company policy to transfer employees
from one place of work to another place of work owned by the employer to 233. Court of Appeals
prevent connivance among them.  As per Republic Act No. 7902 of February 23, 1995, the appellate
Cinema, Stage and Radio Entertainment Free Workers vs. CIR jurisdiction was expanded to include review of decisions, resolutions, awards
Labor Law or orders of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Social Security
229. The phrase bench and bar System, Employees Compensation Commission and the Civil Service
 denotes all judges and lawyers collectively Commission.
Remedial Law, Constitutional Law
Legal Ethics
234. Philippine branches of foreign banks are bound by the pertinent provisions of the
GBL and the Manual of Regulations for Banks, except those providing for
 the creation, formation, organization or dissolution of corporations, and
 the fixing of the relations, liabilities, responsibilities or duties of
shareholders, directors or officers of corporations.
These excluded matters will be governed by the applicable law in the jurisdiction of
the foreign bank. Apart from the aforementioned in items, branches of foreign banks
are required to conduct their operations subject to the same standards required of
domestic banks.
A branch does not have a board of directors. It is usually managed by an individual
appointed by the head office, and his or her authority is normally set out in a power
of attorney from the head office.
Banking Laws
235. Judicial legislation
 refers to a court’s actions that involve filling in the gaps of laws or
overstepping boundaries of the judicial branch of government. It means
going beyond the law to create doctrines and principles not available
previously
Statutory Construction, Constitutional Law, Civil Law, Remedial Law
236. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed
with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of
brotherhood.
Article 1, Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Human Rights Law, International Law
237. Qualified presumptive death
 Article 391, Civil Code
 The following shall be presumed dead for all purposes, including the division
of the estate among the heirs:
 A person on board a vessel lost during a sea voyage, or an aeroplane
which is missing, who has not been heard of for four years since the loss
of the vessel or aeroplane;
 A person in the armed forces who has taken part in war, and has been
missing for four years;
 A person who has been in danger of death under other circumstances and
his existence has not been known for four years.
238. As a minimum, the stock of liquid assets should enable the bank to withstand
significant liquidity shocks that last 30 calendar days, which would give time for
corrective actions to be taken by the bank management or the BSP, or both.
Banking Laws
239. Transfer in accordance with pre-determined and established office policy and
practice
 The employer has the right to transfer an employee to another office in the
exercise of sound business judgment and in accordance with pre-determined
and established office policy and practice.
 Particularly so when no illicit, improper or underhanded purpose can be
ascribed to the employer and the objection to the transfer was solely on the
personal inconvenience or hardship that will be caused to the employee by
virtue of the transfer.
Philippine Industrial Security Agency vs. Dapiton
Labor Law
240. Many human rights are secured by agreements between the governments and those
they govern, such as the U.S. Constitution. Others are protected by international laws
and pressure.
Human Rights Law, International Law
 Oblicon

245. Traditionally, therefore, the concept of property extends only to those things which
are already possessed and found in the possession of man.

Property

246. There is no rule in international law which requires a State to define its territorial
boundaries in its Constitution.
 The reason is that with or without such a provision, a State under
241. Civil Code, Human Relations international law has the unquestioned right to assert jurisdiction throughout
 a chapter on human relations was formulated to present some basic principles the extent of its territory.
that are to be observed for the rightful relationship between human beings  Nor is such delimitation binding upon other States who are not precluded
and the stability of the social order from claiming title to territories which they think is theirs.
 The lawmaker makes it imperative that everyone duly respects the rights of
others Constitutional Law

Persons and Family Relations

242. Treason is defined as the “act of levying war against the Philippines or adhering to its
enemies, giving them aid or comfort within the Philippine Islands or elsewhere

Criminal Law 247. Contract of sales is consummated

 when the object is delivered and the price is paid
243. A constitution is not international law but only a state law.
 as such, it is binding only on the state promulgating it Sales

Constitutional Law 248. Territorial disputes

 have to be settled according to the rules of international law
244. Reasons or bases of prescription:
 economic necessity
 freedom from judicial harassment 249. Title
 convenience in procedural matters  implies possession, either:
 presumed abandonment or waiver
 actual
  constructive 255. Find time to enjoy as you prepare and review for the Bar exam. Preparing for the Bar
examination is so stressful emotionally, physically, mentally, and psychologically. It
…but possession does not necessarily imply title
is mentally and emotionally draining.
Popovich vs State
Land Titles and Deeds You’d not know what to do so you can finish reading and reviewing everything. The
enormous amount of data and information you’d have to absorb is sometimes too
250. The Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the much for you to handle. At times you get depressed because you feel that no matter
people and all government authority emanates from them. how hard you study, still it seems that your efforts are not yet enough to be able to
pass the Bar exam.
Article II, Section 1, 1987 Constitution
Constitutional Law Many times you’d realize that nothing of what you read is actually being absorbed
and stored in your memory. All these can make you go crazy if you’d stress yourself
251. The efficient cause too much. You’d be stressed out. To preserve your mental state, you’d have to find
 one of the elements of an obligation time to relax and have fun. It is impossible to study straight for 10 hours or 24 hours.
 the vinculum or juridical tie You need to pause at times and relax.
 the reason why the obligation exists
When I was reviewing, I went to the malls to relax. Me and my girlfriend watched
Oblicon movies and went shopping frequently. This re-energized us. It enabled us to survive
the very very stressful situation which each Bar reviewee underwent during the
252. Evidence obtained from unreasonable searches and seizures months leading to Bar exam.
 shall be inadmissible in evidence for any purpose in any proceeding
256. A republic (Latin: res publica)
Constitutional Law, Criminal Procedure
 is a form of government in which the country is considered a "public matter",
not the private concern or property of the rulers.
253. The Philippines is a democratic and republican State.
 The primary positions of power within a republic are not inherited.
Constitutional Law
 It is a form of government under which the head of state is not a monarch.

Constitutional Law

254. Sandiganbayan
257. Security of tenure
 has jurisdiction over government officials who are salary grade 27 and above
 principally protects employees who are holding regular employment
Criminal Procedure, Administrative Law, Law on Public Officers
 however, it does not mean that employees holding non-regular employment
are not entitled to security of tenure
 Labor Law
Labor Law
263. Bill of Rights
258. Republic  its basis is the social importance accorded to the individual in a democratic or
 refers specifically to a form of government in which elected individuals republic state, the belief that every human being has intrinsic dignity and
represent the citizen body and exercise power according to the rule of law worth which must be respected and safeguarded
under a constitution, including separation of powers with an elected head of
state, referred to as a constitutional republic or representative democracy Constitutional Law

Constitutional Law 264. Seller

 or vendor

259. The Civil Code does not define the term ‘property’ but simply implies that the Sales
concept refers to things which are susceptible of appropriation.

Property

260. Right to rescind the transfer of title and to resume the ownership in the goods
 applies when there has been: 265. The 1987 Constitution incorporates in Article III all the basic rights in the former
 express stipulation or reservation Charter. It also awards new rights to the individual.
 unreasonable default
Constitutional Law
Sales

261. There is one quality, perhaps above all others, which is essential if a state is to be 266. Espionage
democratic and that is accountability. Without accountability then democracy itself  Article 117, Revised Penal Code
will die.
Constitutional Law Criminal Law

267. A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list
262. Employment of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect
 is deemed property within the meaning of the constitutional guarantee, those rights against infringement from public officials and private citizens.
hence, an employee cannot be deprived of his employment without due
process of law Constitutional Law

268. Greeks and Romans

  who were supposed to have started the development of Western civilization
Clendenin vs Clendenin
 legalized the institution of slavery, when men and women were held as Oblicon

chattels and could be disposed of in any manner at the will of their

masters 272. In practice, not every jurisdiction enforces the protection of the rights articulated in
its bill of rights.
Natural Law Constitutional Law

273. How does the United Nations define human rights?

269. Bills of rights may be entrenched or unentrenched.
An entrenched bill of rights cannot be amended or repealed by a country's legislature
through regular procedure, instead requiring a supermajority or referendum; often it
is part of a country's constitution, and therefore subject to special procedures
applicable to constitutional amendments.
A bill of rights that is not entrenched is a normal statute law and as such can be
modified or repealed by the legislature at will.
Constitutional Law
 Those rights which are inherent in our nature and without which we cannot
live as human beings
Human Rights Law
274. This is because treason, in jurisprudence, is a crime committed in times only of an
international armed conflict. The act of levying war must be against the Republic of
the Philippines at a time when it is at war with a foreign enemy. This is why the only
convictions we have for this crime were against those who fought with or
collaborated with the Japanese during World War two.
Criminal Law

270. Declaration of policy, People’s Small-Scale Mining Act of 1991 275. Employees
 RA 7076  have the right to participate in policy and decision-making in the
 to promote, develop, protect, and rationalize viable small-scale mining establishment where they are employed
activities in order to generate more employment opportunities and provide an
equitable sharing of the nation’s wealth and natural resources, giving due  this is with respect to processes that directly affect their rights, benefits,
regard to existing rights as herein provided and welfare

Environmental and Natural Resources Law

Article 260, Labor Code
Labor Law
271. Prescription should be adverse
 In order that a possession may really be adverse, the claimant must clearly, 276. A bill of rights
definitely, and unequivocally notify the owner of his intention to avert an
exclusive ownership in himself.
  may be defined as a declaration and enumeration of a person’s rights and  is the moral principle in criminal law and international criminal law that a
privileges which the Constitution is designed to protect against violations by person cannot or should not face criminal punishment except for an act that
the government, or by an individual or groups of individuals. was criminalized by law before he/she performed the act
 It is a charter of liberties for the individual and a limitation upon the power of
Criminal Law
the State.
Constitutional Law
281. X and Y entered into a contract in Australia, whereby it was agreed that X would
build a commercial building for Y in the Philippines, and in payment for the
construction, Y will transfer and convey his cattle ranch located in the United States
in favor of X.
What law would govern the performance of the contract?
Suggested answer:
277. External administration  The performance will be governed by the law of the Philippines where the
 deals with problems of government regulations contract is to be performed.
 Applicable laws: Arts 15,16 &17 of the NCC
 ex: regulations of lawful calling or profession, industries, or businesses
Civil Law

Administrative Law

278. Bail 282. What are natural rights?

 is never required by way of punishment, or denied for the purpose of  They are those rights possessed by every citizen without being granted by the
punishing a person accused of crimes State for they are given to man by God as a human being created to His
 nor is it the function of bail to prevent or license the commission of crime image so that he may live a happy life.

Constitutional Law, Remedial Law Examples:

 right to life
279. Casual employment  right to liability
 is a job where the activities performed by the employee are not usually  right to property
necessary or desirable in the usual business or trade of the employer  right to love

Labor Law Constitutional Law

283. A neglect to communicate that which a party knows and ought to communicate
280. Nullum crimen sine lege  is called concealment
 No crime without law
 sometimes called the legality principle Section 26, Insurance Code
 Insurance Law
284. A liability right
 is a right to money damages contingent upon conditions stipulated in law,
such as the injurer's negligence causing the victim's harm. When the
contingencies occur, a liability right matures into a legal right of action with
a claim to damages
Constitutional Law
285. Choose quality over quantity. A Bar reviewee would get and receive so many
materials during his or her review — books, reviewers, memory aids, and all sorts of
materials. The volume of materials to read is so massive and enormous. You’d not
have enough time reading all of them, no matter how much you’d want to do so. You
really have to choose which materials to study.
Sometimes, reading so many materials can only confuse you. In fact, during the pre-
week, one would not have enough time to read a lot of materials. As for me, during
the review, I only chose two materials for every subject – one book, and one reviewer
or memory aid. I mastered these two materials. Although sometimes I had doubts if
these two are enough, I just had to trust my judgment. And I was not disappointed
because sticking to two materials per subject enabled me to be more familiar with the
materials and enabled me to answer faster during the Bar exam itself.
286. Functions of courts
 resolve legal controversies
 interpret and construe vague provisions of law relative to a particular dispute
Statutory Construction, Constitutional Law, Civil Law
287. What is a bill of lading?
 It is a written acknowledgement of receipt of goods and agreement to
transport them to a specific place to a person named or to his order.
Transportation Law
288. When search and seizure unreasonable
 In general, all illegal searches and seizures are unreasonable while lawful
ones are reasonable.
 A search or seizure made without a search warrant is not necessarily illegal,
and one made under a search warrant is not necessarily legal.
 What constitutes a reasonable or unreasonable search in any particular case is
a purely judicial question – that is only courts are empowered to rule upon –
determinable from a consideration of the circumstances involved.
Constitutional Law
289. Meaning or agrarian reform
 physical distribution of lands and the totality of factors and support services
designed to lift the economic status of beneficiaries and all other
arrangements alternative to the physical redistribution of the lands, such as:
 production or profit sharing
 labor administration
 distribution of shares of stock
 allows them to receive a just share of the fruits of the lands they work
 regardless of crop or fruits produced to farmers and regular farmers who are
landless and irrespective of tenurial arrangement
Agrarian Reform Law
290. Human Rights
 are generally defined as those rights which are inherent in our nature, and
without which, we cannot live as human beings
Human Rights
291. Requisites for valid search warrant or warrant of arrest
They are:
 It must be issued upon probable cause.
 The probable cause must be determined personally by the judge himself.
  Such determination of the existence of probable cause must be made after Oblicon

examination by the judge of the complainant and the witnesses he may

produce. 294. The law prohibits the issuance of a search warrant for more than one specific offense.
 The warrant must particularly describe the place to be searched, and the
Constitutional Law
persons or things to be seized.

Constitutional Law
295. Kinds of immovable property
 Immovable or real property may be reduced to four (4) general classes or
292. Juan is a Filipino citizen residing in Tokyo, Japan. What law(s) govern his kinds, notwithstanding the enumeration in Article 415 of the New Civil
successional rights as regards his deceased Filipino father’s property in Texas, Code, to wit:
U.S.A.?  immovable by nature
 immovable by incorporation
Suggested answer:  immovable by destination
 By way of exception to the general rule of lex rei sitae prescribed by the first  immovable by analogy or by law
paragraph of Art. 16. Civil Code, a person’s successional rights are governed
Property
by the national law of the decedent (2nd par.. Art. 16). Since Juan’s deceased
father was a Filipino citizen, Philippine law governs Juan’s successional 296. What is probable cause?
rights.  By probable cause is meant such facts and circumstances antecedent to the
 Juan’s successional rights are governed by Philippine law, pursuant to issuance of a warrant sufficient in themselves to induce a cautious man to
Article 1039 and the second paragraph of Article 16, both of the Civil rely upon them and act in pursuance thereof.
Code. Article 1039, Civil Code, provides that capacity to succeed shall be  It presupposes the introduction of competent proof that the party against
governed by the “law of the nation” of the decedent, i.e.. his national law. whom a warrant is sought to be issued has performed particular acts, or
Article 16 provides in paragraph two that the amount of successional rights, committed specific omissions, violating a given provision of our criminal
order of succession, and intrinsic validity of testamentary succession shall laws.
be governed by the “national law” of the decedent who is identified as a
Constitutional Law
Filipino in the present problem.
297. Legal Ethics
Persons and Family Relations  also provides for the weeding out of the unfit and the misfit in the legal
293. What are the elements of an obligation? profession for the protection of the public
 an active subject
Legal Ethics
 a passive subject
 the object or prestation 298. Citizen
 the efficient cause  is a person having the title of citizenship
  He is a member of a democratic community who enjoys full civil and
political rights, and is accorded protection inside and outside the territory of
the State.
 Along with other citizens, they compose the political community.
Constitutional Law
302. Citizenship, citizen VS nationality, nationals
 from the point of view of international law, the terms ‘citizenship’ and
‘citizen’ do not exactly mean the same as ‘nationality’ and ‘national’
Constitutional Law, International Law

299. In case of a violation of any of the rights and conditions of union membership, a
complaint may be filed by: 303. An airline company which issued a confirmed ticket to a passenger covering
 at least 30% of all members of a union successive trips on different airlines
 any union member specially concerned  can be held liable for damages occasioned by ‘bumping off’ by one of the
successive airlines
Labor Law

Lufthansa German Airlines vs CA

300. To be a Filipino citizen, a person must belong to any of the classes of citizens Transportation
enumerated in Section 1 of Article IV of the Philippine Constitution:
 Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of the adoption of this 304. Meaning of subject and alien
Constitution;  A citizen
 Those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of the Philippines;  is a member of a democratic community who enjoys full civil and
 Those born before January 17, 1973, of Filipino mothers, who elect political rights
Philippine citizenship upon reaching the age of majority; and  In a monarchical state, he is often called ‘subject’
 Those who are naturalized in accordance with law.
 An alien
Constitutional Law  is a citizen of a country who is residing in or passing through another
country
 He is popularly called ‘foreigner’
 He is not given the full rights to citizenship (such as the right to vote and
to hold public office) but is entitled to receive protection as to his person
and property
301. Judicial decisions applying and interpreting the law
Constitutional Law, International Law
 shall form part of the legal system of the Philippines
305. The use of pre-trial and the deposition-discovery measures
Article 8, Civil Code  are undeniably important and vital components of case management in trial
Civil Law, Constitutional Law, Statutory Construction
cases and decongest court dockets
 Trial Technique, Remedial Law  has been one of the subjects in Bar Examinations in the Philippines since
1918

306. Who are qualified to form or join a labor organization?
 rank-and-file employees
 supervisory employees
Labor Law
307. Suffrage may be exercised by all citizens of the Philippines not otherwise
disqualified by law, who are at least eighteen years of age, and who shall have
resided in the Philippines for at least one year, and in the place wherein they propose
to vote, for at least six months immediately preceding the election. No literacy,
property, or other substantive requirement shall be imposed on the exercise of
suffrage.
Article V, Section 1, 1987 Constitution
Constitutional Law
Legal Ethics
311. Take care of your health during the exam week. One’s fitness to take the exam is as
important as the review process itself. Remember, it would take you four consecutive
Sundays to complete the Bar exam.
Everything would be useless and all your efforts would be put to waste if you’d not
be able to continue taking the exam because you are sick during the exam day itself. I
realized this during the first Sunday of the exam. The night before the exam, I was
not able to sleep because I got very disturbed by the fact that I was not able to finish
reading everything I thought I had to read. On the day of the exam, as I was
answering question number 30 of the 100-item multiple choice exam in Political Law
under extreme time pressure (with only about a minute to analyse the situation given,
and choose the correct answer among the four choices given), I almost fainted. I felt
very cold. I felt I was about to vomit. My mind stopped working. I felt so weak and
tired. I was in extreme fatigue because I was not able to sleep the night before.

At that time I really felt I would not be able to continue taking the exam. I paused for
about 5 minutes and took deep breaths. Thankfully I recovered. During that brief
308. The concept of ‘property’ (bienes) period of time, I opted not to inform the proctor about how I felt. My objective was
 is intimately related with the concept of things (cosa) clear: to pass the Bar exam. During the fourth Sunday, I was having loose bowel
movement (LBM). That was really very challenging. But after so many months of
Property
preparation for the Bar exam, giving up was simply not an option.
309. Nature of suffrage
 It is a mere privilege. 312. What is meant by suffrage being a ‘mere privilege’?
 It is a political right.  Suffrage is not a natural right of the citizens but merely a privilege to be
given or withheld by the lawmaking power subject to constitutional
Constitutional Law limitations.
 Suffrage should be granted to individuals only upon the fulfillment of certain
310. Legal Ethics minimum conditions deemed essential for the welfare of society.
313. Powers of administrative bodies  when the law expressly provides for retroactivity
 quasi-legislative or rule-making power  when the law is curative or remedial
 quasi-judicial or adjudicatory power  when the law is procedural
 determinative power  when the law is penal in character and is favorable to the accused

Administrative Law Civil Law, Criminal Law, Constitutional Law

314. What is meant by social welfare or welfare of society?
 The well-being of the entire society. Social welfare is not the same as
standard of living but is more concerned with the quality of life that includes
factors such as the quality of the environment (air, soil, water), level of
crime, extent of drug abuse, availability of essential social services, as well
as religious and spiritual aspects of life.
318. One man, one vote
 is a slogan used by advocates of political equality through various electoral
reforms such as universal suffrage, proportional representation, or the
elimination of plural voting, malapportionment, or gerrymandering
Constitutional Law

Constitutional Law, Natural Law 319. Only personal property

 may be the object of the crimes of theft and robbery
315. Concealment
 whether intentional or unintentional Property, Criminal Law
320. To elevate the standards of the legal profession
 entitles the injured party to rescind a contract of insurance  is one of the objectives of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines

Legal Ethics
Section 27, Insurance Code
Insurance Law
321. Gerrymandering
316. What is meant by suffrage being ‘a political right’?  drawing political boundaries to give your party a numeric advantage over an
 In the sense of a right conferred by the Constitution, suffrage is classified as opposing party
Constitutional Law
a political right, enabling every citizen to participate in the process of
government to assure that it derives its powers from the consent of the
322. Thoughtless extravagance in expenses for pleasure or display during a period of acute
governed.
public want or emergency may be stopped by order of the courts at the instance of
 The principle is that of one man, one vote.
any government or private charitable institution.
Constitutional Law
Article 25, Civil Code
Persons and Family Relations

317. Instances when a law may be given a retroactive effect

323. Characteristic elements of partnership
  contracts of utmost good faith, which demands full disclosure of your
The contract of partnership is: health status
 consensual
 nominate Insurance Law

 bilateral 327. Plebiscite

 onerous  it is the name given to a vote of the people expressing their choice for or
 commutative against a proposed law or enactment submitted to them
 principal
Constitutional Law, Election Law
 preparatory

Partnership, Agency, & Trust

328. Administration
324. On the Bangsamoro Basic Law  is distinguished from government
 The parliamentary form of government provided in the BBL already requires
Administrative Law
an amendment of the Constitution. This is because what is currently provided
by our Charter is that “Congress shall enact an organic act for each
329. In the Philippines, the term ‘plebiscite’
autonomous region…. consisting of the executive and legislative assembly,
 is applied to an election at which any proposed amendment to, or revision of,
both of which shall be elective”. There is no Executive in a parliamentary
the Constitution is submitted to the people for ratification
form of government and its Chief Minister is not elected by the people but by
members of the parliament.
Article XVII, Section 2, 1987 Constitution
Constitutional Law, Election Law
Atty. Harry Roque
Constitutional Law
325. Election
 is a scope of suffrage
330. A lawyer does not automatically become a member of the IBP chapter where he
 strictly speaking, it is the means by which the people choose their officials
resides or works after becoming a full-fledged member of the Bar.
for definite and fixed periods and to whom they entrust, for the time being as
their representatives, the exercise of powers of government
He has the discretion to choose the IBP chapter he wants to join.
Constitutional Law, Election Law Garcia vs De Vera
Legal Ethics
326. Insurance policies
331. Plebiscite
 are traditionally contracts uberrimae fidei
  is likewise required by the Constitution to secure the approval of the people 336. In international law, it is the head of state (monarch, president) who ratifies a treaty
directly affected before certain proposed changes affecting local government (Salonga, International Law at 79 (1959); the lawmaking body (parliament, senate,
units may be implemented diet) merely concurs in the ratification.

Article X, Sections 10, 11, 18 of the 1987 Constitution Under our Constitution, the president as head of state ratifies the treaty; the Senate
Constitutional Law, Election Law only concurs in his ratification, (Sec.21, Art. VII and Sec.25, Art. XVIII, 1987
Constitution).
332. Section 28, Insurance Code Constitutional Law, International Law
 authorizes the validity of a policy notwithstanding non-payment of premiums

Insurance Law

333. On treaties
337.
 The President ratifies, the Senate concurs
338. Under contemporary international law, any international agreement between or
among states in written form, whatever its nomenclature (treaty, convention,
Constitutional Law
compact, agreement) is a “treaty” (1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties).
334. X and Y entered into a contract in Australia, whereby it was agreed that X would
The consent of a state to be bound by a treaty is invariably expressed by “signature,
build a commercial building for Y in the Philippines, and in payment for the
ratification, accession, acceptance or approval”.
construction, Y will transfer and convey his cattle ranch located in the United States
in favor of X.
Internationally then, any agreement concluded by the Philippines, having those
characteristics, is a “treaty.”
What law would govern the consideration of the contract? Constitutional Law, International Law
Suggested answer:
 The consideration will be governed by the law of the United States where the
ranch is located. 339. Just do your best. On the day of the exam, no one can assist you as you answer the
 Applicable laws: Arts 15,16 &17 of the NCC test questions. You can’t rely on anyone but yourself. So no matter how you feel
about how you prepared for the exam, and even if you feel you have not done enough
Civil Law
335. Reclusion perpetua to prepare for the exam, just do your best in answering those questions. Be the best
 only up to 40 years that you can be. As I was answering the Bar exams, I constantly remembered and
applied this quotation: “To be a winner, all that you need to give is all that you have.”
Criminal Law
340. Once a passenger in the course of travel is injured or does not reach his destination
safely
  the carrier and driver are presumed to be at fault
Transportation Law
341. However, not all international agreements are treaties.
In day-to-day diplomacy, many agreements are made without the concurrence of the
Senate. G.M. Hackworth alludes to various agreements “since the beginning of
Government” falling short of the formalities of treaties, but are nevertheless valid and
binding upon the nation (5 Hackworth at 397).
International agreements finalized without Senate concurrence are commonly known
as “executive agreements”. (Laviña, Executive Agreement, 44 PLJ, at 452 (1969).
Constitutional Law, International Law
342. After solemnizing a marriage
 it is highly irregular for a judge to collect fees for the ceremony
 it is reprehensible
 by such act, a judge cheapens his noble office as well as the entire judiciary
in the eyes of the public
Dysico vs Dacumos
Persons and Family Relations
343. The Supreme Court has spoken: The Philippines-US Enhanced Defense Cooperation
Agreement, now popularly or ignominiously known as EDCA, is valid.
Almost as soon as EDCA was finalized as an “executive agreement, ” petitions were
filed with the Supreme Court questioning its constitutionality. One main point of
contention was whether EDCA should have been formalized as a “treaty” requiring
Senate participation, or as a mere “executive agreement” requiring no such
intervention. Some petitioners seemed confused whether a treaty needed
“ratification” or mere “concurrence” by the Senate.
In our jurisdiction, “executive agreements” deal with details and arrangements more
or less temporary in nature (Commissioner of Customs vs. Eastern Trading, 3 SCRA
351), An agreement with major, political or financial implications, is executed as a
“treaty”. It is evident in this context in what form or category EDCA, which puts a
crippling burden, political and financial, on the nation, should have been put.
Constitutional Law, International Law
344. Juan is a Filipino citizen residing in Tokyo, Japan. What law(s) govern the extrinsic
validity of the last will and testament which Juan executed while sojourning in
Switzerland
Suggested answer:
 The extrinsic validity of Juan’s will is governed by (a) Swiss law, it being the
law where the will was made (Art. 17 1st par. Civil Code), or (b) Philippine
law, by implication from the provisions of Art. 816, Civil Code, which
allows even an alien who is abroad to make a will in conformity with our
Civil Code.
Persons and Family Relations
345. How is the nationality of a merchant vessel determined?
 it is determined by its place of registry
 i.e., the flag that it carries
Criminal Law, Transportation Law
346. To make the notion of “ratification” clearer, in our system of government, the
president issues full powers to the secretary of Foreign Affairs, an ambassador or any
other official to represent him in the negotiation of a treaty. Any one of them
becomes his alter ego or agent, whose acts are the acts of the president, unless
disowned or reproved by him, pursuant to the doctrine of Qualified Political Agency
(Villena vs. Secretary of Interior 67 Phil. 451).

The representative normally signs the document ad referendum, that is, subject to
confirmation or ratification. Logically, it is the president who will ratify the acts of
his agent. There is of course nothing in the Constitution which would warrant the
Senate, much less Congress to exercise the function of ratification.
The President signs the Instrument of Ratification incorporating the Senate
Resolution of Concurrence. Treaties and international agreements have to be
registered with the United Nations (Art.102, UN Charter).
Constitutional Law, International Law
347. A partnership
 is a joint undertaking to share in the profit and loss
Eastman vs Clark
Partnership, Agency, & Trust
348. Sec. 21, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution provides “No treaty or international
agreement shall be valid unless concurred in by two-thirds of all the members of the
Senate”.
Constitutional Law
349. Every person who through an act or performance by another, or any other means,
acquires or comes into possession of something at the expense of the latter without
just or legal ground, shall return the same to him.
Article 22, Civil Code
Persons and Family Relations
350. Prision correctional
 6 months and 1 day to 6 years
Criminal Law
351. On the BBL
 In any case, the fact that the BBL establishes a sub-state in breach of the
Constitution and of the decision of the Supreme Court, is apparent in its
provisions granting the entity its own maritime zones, its own bill of rights,
police force, Civil Service Commission, Commission on Audit, and
Commission of Human Rights. All these are clear indicia of a sovereign
state, which cannot exist in our current unitary form of government. In one
case, our Supreme Court said that in a unitary state, “local governments can
only be an intra sovereign subdivision of one sovereign nation, it cannot be
an imperium in imperio. Local government in such a system can only mean a
measure of decentralization of the function of government”.
 What is very clear is that the BBL will establish an independent state within
the Republic of the Philippines
Atty. Harry Roque
Constitutional Law
352. Sec.25, Article XVIII precisely bans foreign military “bases, troops, or facilities” in
our territory “after September 1991,” unless there is a treaty concurred in, again, by
the Senate.
Constitutional Law
353. Prescription
 can never lie against the government
Property
354. The practice in treaty-making and diplomacy, both of the United States and the
Philippines, of resorting to the less formal medium of executive agreements sans
Senate concurrence appears to have been overtaken by events. In the case of the
Philippines, the 1987 Constitution puts a stop to the practice by providing in no
uncertain terms that “No treaty or executive agreement shall be valid and effective,”
unless concurred in by the Senate. On the other hand, the US Supreme Court has
ruled, in Medellin vs. Texas, that any international agreement not approved by the
US Senate is generally unenforceable in US jurisdiction.
 Constitutional Law, International Law

360. 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
355. What is judgment? the people by the provision on initiative and referendum.
 is the adjudication by the court that the accused is guilty or not guilty of the
offense charged and the imposition on him of the proper penalty and civil Article VI, Section 1, 1987 Constitution
Constitutional Law
liability, if any

Rule 119, Rules of Court 361. Some contracts of sale are aleatory
Criminal Procedure  what one receives may in time be greater or smaller than what he has given
356. The Supreme Court of the Philippines in an earlier decision has ruled that a treaty or
Example: the sale of a genuine sweepstake ticket
an executive agreement is valid and binding upon the nation, unless “it conflicts with
the fundamental law” or “runs counter with an act of Congress.” Sales

Gonzales vs. Hechanova

Constitutional Law
362. It is the peculiar task of the legislature to prescribe general rules for the government
of society. This legislative function involves the determination of the legislative
357. No judge or court shall decline to render judgment by reason of the silence, obscurity
policy and its promulgation as a defined and binding rule of conduct through the
or insufficiency of the laws.
enactment of a law.
Constitutional Law
Article IX, Civil Code
Persons and Family Relations

358. What does Article VI of the 1987 Constitution contain?

363. Laws
 Legislative Department
Constitutional Law
 refer to statutes which are the written enactments of the legislature governing
the relations of the people among themselves or between them and the
government and its agencies

359. Meaning of guilt

 is an element of responsibility, for a man cannot be made to answer for the 364. Quasi-legislative power
consequences of a crime unless he is guilty  a power of administrative bodies
 or rule-making power
Criminal Law
 Administrative Law
365. Lawyer
 this is the general term for a person trained in the law and authorized to
advise or represent others in legal matters
Legal Ethics
366. Function of laws
 Through laws, the legislature defines the rights and duties of citizens,
imposes taxes, appropriates funds, defines crimes and provides for their
punishment, creates and abolishes government offices, determines their
jurisdiction and functions, and in general, regulates human conduct and the
use of property for the promotion of the common good.
 Such laws are valid or void, as tested by their conformity or non-conformity
to the Constitution.
Constitutional Law
367. Legislative power vested in Congress
 By granting the legislative power to the Congress of the Philippines which is
a double-chamber body consisting of the Senate and the House of
Representatives, a bicameral legislature has been created in place of the
unicameral set-up provided in the 1973 Constitution.
 The 1935 Charter also established a bicameral legislature.
Constitutional Law
368. Civil Code of the Philippines
 RA No. 386
 took effect on August 30, 1950
Civil Law
369. What are the advantages of bicameralism?
Among the arguments propounded in favor of bicameralism are:
 A second chamber (Senate) is necessary to serve as a check to hasty and ill-
considered legislation.
 It serves as a training ground for future leaders.
 It provides a representation for both regional and national interests.
 A bicameral legislature is less susceptible to bribery and control of big
interests.
 It is the traditional form of legislative body dating from ancient times; as
such, it has been tested and proven in the crucible of human experience.
Constitutional Law
370. Bank of deposit
 a bank that receives money for safekeeping
Banking Laws
371. Scope of legislative power of Congress
 plenary or general
 legislative powers not expressly delegated deemed granted
Constitutional Law
372. Carrier-passenger relationship
 continues until the passenger has been landed at the port of destination and
has left the vessel-owner’s premises
Transportation Law
373. What are the crimes against the law of nations?
 Inciting to war or giving motives for reprisals
 Violation of neutrality
Criminal Law
374. The salaries of Senators and Members of the House of Representatives shall be
determined by law. No increase in said compensation shall take effect until after the Constitutional Law

expiration of the full term of all the Members of the Senate and the House of
Representatives approving such increase. 379. Aberratio ictus
 mistake in the blow
Article VI, Section 10, 1987 Constitution  a kind of a mistake of identity
Constitutional Law
Criminal Law

380. Classification of land of the public domain (Article XII, Section 3, 1987
375. Administrative bodies or agencies
Constitution)
 organ of government, other than a court and other than a legislature, which
 agricultural lands
affects the rights of private parties either through adjudication or rule-making
 forest or timber
Administrative Law  mineral lands
 national parks
376. President, the Executive
Property, Constitutional Law
 Following the 1935 Charter, Section 1 of Article VII vests the executive
power in one person alone – the President of the Republic of the Philippines.
381. Kinds of obligation
 It is, therefore, accurate to refer to him as the Executive, not merely Chief
 from the affirmativeness and negativeness of the obligation
Executive.
 The President in a presidential system of government is, however, referred to
 positive or affirmative obligation
also as the Chief Executive.
 negative obligation
377. What is Republic Act (RA) 93344? Oblicon
 Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006
Human Rights Law, Special Laws 382. What are the crimes involving destruction of life?
 parricide
 murder
378. Executive power  homicide
 has been defined as the power to administer the laws, which means carrying  infanticide
them into practical operation and enforcing their due observance  abortion
 the ‘laws’ include the Constitution, statutes enacted by Congress, decrees  duel
(issued under the 1973 Constitution), and executive orders of the President
Criminal Law
and decision of courts
 Labor Law

383. No person may be elected President unless he is a natural-born citizen of the

Philippines, a registered voter, able to read and write, at least forty years of age on
the day of the election, and a resident of the Philippines for at least ten years
immediately preceding such election. 387. The Vice President
 must have the same qualifications as the President
Article VII, Section 2, 1987 Constitution
Constitutional Law Article VII, Section 3, 1987 Constitution
Constitutional Law

384. Although title in short, means right of possession 388. A contract of sale of property, without consideration, and executed by a person who
 it does not mean possession itself is of low intelligence, illiterate, and who could not sign his name or affix his
thumbmark, is void.
Land Titles and Deeds
Aguinaldo vs Esteban
385. Qualifications of the President and the Vice President Sales

Section 2 of Article VII provides for the basic or minimum qualifications of the 389. The Constitution does not prescribe any educational, academic, or literacy
President: qualification except only the ability to read and write (not necessarily in English), in
 He is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines. line with the egalitarian objectives of our democratic society.
 He is a registered voter.
 He is able to read and write. Egalitarian
 He is at least 40 years old on the day of the election (not proclamation or  relating to or believing in the principle that all people are equal and deserve
assumption of office) for President equal rights and opportunities
 He is a resident of the Philippines for at least 10 years immediately preceding
such election. Constitutional Law
Constitutional Law
390. The Revised Penal Code
 Act No. 3815, as amended
386. The Labor Code  An Act Revising the Penal Code And Other Penal Laws
 is the principal repository of our labor laws
Criminal Law
 it was promulgated on May 1, 1974 and took effect on November 1, 1974,
which is 6 months after its promulgation
391. The judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower courts as
may be established by law.
 Judicial power includes the duty of the courts of justice to settle actual controversies Constitutional Law

involving rights which are legally demandable and enforceable, and to determine
whether or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess 396. Legal Ethics
of jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the Government.  provides the needed moral foundation in the study of law intended to guide
the student throughout his life
Article VIII, Section 1, 1987 Constitution
Constitutional Law Legal Ethics

397. What is the penalty for parricide?

392. What does PDIC mean?
 reclusion perpetua to death
 Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation
Criminal Law
Banking Laws

398. What is meant by the adjudicatory power of the Judiciary?

393. What is judicial power?
 judicial power includes the duty of courts of justice:
 is the power and duty of courts of justice to apply the laws to contests or
disputes concerning legally recognized rights or duties between the State and
 to settle actual controversies involving rights which are legally
private persons or individuals, or between private persons or individual
demandable and enforceable
litigants, in cases properly brought before the judicial tribunals
 to determine whether there has been a grave abuse of discretion
Constitutional Law
amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch or
instrumentality of the government
Constitutional Law
394. Classification of prescription

….as to the object or subject matter

 prescription of property
 prescription of rights

Oblicon

399. The Constitutional Commissions, which shall be independent, are the Civil Service
395. Scope of judicial power Commission, the Commission on Elections, and the Commission on Audit.
 adjudicatory power
 power of judicial review Article IX, Section, 1987 Constitution
 incidental powers Constitutional Law
 404. Intervention
 RA 9344, The Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006
 a series of activities designed to address issues that caused the child to
400. What are the different stages in the execution of a felony or crime? commit an offense
 mental stage
 external stage Human Rights Law, Special Laws

 acts of execution
405. What does Article X of the 1987 Constitution contain?
Criminal Law  Local Government

401. What are the three independent Constitutional bodies created by the 1987 Constitutional Law

Constitution?
 Civil Service Commission 406. Goods are perishable
 Commission on Elections  if they deteriorate rapidly
 Commission on Audit
Sales

Constitutional Law
402. What is consignation? 407. The territorial and political subdivisions of the Republic of the Philippines are the
 the act of depositing the thing due with the court or judicial authorities provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays. There shall be autonomous regions
whenever the creditor cannot accept or refuses to accept payment in Muslim Mindanao and the Cordilleras as hereinafter provided.
 it generally requires a prior tender of payment
Article X, Section 1, 1987 Constitution
Constitutional Law
Limkako vs Teodoro
Oblicon
408. What are the elements of parricide?
 a person is killed
 the deceased is killed by the accused
 the deceased is the father, mother, or child, whether legitimate or illegitimate,
or a legitimate other ascendant or other descendant, or the legitimate spouse,
403. What is a crime? of the accused
 is an act committed or omitted in violation of a public law forbidding or
Criminal Law
commanding it
409. The term local government
 refers to a political subdivision of a nation or state which is constituted by
I Bouvier’s Law Dictionary
Criminal Law
law and has substantial control of local affairs, with officials elected or
otherwise locally selected
  this disputable presumption may only be overcome by:
Constitutional Law

 evidence that the carrier had observed extraordinary diligence

410. The same can be said of the different parts of the living human body. While these  or that the death or injury of the passenger was due to a fortuitous event
parts remain attached to the person, they are not considered as property because they
are integral parts of the person and the latter is not, in law, considered a thing. Transportation Law, Oblicon

However, when a part of the human body, such as hair and teeth, is separated from 415. The Constitution directs the creation of autonomous regions for Muslim Mindanao
the person, it may now be considered as property for it now has an autonomous and and for the Cordilleras by an organic act to be enacted by Congress for each
independent existence. autonomous region subject to a plebiscite as provided in Section 18 of Article X,
1987 Constitution.
Property
Constitutional Law
416. Parricide is a crime of relationship
 this is a crime committed between people who are related by blood
411. In the Philippines, local government refers to:
 however, between spouses even if they are not related by blood, the crime is
 provinces
also Parricide
 cities
 municipalities Criminal Law
 barangays
417. Recurso de Amparo
Constitutional Law
 is a remedy against acts that violate any of the individual guarantees
recognized in the Mexican constitution.
 it is available in most legal controversies and may be invoked in criminal,
412.
civil, and administrative trials
413. Congress may, by law, create special metropolitan political subdivisions subject to a
plebiscite as set forth in Section 10 of Article X, 1987 Constitution. Constitutional Law, Human Rights Law, Remedial Law

Constitutional Law

418. Importance of local governments

 A separate article on local governments in the Constitution is a recognition of
414. In culpa contractual the value of local governments as viable organs for the performance of local
 once a passenger dies or is injured, the carrier is presumed to have been at functions.
fault or to have acted negligently
  As local affairs can best be regulated by the people in the locality rather than
by the central authority, the grant of local autonomy to local units is
423. What does Article XII of the 1987 Constitution contain?
considered extremely necessary for a more efficient local government
 National economy and patrimony
system.
Constitutional Law
Constitutional Law

424. Lex rei sitae

419. What does Article XI of the 1987 Constitution contain?
 Taxes may be imposed on dividends from shares in a gas corporation situated
 Accountability of public officers
in the Philippines even if the stockholders do not reside here.
Constitutional Law
Manila Gas Corp vs Col.
Persons and Family Relations

425. The goals of the national economy are a more equitable distribution of opportunities,
420. Public office is a public trust. Public officers and employees must, at all times, be income, and wealth; a sustained increase in the amount of goods and services
accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, produced by the nation for the benefit of the people; and an expanding productivity
and efficiency; act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives. as the key to raising the quality of life for all, especially the underprivileged.

Article XI, Section 1, 1987 Constitution The State shall promote industrialization and full employment based on sound
Constitutional Law
agricultural development and agrarian reform, through industries that make full and
efficient use of human and natural resources, and which are competitive in both
domestic and foreign markets. However, the State shall protect Filipino enterprises
421. Paraphernal property against unfair foreign competition and trade practices.
 exclusive property of the wife
In the pursuit of these goals, all sectors of the economy and all regions of the country
Persons and Family Relations
shall be given optimum opportunity to develop. Private enterprises, including
corporations, cooperatives, and similar collective organizations, shall be encouraged
to broaden the base of their ownership.
422. All things which are or may be the object of appropriation are considered either:
Article XII, Section 1 of the 1987 Constitution
 immovable property or real property Constitutional Law
 movable property or personal property

Article 414, Civil Code 426. What does Article XIII of the 1987 Constitution contain?
Property
  Social justice and human rights Gerald if the United States does not provide the same immunity to members
of the official retinue of the Philippine Ambassador to the United States. The
Constitutional Law grant of immunity is reciprocal.

427. Unearned increment Criminal Law

 such as increase in the value of the paraphernal property

 belongs to the spouse concerned 431. What does Article XIV of the 1987 Constitution contain?
 Education, Science and Technology, Arts, Culture, and Sports
Persons and Family Relations
Constitutional Law
428. The Congress shall give highest priority to the enactment of measures that protect
and enhance the right of all the people to human dignity, reduce social, economic, 432. Preliminary investigation
and political inequalities, and remove cultural inequities by equitably diffusing  is an inquiry or proceeding to determine whether there is sufficient ground to
wealth and political power for the common good. engender a well-founded belief that a crime has been committed and the
respondent is probably guilty thereof, and should be held for trial
To this end, the State shall regulate the acquisition, ownership, use, and disposition of
property and its increments. Criminal Procedure
433. The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all
Article XIII, Section 1, 1987 Constitution levels, and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all.
Constitutional Law
Article XIV, Section 1, 1987 Constitution
429. Employer Constitutional Law

 has no duty to bargain with individual employees

Labor Law
434. What does Article XIV of the 1987 Constitution contain?
430. Gerald, the driver of the US Ambassador to the Philippines, drove and operated the  The Family
embassy issued car in a reckless and imprudent manner. As a consequence, he hit and
bumped a young boy peddling in the street resulting to his death. Can Gerald be Persons and Family Relations
charged and prosecuted before the Philippine courts?
435. The State recognizes the Filipino family as the foundation of the nation. Accordingly,
 No, Gerald cannot be charged and prosecuted before the Philippine courts. it shall strengthen its solidarity and actively promote its total development.
Under RA 75, members of the official retinue of the US Ambassador to the
Philippines are entitled to the immunity enjoyed by the US Ambassador. This Article XIV, Section 1, 1987 Constitution
Constitutional Law
immunity from our criminal jurisdiction, however, cannot be accorded to
 Insurance Law

 Existence of an insurable interest

 In general (except in life insurance policies), a person is deemed to have an insurable
 is an element of an insurance contract
interest in the subject matter insured where he has a relation or connection with or
concern in it that he will derive pecuniary benefit or advantage from its preservation Insurance Law
and will suffer pecuniary loss from its destruction or injury by the happening of the
event insured against.

Insurance Law
 From the viewpoint of the Code, therefore, the terms “property” and “things” are
 The insured possesses an interest of some kind susceptible of pecuniary estimation, identical to each other and may be used interchangeably.
known as “insurable interest.”

Insurance Law Property

 The insured possesses an interest of some kind susceptible of pecuniary estimation,

known as “insurable interest.” In general (except in life insurance policies), a person  This is clear from the provisions of Article 414 which classifies as property “all
is deemed to have an insurable interest in the subject matter insured where he has a things which are or may be the object of appropriation.”
relation or connection with or concern in it that he will derive pecuniary benefit or
advantage from its preservation and will suffer pecuniary loss from its destruction or Property
injury by the happening of the event insured against.
 However, in our Civil Code, the concept of property is not confined to things which
Insurance Law are already appropriated or possessed by man but also extends to those susceptible of
such appropriation, although not yet appropriated.
 Existence of an insurable interest
Property
 the insured possesses an interest of some kind susceptible of pecuniary
estimation, known as “insurable interest.” In general (except in life insurance  The traditional notion is that property are those things which are already possessed
policies), a person is deemed to have an insurable interest in the subject and found in the possession of man.
matter insured where he has a relation or connection with or concern in it that
Property
he will derive pecuniary benefit or advantage from its preservation and will
suffer pecuniary loss from its destruction or injury by the happening of the
event insured against.
 The traditional notion is that property are those things which are already possessed
and found in the possession of man. However, in our Civil Code, the concept of
property is not confined to things which are already appropriated or possessed by
man but also extends to those susceptible of such appropriation, although not yet
appropriated.
Property
 Concept of “Property” under the Civil Code
 The traditional notion is that property are those things which are already
possessed and found in the possession of man.
 However, in our Civil Code, the concept of property is not confined to things
which are already appropriated or possessed by man but also extends to those
susceptible of such appropriation, although not yet appropriated.
 This is clear from the provisions of Article 414 which classifies as property
“all things which are or may be the object of appropriation.”
 From the viewpoint of the Code, therefore, the terms “property” and “things”
are identical to each other and may be used interchangeably.
Property
 It did not take long, when the Code of Judicial Conduct was promulgated by the
Supreme Court as a norm of conduct for judges on October 20, 1989.
Legal Ethics
 On June 1, 1988, the newly promulgated Rule 139-B (Disbarment And Disciple of
Attorneys), an amendment to Rule 139, by Resolution of the Supreme Court became
effective. This rule gave the IBP the power to investigate and hear disbarment cases
against all lawyers, which power formerly pertained to the Office of the Solicitor
General.
Legal Ethics
 A law which makes criminal an act done before the passage of the law and which
was innocent when done, and punishes such an act
 is an ex post facto law
Criminal Law
 An ex post facto law is one which:
 makes criminal an act done before the passage of the law and which was
innocent when done, and punishes such an act
 aggravates a crime, or makes it greater than it was, when committed
 changes the punishment and inflicts a greater punishment than the law
annexed to the crime when committed
 alters the legal rules of evidence, and authorizes conviction upon less or
different testimony than the law required at the time of the commission of the
offense
 assumes to regulate civil rights and remedies only, in effect imposes penalty
or deprivation of a right for something which when done was lawful
 deprives a person accused of a crime some lawful protection to which he has
become entitled, such as the protection of a former conviction or acquittal, or
a proclamation of amnesty (In re: Kay Villegas Kami, Inc.)
Criminal Law
 Right to form associations
 The right of the people, including those employed in the public and private
sectors, to form unions, associations, or societies for purposes not contrary to
law shall not be abridged. (Article III, Section 8, 1987 Constitution)
Labor Law, Constitutional Law
 A law impairs an obligation when it takes from a party a right to which he is entitled  The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1998
or deprives him of the means of enforcing such a right.  An act instituting a comprehensive agrarian reform program to promote
social justice and industrialization, providing the mechanism for its
Constitutional Law, Oblicon implementation, and for other purposes

Agrarian Law
 Non-impairment of contracts
 In the present law curriculum prescribed by the Supreme Court, Political Law
 No law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be passed. (Article III, embraces:
Section 10, 1987 Constitution)
 Constitutional Law I
This is a Constitutional provision on labor.  Constitutional Law II
 Administrative Law
A law impairs an obligation when it takes from a party a right to which he is  The Law of Public Officers
entitled or deprives him of the means of enforcing such a right.  Election Law
 The Law on Municipal Corporations
Labor Law
Political Law

 During the Spanish era, the relationship between landowners and tenants was  Political Law
governed by the Civil Code, particularly by the Special Provisions for Rural Leases.
 is that branch of public law which deals with the organization and operations
Agrarian Law of the governmental organs of the State and defines the relations of the State
with the inhabitants of its territory
 Agrarian law
Political Law
 embraces all laws that govern and regulate the rights and relationships over
agricultural lands between landowners, tenants, lessees, or agricultural  One of President Corazon Aquino’s first official acts was the proclamation of a
workers Freedom Constitution to become operative until the adoption of a new Constitution.
Toward this end, she created a Constitutional Commission which undertook the
Agrarian Law framing of a new charter ‘truly reflective of the ideals and aspirations of the Filipino
people.’ The draft charter, hammered out for more than four months, was submitted
 Republic Act No. 6657 to the electorate in a plebiscite held on February 2, 1987, and was ratified with a
 comfortable margin, due largely to a desire for stability and normal government
rather than to the intrinsic merits of the document.
Constitutional Law
 The 1948 Declaration on Human Rights
 was promulgated to serve as a common standard of achievement for all
nations. Since that time, public consciousness has been raised so rapidly that
today, human rights law covers almost all aspects of human activity.
Human Rights Law, Constitutional Law
 Following the United Nations Charter, the 1948 Declaration on Human Rights was
promulgated to serve as a common standard of achievement for all nations. Since that
time, public consciousness has been raised so rapidly that today, human rights law
covers almost all aspects of human activity.
Human Rights Law, Constitutional Law
 International human rights law
 emerged as a response to the felt need to curb human rights abuses
committed in the Second World War
Human Rights Law, Constitutional Law
 International human rights law is the youngest field of study in modern international
law.
Human Rights Law, Constitutional Law
 International human rights law is the youngest field of study in modern international
law. It emerged as a response to the felt need to curb human rights abuses committed
in the Second World War. Thus, following the United Nations Charter, the 1948
Declaration on Human Rights was promulgated to serve as a common standard of
achievement for all nations. Since that time, public consciousness has been raised so
rapidly that today, human rights law covers almost all aspects of human activity.
Human Rights Law, Constitutional Law
 Luckily, the Supreme Court under the leadership of Chief Justice Reynato Puno
adopted the Writ of Amparo on October 24, 2007. Under this rule, any party can
initiate a petition in court for the protection of victims of human rights violations
such as involuntary disappearances, illegal detention, and other related abuses.
Human Rights Law, Constitutional Law
 The Commission on Human Rights is only a watchdog barking but it cannot bite.
Human Rights Law, Constitutional Law
 Justice Padilla in his concurring opinion in one case said that the Commission on
Human Rights is a ‘toothless tiger.’
Human Rights Law, Constitutional Law
 Justice Padilla in his concurring opinion in one case said that the Commission on
Human Rights is a ‘toothless tiger.’ The Commission on Human Rights is only a
watchdog barking but it cannot bite. Luckily, the Supreme Court under the leadership
of Chief Justice Reynato Puno adopted the Writ of Amparo on October 24, 2007.
Under this rule, any party can initiate a petition in court for the protection of victims
of human rights violations such as involuntary disappearances, illegal detention, and
other related abuses.
 Human Rights Law, Constitutional Law  it is an introduction to the main subject

 The workers Constitutional Law

 workers shall be entitled to security of tenure, humane conditions of work,

and a living wage. They shall also participate in policy and decision-making  Preamble
processes affecting their rights and benefits as may be provided by law.
 is derived from the Latin ‘preambulare’ which means ‘to walk before’
Labor Law
Constitutional Law
 The State
 Preamble
 shall guarantee the rights of all workers to self-organization, collective
bargaining and negotiations, and peaceful concerted activities, including the  is derived from the Latin ‘preambulare’ which means ‘to walk before’
right to strike in accordance with law  it is an introduction to the main subject
 it is the prologue of the Constitution
Labor Law
Constitutional Law
 The State shall guarantee the rights of all workers to self-organization, collective
bargaining and negotiations, and peaceful concerted activities, including the right to  The word ‘state’ should not be confused with the states such as those which comprise
strike in accordance with law. The workers shall be entitled to security of tenure, the United States. The term is equivalent to ‘nation’ or ‘country’, for example the
humane conditions of work, and a living wage. They shall also participate in policy United States, Great Britain, Philippines, Japan, etc. which are states in the political
and decision-making processes affecting their rights and benefits as may be provided scientists’ sense.
by law.
Constitutional Law, Politics and Governance
Labor Law
 Remedial law
 Preamble
 prescribes the methods of enforcing those rights and obligations created by
 it is the prologue of the Constitution substantive law (Bustos v. Lucero) by providing a procedural system for
obtaining redress for the invasion of rights and violations of duties and by
Constitutional Law laying out rules as to how suits are filed, tried and decided upon by the
courts.
 Preamble
 Civil Procedure  It is now admitted that there are other entities besides states that are also governed in
varying degree by the law of nations.
 Substantive law
International Law
 creates, defines, and regulates rights and duties concerning life, liberty or
property (Primicias v. Ocampo) the violation of which gives rise to a cause of  How did Schwarzenberge define international law?
action (Bustos v. Lucero).
 International law is the body of legal rules which apply between sovereign
Civil Procedure states and such other entities as have been granted international personality.

 Substantive law distinguished from remedial law (Bar 2006) International Law

 The individual self

 Substantive law creates, defines, and regulates rights and duties concerning
life, liberty or property (Primicias v. Ocampo) the violation of which gives rise to
 has even been suggested as the real and only subject of international law, on
a cause of action (Bustos v. Lucero).
the ground that ‘all law is a regulation of human conduct’
 Remedial law prescribes the methods of enforcing those rights and
obligations created by substantive law (Bustos v. Lucero) by providing a International Law
procedural system for obtaining redress for the invasion of rights and
violations of duties and by laying out rules as to how suits are filed, tried and  It is now admitted that there are other entities besides states that are also governed in
decided upon by the courts. varying degree by the law of nations.

Civil Procedure
 A notable example is the United Nations.
 The procedural rules under the Rules of Court
 Another is the individual self.
 are not laws International Law

Civil Procedure
 The Rules of Court as a whole

 has reference to the body of rules governing pleading, practice and procedure
promulgated by the Supreme Court pursuant to its rule-making powers under
the constitution

Civil Procedure