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DEFINITION / EXPLANATION
1. ________________ is a comprehensive term used to describe _________.
2. _________________, in its generally accepted sense, refers to ….
3. … It is a safeguard and guarantee provided by the 1987 Constitution..
4. … It is a kind of relief granted to a ______________ by the …
5. ________________ is a branch of public law (or private law) which deals with..
6. It pertains to…
7. It connotes a ….
8. … is a doctrine in (i.e. Civil Law) which refers to…
9. … is a principle in (i.e. Criminal Law) which states that…
10. It presupposes…
11. Its principal identifying feature is..
12. It is akin to…
13. The function of which is to…
14. The office of which is to…
ENUMERATION
1. In capsule form, the following are the elements of the crime of
_____________
6. In order that a case for (i.e. B.P. 22) to prosper, the following elements must be
attendant/present:
If you can enumerate all, write it in bulleted or numbered form to highlight the fact that you know
all of them and for more convenient-reading purposes.
(i.e. 1.
2.
3.
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If you cannot enumerate all, write it in paragraph form so that it would not easily be noticeable that
you missed something. (I got the above tip from our mentor Atty. Gafar Lutian)
DISTINCTION
When being asked to distinguish, do not state its definition. If you give its definition, you are in effect
asking the examiner to extract out the differences of the two [or more] from your definition. Do not
also give their similarities. You are asked to differentiate and contrast, so similarities are not
included (That was a tip I learned from my professor in Civil Law Review I, Atty. Virgilio
Gesmundo).The number of distinctions you will give must also be proportionate on the points
allotted for such. If it is only worth two points, do not give 8 distinctions. The examiner cannot give
you 8 points for that. For a two point distinction question, perhaps, three would be enough (four is
not too much).
1. The (i.e. two) may be distinguished from each other in the followings
ways:
a.
b.
2. In the first, it is necessary that there be….., whereas in the second it is sufficient
that there be ….
3. In the former, … while in the latter…
4. The former requires … while the latter…
5. … on the other hand ______________ is…
JURISDICTION
1. The case is beyond the ambit of the jurisdiction of the (i.e. Regional Trial
Court)
2. It is within the ambit of the (i.e. Secretary of Labor’s) power.
3. It is not within the province of the (i.e. Municipal Trial Court)
4. It is clearly within the powers of the (i.e. Labor Arbiter) to…
5. The case of (i.e. ejectment) lies with the Municipal Trial Court.
6. The case is cognizable by the (i.e. Regional Trial Court)
7. The case is covered by the (Rules on Summary Procedure).
8. The law vests upon the (i.e. Secretary of Justice) the power to…
ELABORATING/EXPOUNDING ANSWERS
Go straight to the point. The length of answers and expounding the same, must always be
proportionate to the points allotted for such particular question. The higher the points, the more in-
depth the elaboration should be. However, it must not appear “na nambobola ka na”. Sometimes, if
your answer is too long, it is an indication that you are not sure of the answer so there is that
need of getting around the bush.
Remember that most of the times, MORE TALK, MORE MISTAKE!!! (I got this tip from
my professor in Political Law, Dean Mariano F. Magsalin, Jr.)
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52. There is no denying in this case, that (i.e. the petitioner never raised the issue
of jurisdiction throughout the entire proceedings in the trial court; case of Tijam
vs. Sibonghanoy)
53. It is now too late in the day for the respondent/defendant to (i.e. raise the issue
of …)
54. Equally telling is the (i.e. factual finding of the lower court) that…
55. The gravamen of the (i.e. the crime of rebellion is an armed public uprising
against the government)
56. It cannot be denied that (i.e. the petitioner is also guilty of negligence)…
57. Attention must be drawn to the fact that…
58. ___________ and ____________ are two mutually exclusive remedies. An
application of one precludes the application of the other.
59. To amplify,…
60. It must be pointed out that…
61. Notably,…
62. At the outset, the (i.e. defendant)…
63. Coming now to the issue of (i.e. prescription),…
13. Decisive on the matter is the pertinent provision of the (i.e. Law on
Property)
14. The law prescribes certain rules on…
15. By legislative fiat…
Note: In my personal opinion, it is not proper to use the statements “in the case at bench” or
“in the case at bar” when answering. Although I guess it is very tempting because it sounds good
and professional to state, “in the case at bar/bench”, we must not forget that the cases given in the
Bar are only theoretical. The statements “in the case at bench” and “in the case at bar” are more
appropriately used in pleadings in court. After all, you can use the statements “In the instant
case, In the facts given, In the problem given and In the question presented.”
1. Applying the said law/doctrine in the instant case,
2. From the facts given, noteworthy is the …
3. From the facts of the case, it is readily observable that…
4. In the instant case, it may be observed that…
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5. It is crystal clear from the facts presented that (i.e. the crime of treason) is
present (or was committed).
6. In the present case, it is immediately noticeable that the element of
__________ is wanting (or lacking).
7. Under the circumstances, the proper remedy would be…
8. The case obtaining indicates a case of (i.e. B.P. 22)
9. It logically follows…
10. It goes without saying…
11. Even assuming arguendo, for the sake of argument that…
12. The situation in the case at hand…
13. The situation presented evinces a case of...
14. The facts sufficiently indicated …
15. In the given facts, it is immediately apparent that…
16. It is evident that…
17. In the same token…
18. Under the facts stated in the problem,…
CONCLUDING WORDS
1. From the gamut of evidence on hand, it can be gathered/deduced that,…
2. Taken all together,…
3. Finally, …
4. Hence, …
5. Therefore, …
6. From the foregoing, it can be deduced that there is really (i.e. a violation of…)
7. From the foregoing, it is now safe to conclude that….
8. Lastly, …
9. Consequently,…
10. As a necessary consequence…
11. The logical implication is that…
12. At any rate,…
13. In view of the foregoing,…
14. As an inevitable conclusion,…
15. In the light of the circumstances,…
16. Undoubtedly,…
17. Indubitably,…
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18. Clearly, the case at hand falls squarely within the purview of…
19. Verily, he/she has committed…
20. For this/these reason/s, it is unavoidable to conclude that…
21. Based on the facts obtaining,…
22. In this light,…
23. This being the case…
24. Clearly therefore, applying the aforecited ruling in the case at hand,…
25. In light of the foregoing, it is beyond cavil (doubt) that,…
26. There is no doubt that…
27. To the unprejudiced mind, the actuations of the three, when analyzed and taken
together, leads to no other conclusion except that (i.e. conspiracy among them existed)
28. Inescapably, therefore,…
29. All things considered,…
30. It follows therefore that…
31. As a logical result…
32. In sum,..
33. In view of the fact that…,
34. All told,…
35. Given the prevailing facts…
36. Having stated the foregoing premises,…
37. One final point,…
38. Accordingly,…
• Believe in yourself. If you will not, then who do you expect would believe in you. ( Tip from Sir
Bubut Cayco)
• Choose a study buddy if you want. But sometimes it is better that you do not have one. More study
buddies, more interruptions (more kwento). Without you knowing it, “tapos na araw or September
na”.
• Before starting your review, be sure that the tension has already subsided. (Specifically
starting the month of July when tensions really soars high for most Bar candidates) Bear in mind that
we can comprehend more if we are in a relaxed state of mind.
• Set your own pace. Do not compare your pace with others (like asking others, “ilang reading ka
na?”) This is not a rat race. Quality reading (studying/reviewing actually) is what is needed. Bar
does not dwell on the amount of pages/books you have read, it is more of how much you have
mastered.
• Do not memorize without comprehending. When mental block occurs, you cannot recall even a
single thing. Moreover, in applying the law in a given theoretical case problem, for sure you can
hardly answer the same if you have memorized without understanding.
• Do not highlight the entire reviewer . Sometimes, the problem with highlighting is that it
becomes our security blanket that we have read and understood what we have read. But more
often, we have not.
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• When you have a query or some matters in mind that needs clarification, just write it in a
piece of paper, pag marami na, ask it to a professor you believe is competent in that field. Don’t ask
your co-barristers. It might only end in a debate and waste of time, when no reliable answer is
concluded. Remember, time is precious during the pre-bar review.
• Set one day for recreations alone. It could rejuvenate your energy and create hunger for review
the following day.
• Attend to the needs of your entire being. Physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
This will also help you avoid being exhausted in the review.
• Boost your confidence by telling yourself “Walang (your surname) na di magaling.” Or tell yourself
“What kind of celebration will I do if I top or at least pass the bar?” at least you might laugh kahit
kabado.
Third paragraph normally contains the conclusion. When you are already decided of your answer,
write it according to your thoughts. In this approach, you will not only be avoiding unnecessary
revisions and erasures, you will also maintain the cleanliness of your booklet. Bear in mind that, a
dirty booklet is irritating to the eyes of the person checking the same.
• Don’t blame yourself or don’t panic if you failed to answer an item or two. It’s perfectly normal.
What is abnormal is if you failed to answer questions that you know the answer of just because you
bothered/blamed yourself so much on the items you don’t know. In short, if you failed to finish the
exam.
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• As my professor Atty. Francis Sababan told us before, “ mga bata, avoid passing your booklet too
early. The time allocated for each subject may be too much, but it must be used wisely to: (1) write
legibly, (2) compose your answers properly, (3) avoid erasures, (4) observe proper margin, and
(5) review your answers. After all there are no prizes for early finishers.”
For self-preservation reasons, for sure you will be anxious and fearful if you would discover that you
have incurred (just for example) 10 mistakes.
Logic behind: If you answer yes or no and it happened to be wrong, chances are, you will get an
automatic ZERO (0) for that item. The examiner might not read your answer anymore. Come to
think of it, it would be a waste of his time reading explanation of a wrong answer. Besides, there
are so many booklets to check.
On the other hand, if you cite the law provisions and jurisprudence first, eventhough your yes
or no answer placed in the last paragraph/sentence is wrong, you might get some credit. (The
examiner might say, “may alam tong batang to, nalito lang”). Finally, at least, the examiner has
read all your answer and explanation before grading you for that item.
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