1) A police officer saw Dominic urinating in public.

A local ordinance imposes a

Php1,000.00 fine for urinating in public. The police officer shouted at Dominic:
“That is against the law!” Dominic sarcastically answered: “No, this is against
the wall!” Then and there, the police officer arrested him and brought him to
the police station. At the police station, Dominic was frisked and was found in
possession of an unlicensed 0.22 caliber pistol loaded with two live
ammunitions. He was subsequently charged with Qualified Illegal Possession of
Firearms. When the prosecution offered in evidence the unlicensed firearm and
ammunition, the defense objected on the ground that the pieces of evidence
are products of an illegal search and seizure. The prosecution contended that
the pieces of evidence were lawfully seized after a valid warrantless search
incidental to a lawful arrest.

Was the search and seizure valid? Explain briefly.

2) Paco was the accused in a rape case. During the trial, the private
complainant testified that on the night of the incident, she was walking home
when Paco, who was her neighbor, suddenly grabbed her and brought her to his
house. There, Paco forcibly had carnal knowledge of her. After the prosecution
rested its case, Paco testified that the sexual intercourse between him and the
private complainant was consensual. Eventually, the trial court acquitted Paco
on reasonable doubt and found that the element of force was not established.

The People filed a Rule 65 petition for certiorari with the Court of Appeals (CA)
alleging that the trial court’s decision was rendered with grave abuse of
discretion because the private complainant’s testimony clearly established that
Paco had carnal knowledge of her through force and without her consent. In his
comment, Paco sought to dismiss the petition on the ground of violation of his
right against double jeopardy.

As the CA, how would you rule on the petition. Explain.

3) After Martial Law was declared over Mindanao, two police officers arrested
Ivana without any warrant while shopping for clothes at a department store in
Mindanao. Ivana questioned the validity of the arrest as he had no pending case
and was not committing any crime at the time of her arrest. The police officers
countered that the declaration of Martial Law suspended the privilege of the
writ of habeas corpus, and as a result, they could effect warrantless arrests.

Is the contention of the police officers correct? Explain.

4) The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) directed higher education

institutions to remove materials “that contain pervasive ideologies of
Communist-Terrorist Groups” from their libraries. According to the CHED, the
materials need to be removed because these would radicalize students against
the government.

Is the CHED directive a violation of the institutions’ academic freedom? Explain.

5) Congress passed a law prohibiting the sale and distribution of alcoholic drinks
within 100 meters from religious and educational institutions. A city enacted an
ordinance increasing the coverage of the prohibition to 150 meters from any
religious and educational institutions.

Is the city ordinance valid? Explain.

6) Barbara was born in 1988 to a Filipino mother and an American father, as

shown in her birth certificate. Her parents, however, were not married to each
other. Subsequently, her father petitioner for her, as a result of which Barbara
received a certificate of American citizenship and an American passport. In
2022, Barbara filed a certificate to run as Representative of the lone district of
Batanes. Sabrina, a Filipino citizen and resident of Batanes, filed a petition for
disqualification with the Commission on Elections alleging that Barbara is
ineligible to run for public office in the Philippines as Barbara is an American
citizen.

Is Sabrina correct? Explain.

7) A foreign commercial ship was spotted by the Philippine Coast Guard

dumping garbage and toxic waste 20 nautical miles from Nasugbu, Batangas,
the nearest coastline of the Philippines. The officers of the ship were arrested
and charged in the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Batangas for violation of
environmental laws of the Philippines. The officers of the ship filed a motion to
dismiss the case on the ground that Philippine courts do not have territorial
jurisdiction over the case since the vessel was sailing outside the territorial sea
of the Philippines when the arrest was made.

Is the ground to dismiss correct? Explai

8) Ryan, while serving imprisonment for estafa upon recommendation of the

Board of Pardons and Parole, was granted pardon by the President subject to
the condition that he should not again violate any penal law of the land. Later,
the Board of Pardons and Parole recommended to the President the cancellation
of the pardon granted him because Ryan had been charged with estafa on 30
counts and was convicted of the offense charged although he took an appeal
therefrom which was still pending. As recommended, the President cancelled
the pardon he had granted to Ryan. Ryan was thus arrested and imprisoned to
serve the balance of his sentence in the first case. Ryan claimed in his petition
for habeas corpus filed in court that his detention was illegal because he had
not yet been convicted by final judgment and was not given a chance to be
heard before he was recommitted to prison.

Is Ryan’s argument valid?

9) Can Sandro, a charismatic and effective 30-year-old former mayor of a

chartered city in Metro Manila, legally run for President of the Republic of the
Philippines in the 2023 elections? Explain briefly.

10) Sheena was a career Ambassador when she accepted an ad interim

appointment as Cabinet Member. The Commission on Appointment bypassed
his ad interim appointment; however, he was not re-appointed. Can he re-
assume his position as career Ambassador?

11) In an election protest involving the position of Governor of the Province of

Laguna between Namjoon, the protestee, and Jin, the protestant, the First
Division of the Commission on Elections rendered a decision upholding Jin’s
protest.

Can Namjoon file a petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court under Rule 65
of the Rules of Court, from the decision of the COMELEC First Division? If yes,
why? If not, what procedural step must he undertake first?

12) Bagong Pag-Asa, a multi-sectoral party-list organization duly registered as

such with the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), was proclaimed as one of
the winning party-list groups in the last national elections. Its first nominee,
Montaner, assumed office as the party-list representative.
About one year after Montaner assumed office, the Interim Central Committee
of Bagong Pag-Asa expelled Montaner from the party for disloyalty and replaced
him with Buwi, its second nominee. Montaner questioned before the COMELEC
his expulsion and replacement by Buwi.

The COMELEC considered Montaner’s petition as intra-party dispute which it

could resolve as an incident of its power to register political parties; it
proceeded to uphold the expulsion.

Is the COMELEC’s ruling correct?

13) In a criminal prosecution for murder, the prosecution presented, as witness,

an employee of the Manila Hotel who produced in court a videotape recording
showing the heated exchange between the accused and the victim that took
place at the lobby of the hotel barely 30 minutes before the killing. The accused
objects to the admission of the videotape recording on the ground that it was
taken without his knowledge or consent, in violation of this right to privacy and
the Anti-Wire Tapping law.

Resolve the objection with reasons.

14) The military commander-in-charge of the operation against rebel groups

directed the inhabitants of the island which would be the target of attack by
government forces to evacuate the area and offered the residents temporary
military hamlet.

Can the military commander force the resident to transfer their places of abode
without a court order? Explain.

15) In contravention of RA No. 9275 (Clean Water Act), a Notice of Violation

(NOV) was issued against Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System
(MWSS) for failing to provide, install, operate, and maintain adequate
Wastewater Treatment Facilities (WWTFs) for sewerage system resulting in the
degraded quality and beneficial use of the receiving bodies of water leading to
Manila Bay. On the other hand, MWSS defended that it did not violate the law. It
argued that its obligation under Section 8 of the Clean Water Act has yet to
accrue given the lack of required coordination and cooperation by the lead and
implementing agencies under Section 7 of the law and non-compliance by the
DPWH, DENR and LGUs with Sections 7 of the Clean Water Act, specifically the
preparation and establishment of a national program on sewerage and septage
management.

Can the courts hold MWSS liable for violating the Clean Water Act? Explain
briefly.

16) TRUE or FALSE. Dual citizenship is not the same as dual allegiance.

17) The Anneonghaseyo vessel of Korean registry, while moored at the South
Harbor, was found to have contraband goods on board. The Customs Team
found out that the vessel did not have the required ship’s permit and shipping
documents. In view thereof, the vessel and its cargo were held and a warrant of
Seizure and Detention was issued after due investigation. In the course of the
forfeiture proceedings, the ship captain and the ship’s resident agent executed
sworn statements before the Custom legal officer admitting that contraband
cargo were found aboard the vessel. The shipping lines objected to the
admission of the statements as evidence contending that during their
execution, the captain and the shipping agent were not assisted by counsel, in
violation of due process. Decide.

18) The Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources

(DENR) issued Memorandum Circular No. 123-15 prescribing the administrative
requirements for the conversion of a timber license agreement (TLA) into an
Integrated Forestry Management Agreement (IFMA). ABC Corporation, a holder
of a TLA which is about to expire, claims that the conditions for conversion
imposed by the said circular are unreasonable and arbitrary and a patent nullity
because it violates the non-impairment clause under Bill of Rights of the 1987
Constitution. ABC Corporation goes to court seeking the nullification of the
subject circular. The DENR moves to dismiss the case on the ground that ABC
Corporation has failed to exhaust administrative remedies which is fatal to its
cause of action.

If you were the judge, will you grant the motion? Explain.
19) Congress passed Republic Act No. 7711 to comply with the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea. In a petition filed with the Supreme Court,
Anak ng Muntinlupa, an association of professionals from Muntinlupa, argued
that Republic Act No. 7711 discarded the definition of the Philippine territory
under the Treaty of Paris and in related treaties; excluded the Kalayaan Islands
and the Scarborough Shoals from the Philippine Archipelagic baselines; and
converted internal waters into archipelagic waters.

Is the petition meritorious?

20) Dr. John Wick, an official of the World Health Organization (WHO) assigned
in the Philippines arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport with his
personal effects contained in twelve crates as unaccompanied baggage. As
such, his personal effects were allowed free entry from duties and taxes, and
were directly stored at Matrix Corporation’s warehouse at Mandaluyong,
pending Dr. John Wick’s relocation to his permanent quarters.

At the instance of police authorities, the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of

Mandaluyong issued a warrant for the search and seizure of Dr. John Wick’s
personal effects in view of an alleged violation of the Tariff and Custom’s Code.
According to the police, the crates contained contraband items. Upon protest of
WHO officials, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs formally advised the RTC as to Dr.
John Wick’s immunity. The Solicitor General likewise joined Dr. John Wick’s plea
of immunity and motion to quash the search warrant. The RTC denied the
motion.

Is the denial of the motion to quash proper?