Republic of the Philippines

Supreme Court
Manila

2025 BAR EXAMINATIONS

CIVIL LAW

September 10, 2025

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 1.
A leased out his penthouse condominium unit to B. Unfortunately, A figured in an
accident and perished, leaving his son, C, as his sole heir. Subsequently, C demanded
that B vacate the premises by noon of the following day. B refused, showing C the
duly executed lease agreement between her and A. B claimed that she has a right to
remain in the unit since the term of the lease was yet to expire. C countered that he
had nothing to do with the lease contract as it was executed between his father
and B and therefore does not bind him. Is C correct? Reason(s).

2.
In a desperate attempt to dispose of her assets, X, a fugitive from justice, called her
friend, Y, instructing him to sell her house and lot located at Forbes Park to the first
interested buyer for not less than PHP 250 million. Y offered the property for sale to
his boss, Z. Enticed by the offer, Z asked Y for a copy of the title and proof of Y’s
authority to sell the property. Y presented the title of the property, claiming that his
possession of the title was sufficient proof of his authority to sell the property.
Relying on the representation of Y, Z bought the property from Y, the agent of X. Is
the sale valid? Reason(s).

3.
The government owned a 12-hectare land in Cavite classified as forest land. Informal
settlers built shanty houses on the land since it was flat and there were no trees
planted thereon. In 2023, the government decided to plant Narra trees on the land
and demanded that the informal settlers vacate the same. A, owner of one of the
shanty houses, refused, claiming that he already owned the portion of the property
he was occupying by virtue of acquisitive prescription. Is the claim of A
meritorious? Decide with reason(s).

4.
A, a member of a popular boy band in the Philippines, got his girlfriend, B, pregnant.
A and B got married in Hong Kong where the legal age to get married was at least
15 years old. At the time of their marriage, A and B were 17 and 16 years old,
respectively, and were both Filipino citizens. Subsequently, A continued with his
career while B hid her pregnancy in the United States of America. She only returned
to the Philippines after she gave birth to their son. By then though, B was already
tired of being A’s deep dark secret. She thus filed a petition for declaration of nullity
of marriage on the ground that her marriage with A is void. Will the petition
prosper? Reason(s).

5.
A, B, and C are co-owners of a three-hectare agricultural land with a fair market
value of PHP 9 million or PHP 3 million per hectare. A offered to sell his share to B
and C for a total amount of PHP 10 million. B and C declined the offer and asked A
to reduce the purchase price to PHP 3 million, the prevailing fair market value of the
land per hectare. A refused and instead sold his one-hectare share to X for PHP 10
million. May B and C go to court for the reduction of the purchase price so they
can exercise their right of legal redemption? Reason(s).

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 6.
A borrowed money from B in the amount of PHP 100,000.00. C, a good friend of
A, issued a promissory note in favor of B, binding herself to pay the loan of A on its
due date. Was there a novation of the loan agreement between A and B?
Reason(s).

7.
A, upon request, lent his white van to his friend, B, to drive his wife C from Tarlac
to XYZ Medical Center in BGC for treatment. On his way back to Tarlac and after
leaving C at the hospital, people flagged the white van, thinking it was a UV Express
for hire. B stopped and allowed the people to board and collected payment from
them as if the van was a UV Express plying its route. As B was driving along the
provincial road, a flash flood wrecked the white van. Is B liable to A for the loss of
the white van? Reason(s).

8.
A and B were husband and wife. A was pregnant at the time of their wedding but
contrary to what she made B believe, he was not the father of her baby. C, A’s ex-
fiancé, was the father. Shortly after the wedding, A gave birth to a baby girl named
D. B doted on D but as she grew up, he could not help but notice how she did not
look like him or A at all. Acting on his suspicion about D’s true paternity, B had a
DNA test in secret where it was confirmed that he was not D’s father. B thus filed
for annulment of marriage, which was granted. In view of the annulment decree,
what is the status of D—legitimate, legitimated, or illegitimate? Reason(s).

9.
A was adopted by X, the owner of a local chicken and beer restaurant. For several
years, X’s business had been struggling. To keep the business afloat, X incurred
several loans from banks in the total amount of PHP 2.5 million. One day, X figured
in an accident which caused his death, leaving A as his sole heir. Upon inventory,
X’s estate was appraised at PHP 1 million. Subsequently, the estate of X paid the
banks the entire value of the estate in the amount of PHP 1 million. But the banks
still sued A for the unpaid portion of PHP 1.5 million. Will the action prosper?
Decide with reason(s).

10.
Childhood best friends, A, B, and C took out a business loan from XYZ Bank in the
amount of PHP 3 million for their joint venture project. They executed a promissory
note binding them to jointly and severally pay the loan on December 1, 2024, without
need of demand. On due date, A, B, and C defaulted in the payment of their loan,
prompting XYZ Bank to demand the full amount of the loan, but only against A. A
opposed the claim, arguing that XYZ Bank should have demanded payment not just
from him but from the three of them as co-debtors. Is A correct? Reason(s).

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 11.
A had three children, X, Y, and Z. In her will, A instituted only X and Y as her heirs
to her entire estate. She disinherited Z because Z married a drug addict who was
disrespectful. Is Z’s disinheritance valid? Reason(s).

12.
A and B got married in 2018. It was only after the marriage that A discovered B’s
true colors. He refused to look for gainful employment and instead relied on A’s
salary for all his needs. Worse, he would entertain drinking sprees for his barkada
day in and day out in their home. One time, he even asked A to dance for them while
they drank. A consequently filed a petition for declaration of nullity of her marriage
with B on the ground of B’s psychological incapacity. In his answer, B opposed the
petition on the ground that since he was mentally healthy, he cannot be declared
psychologically incapacitated. Is B’s argument in accordance with prevailing
jurisprudence? Reason(s).

13.
X hired Y as her driver for her daily commute to work. One Monday, X woke up an
hour late. To get to work on time, she instructed Y to step on the pedal and drive
fast. She also threatened to fire him if she got to work late or if he damaged her
brand-new car during the drive. Afraid to lose his job, Y beat a red light along
Osmeña Avenue. As a result, he hit a motorcycle, resulting in the death of the
motorcycle driver. The bereaved family of the victim sued both X and Y for
damages. X raised the defense that she was merely a passenger. As such, she could
not be held liable for Y’s negligence. Is X correct? Reason(s).

14.
On March 15, 2025, A and B got married before Judge C as the solemnizing officer
inside her chambers in the Regional Trial Court for Makati City. Unknown to both
A and B, Judge C was dismissed from the service by the Supreme Court on March
14, 2025 due to grave misconduct. Judge C was only able to gain access to her
chambers on the day of the wedding to collect her things. What is the status of A
and B’s marriage? Reason(s).

15.
A died intestate and without any ascendants, descendants, and surviving spouse. A
was survived by B, his cousin, and C, his sister. Can B demand from C to split A’s
estate in half? Reason(s).

16.
A and B got married in 1991 without a pre-nuptial agreement. In 1997, A forged B’s
signature on the promissory note covering the loan she obtained from P Commercial
Bank (PCB) for her printing business. She also forged his signature on the real estate
mortgage constituted over three parcels of land which were acquired during their
marriage. A subsequently failed to pay the loan, so PCB foreclosed the mortgage.

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The three parcels of land were sold to PCB, the highest bidder. Upon learning of the
mortgage and sale, B filed a complaint to nullify the real estate mortgage and cancel
the certificate of sale, contending that the same were void since he did not consent
to the real estate mortgage. Is B correct? Reason(s).

17.
A was a public school teacher in XYZ Elementary School. She applied for and was
granted several loans on various dates by the Government Service Insurance System
(GSIS) amounting to PHP 147,000.00. In 2020, she retired from the service. She was
subsequently informed by the GSIS that her loan accounts were considered to have
been fully settled after her unpaid loans and interests, amounting to PHP 638,172.59,
were deducted from her retirement benefits. It turned out that GSIS imposed interest
on arrears equivalent to 12% per annum compounded monthly and a penalty
equivalent to 6% per annum compounded monthly on A’s loans, leading to the
increase of her outstanding loan by 432.135% from the original amount. Failing to
obtain a favorable ruling from the GSIS, A went to court, seeking to reduce the
interest on arrears and penalties for being unconscionable. Is A’s argument
meritorious? Reason(s).

18.
A entered into a contract of sale conveying a house and lot in favor of B. Unwilling
to pay thousands of pesos for notarization fees, A and B decided not to have the
contract of sale notarized. B nonetheless made C, her nephew, a 2nd year law
student, check the contract. C informed his aunt that the sale was void because it was
not in a public instrument. He thus advised her to file a case in court to declare the
contract of sale void. Is C correct? Reason(s).

19.
A leased out his condominium unit for 10 years for PHP 50,000.00 a month.
Meanwhile, A harbored his mistress X in his house while his wife, B, was in the
United States of America. Subsequently, A donated to X the right to receive all
rentals from the lessee of the condominium unit. B filed an action to declare the
donation void as it was made between A and X who are guilty of concubinage. In
their defense, A and X claimed that the action should be dismissed since the crime
of concubinage should first be proved in a separate criminal case. Decide with
reason(s).

20.
On October 18, 2022, the Supreme Court En Banc promulgated the Rule on
International Child Abduction Cases (Rule) which implements the Hague
Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction of 1980. The Rule
provides an expeditious procedure to facilitate the prompt return of children who
have been wrongfully removed or retained across international boundaries to their
state or country of habitual residence. This is based on the presumption that, save in
exceptional circumstances, the wrongful removal or retention of the children is not
in their best interests. Which of the Guiding Principles and Outcomes under the

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Supreme Court’s Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027 (SPJI) are
sought to be achieved by this Rule? Briefly explain your answer.

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