Political Law

I.
Is there any denial of due process in the following instances? Briefly explain your answers.
a. Failure of the National Bureau of Investigation, during its investigation on alleged drug-
related offenses of Ms. Laila, to give her an opportunity to file an answer to complaint against
her filed with the NBI or submit counter-evidence in her defense.
b. Denial by the City Prosecutor during a preliminary investigation of the respondent’s motion
for the City Prosecutor to call the witnesses against the respondent for clarificatory
questions.
c. Failure of the government, upon demand of the accused during trial, to produce the semen
specimen from the supposed rape victim.
d. Ex parte issuance of a Temporary Protection Order (TPO) under Republic Act 9262 before the
respondent is afforded an opportunity to present his side.
e. Removal without opportunity to be heard and without cause of Atty. Deluma, as acting
Director of the Legal Service of the Department of Agriculture.

II.
The Department of Energy (DoE) wants to engage in the large-scale development, exploration
and extraction of petroleum resources underneath the Sea of Palawan Island. It is planning to enter
into a service contract with China Oil Company (COC), a 100 percent foreign-owned company, for
the latter to provide the capital, technology, technical know-how, and managerial expertise for such
project. What are the Constitutional requirements for such service contract to be valid?

III.
In 2015, Mr. Lupa, filed an action in the Regional Trial Court of Manila against the
Department of National Defense (DND) for just compensation for the land owned by Mr. Lupa, that,
in 1935, the DND took over and converted into a military camp. The DND moved to dismiss the
complaint on the following grounds: a.) the DND is an unincorporated agency immune from suit;
and, b.) the action has prescribed. Decide.

IV.
Representative Dilaw filed a bill in the House of Representatives to penalize the specific act of
sharing and/or posting on the internet sexually graphic and explicit videos of Members of Congress
using fake accounts. Mr. Malaya, a staunch advocate of free speech in social media, filed a petition
in court to question the constitutionality of the bill on the ground that it amounts to an
impermissible prior restraint on free speech. Decide.

V.
The City of Manila and Builders Company entered into a Php 1 Billion contract for the
construction of the Manila Jetty Port and Terminal in Manila Bay. After the completion of the
project, the City of Manila failed to pay the balance of the contract price, which, based on vouchers,
invoices and related documents, amounted to Php 100 Million. After the City of Manila refused to
pay despite repeated demands, Builders Company filed a complaint in the Regional Trial Court
(RTC) of Manila to collect payment. Decide.

VI.
An unconstitutional act is not a law; it confers no rights; it imposes no duties; it affords no
protection; it creates no office; it is inoperative as if it has not been passed at all. Is this rule
absolute?

VII.
Article XXX of the 2017 General Appropriations Act set aside Php 34 Billion for the
Development Acceleration Fund (DAF). Under this law, the DAF budget shall be used for
infrastructure, agricultural development assistance and other priority projects and activities, as
proposed and identified by Members of Congress concerned after the passage of the GAA, according
to the following allocations: Members of the House of Representatives, Php 100 Million each; and
Senators, Php 200 Million each.
Under the GAA 2017, any modification and revision by the Executive Branch of the project
identification under DAF shall be submitted to the House Committee on DBM or the implementing
agency. Moreover, any realignment of funds under DAF shall be submitted to the House Committee
on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance for favorable endorsement to the DBM or
the implementing agency. The funds for DAF will not be released unless the legislator identifies his
specific priority project. Give at least two legal bases to assail the constitutionality of the DAF
appropriation?
 VIII.
JBC has a policy of requiring five (5) years of service as judges of first-level courts before they
can qualify as applicant to second-level courts. A judge with two (2) years of experience in the first-
level courts questioned the validity of JBC’s policy on the ground that a 5-year experience is not a
qualification imposed by law or the Constitution for judges of second-level courts. Is the JBC policy
valid?

IX.
The Senate is conducting an inquiry in aid of legislation on the alleged illegal operation of
drug dens by detained and convicted prisoners within the compounds of the National Penitentiary,
in connivance with high ranking officials of the Department of Justice. The Senate issued a
subpoena ad testificandum to Mr. Madayan, a former DOJ official to appear and testify at the
Senate inquiry on the alleged irregularities. Mr. Madayan refuses to attend the inquiry on the
following ground:
a. The subject of investigation is a law enforcement matter, which should not be the subject of
legislative inquiries.
b. He was not given advance or prior notice of the questions that may be asked of him.
c. The Senate rules for legislative inquiries was last published in the year 2013.
d. His right against self-incrimination will be violated.

Assuming you are the lawyer of Mr. Madayan, and based only the facts given, what advice
will you give him regarding the validity of each of the above grounds he intends to raise?

X.
Based only on the facts given, do the following warrantless searches violate the Constitution?
a. Opening by jail guards of mail envelopes addressed to or coming from, detention prisoners.
b. Routine airport security searches of departing passengers.
c. Body search of a motorcycle rider who was stopped for a traffic violation (Failure to wear
helmet, which was punishable by a fine), the body search done at the time he was being
made to wait while the traffic police was writing the citation ticket.
d. Body search of a person, who was arrested while walking on the street, based on very reliable
information that the person is carrying illegal drugs.
e. Search by the head of a government investigating team of a government employees’
electronic/digital files stored in his government-assigned computer located in his government
office in connection with an investigation on a work-related misconduct of the employee.

XI.
A former Secretary of Justice is facing a criminal charge for violation of the Anti-graft and
Corrupt Practices for signing the contract for an anomalous Php 1 Billion project of her department
during her tenure. In her defenses, she asserts that she merely relied in good faith on her
subordinates who prepared and reviewed all the documents that she signed, and she had no time to
examine every single detail of the contract and the supporting documents relating to it. Is this
defense sufficient to absolve her liability?
XII.
In August 2017, due to a terrorism-related bomb-explosion in a train station that killed 25
people and with the looming threat of more bombings, the President, after consulting with his
security and budget officials. Authorized and effected the transfer of appropriations from the 2017
budget of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for a new and previously unfunded project – the
purchase and installation of 1,000 units of advanced facial recognition cameras in public places in
Metro Manila, to allow the government to immediately recognize the presence of terrorist in public
areas. The President justified the transfer as an exercise of his emergency powers. Based only on
the facts as stated, is the action of the President valid?

XIII.
Briefly explain the validity or invalidity of the following tests:
a. Mandatory, random and suspicionless drug-testing for secondary and tertiary level students,
with those found positive for illegal drug use as a result of this random testing are not
necessarily treated as criminals, but may even be exempt from criminal liability should the
illegal drug user consent to undergo rehabilitation. The purpose of the law is to stamp out
drug abuse.
b. Mandatory, random and suspicionless drug-testing for employees in the private and public
sector, with those found positive for illegal drug use as a result of this random testing are not
necessarily treated as criminals, but may even be exempt from criminal liability should the
illegal drug user consent to undergo rehabilitation. The purpose of the law is to stamp out
drug abuse.
 c. DNA testing ordered by a court directed at a respondent in a petition for compulsory
recognition, and support filed by a child against his supposed father

XIV.
The President issue a Proclamation No. 100 converting the City of San Fernando Pampanga,
from a component city into a highly urbanized city (HUC), subject to “ratification in a plebiscite by
the qualified voters therein, as provided for in Section 453 of the Local Government Code of 1991.”
Who should be allowed to participate in the plebiscite to approve the conversion, the qualified voters
from the City of San Fernando, or from the entire province of Pampanga? Briefly explain.

XV.
For the 2019 national elections, the Commission on Elections issued COMELEC Resolution
No. 222 (Resolution) limiting the broadcast and radio advertisements of candidates for national
election positions to an aggregate total of one hundred twenty (120) minutes.
During the previous elections of May 2013 and May 2016, COMELEC issued Resolution No.
111 implementing and interpreting Section 6 of RA No. 9006, regarding airtime limitations, to mean
that a candidate is entitled to the aforestated number of minutes “per station”. For the May 2019
elections, however, COMELEC promulgated Resolution No. 22, changing the interpretation of said
candidates’ and political parties’ airtime limitation for political campaigns or advertisements from a
“per station” basis, to a “total aggregate” basis. Give at least two legal bases for declaring the
Comelec resolution invalid.

XVI.
Based only on the facts stated, are the following ordinances of the City of Manila valid?
a. An ordinance which required that walls and fences be built with a five (5) meter setback, or a
parking area allowance, located between the front monument line and the building line of
commercial and industrial establishments and educational and religious institutions. The
City of Manila justifies the ordinance as a police power exercise to ease traffic and improve
the aesthetic appearance of the city.
b. An ordinance prohibiting the establishment of night clubs, bars, motels and inns in the
Ermita District of Manila to prevent the rise of prostitution and sexually transmissible
diseases.
c. An ordinance prohibiting anyone from working as a professional dancer in the city.

XVII.
Based only on the facts given, will the following acts lead to loss of Philippine citizenship?
a. Repeated use of a foreign passport, after executing an Oath of Allegiance to the Philippine
Government and Affidavit of Renunciation of Foreign citizenship, pursuant to Republic Act
9225.
b. Applying for an American passport and obtaining an Alien Certificate of Registration from the
Philippine Bureau of Immigration, by a man born in United States in September 1973 of a
Filipino mother, and American father.

XVIII.
Are the following acts of the Commission on Elections valid?
a. Prohibiting owners of Public Utility Vehicles from posting election campaign materials during
the campaign period on their PUBs? Briefly explain.
b. Requiring survey companies to disclosure, pursuant to the Fair Election Act, the names of
those who commission or pay for election surveys, including subscribers of survey firms.

XIX.
In 2012, the USS Wrecker, a war frigate of the United States Navy, ran aground over the Tubbataha
Reefs in the Sulu Sea, causing untold destruction to the world renowned corals in the area.
a. May the American captain of this US Navy ship be sued in Philippine courts for damages
from the destruction of the Tubbataha Reefs?
b. Assuming that the US is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas
(UNCLOS), is the United States Government liable to the Philippine Government for damages
under UNCLOS?

XX.
Rule on the legal standing of the following petitioners:
a.) Mr. Buwis, a Filipino citizen and taxpayer, who filed a petition in court, invoking the
people’s right to information, to compel the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to allow him to
access to the DOTr papers and documents relating to the company profile and legal capacity of the
winning bidder in a Metro Manila railway project. DOTr questioned the standing of Mr. Buwis to sue
on the ground that the contract does not involve disbursement of public funds as the contract is a
Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) project to be financed solely by the private sector.

b.) Mr. B, a Filipino citizen and taxpayer, who filed a petition in court to stop Mina Corp., a
mining company, from continuing its operations in the province of Zambales, on the ground that its
operations are causing massive pollution in the rivers of the province, and severe health problems
among residents. Mina Corp, questioned the standing of Mr. B on the ground that he has not
shown that he suffered health problems because of the mining operations, an in fact, he is not even
a resident of Zambales.

XXI.
Section 25 of the Population Control Law mandates that doctors and nurses must immediately refer
a person seeking reproductive health care and services (such safe and legal contraception or even
emergency abortion), to another accessible healthcare provider despite the doctors/ or nurses’
conscientious objections based on religious beliefs. Is this legal provision valid?

XXII.
Based only on the facts stated, are the following acts of the President valid?
a. Appointment of a Court of Appeals justice five (5) days before the next Presidential elections.
b. Transfer of Atty. Mahina, who has a permanent appointment in the Career Executive Service,
from his current position as Director of Legal Service at the Department of Public Works and
Highways (DPWH) to Director of Legal Service of the Department of Communications the
transfer being justified in the interest of public service.
c. Promotion of Atty. Malakas to the position of Legal Director, despite the fact that she is not
the next-in-rank for the position.

XXIII.
At the height of the campaign period in April 2016, the Commission on Elections ordered the
priests of Sto. Domingo Church in Quezon City to remove two (2) large tarpaulin banners hanging
on the front walls of the church, on the ground that these were election campaign banners that
were oversized (beyond the 2’ by 5’ size limit imposed by the Comelec).
Indeed, the banners were eight feel (8’) by twelve feet (12’) in size. The priests of the Sto.
Domingo Church, on their own initiative, posted the banners within the Church compound to be
viewed by the public. The first banner expressed this message “NO TO POLITICAL DYNASTIES,”
while the second banner listed Congressional candidates as either “Anti-Political dynasty,” with
each name with a check mark, or “Pro-Political Dynasty” with each name with an “X” mark. The
election candidates were listed and classified based on their official stand on political dynasties.
Give at least two legal grounds to assail the validity of the Comelec’s order.