Far Eastern University

Institute of Law
Drill Questions in Legal Ethics
March 14, 2020

I.
Part A: Multiple Choice Questions: (2 points each)
1. A petition to be commissioned as a notary public should be filed with:
A. Office of the Bar Confidant
B. National Office of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines
C. RTC Executive Judge
D. Office of the Court Administrator
2. Atty. B has been admitted to the practice of law in 2015. He resides in San Fernando, La Union for the past
ten years and holds office near the provincial capitol office of La Union. He filed a Petition for Appointment as
a Notary Public. He attached in his petition a clearance from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and the
Office of the Bar Confidant. His petition was duly published. X objected to his petition since he alleged that
Atty. B was convicted by the Baguio City trial court for Reckless Imprudence resulting to Damage to Property.
Can Atty. B’s petition be given due course despite the objection of X?
A. Yes, because Reckless Imprudence is technically not a crime but only a quasi-delict.
B. Yes, because the incident did not happen within the jurisdiction of San Fernando, La
Union.
C. Yes, because the crime of Reckless Imprudence resulting to Damage to Property is not
a crime involving moral turpitude.
D. Yes, because the hearing on the petition for application as a notary public is not adversarial in
nature.
3. When will Atty. C’s notarial commission expire if his application was approved and became effective on 31
October 2019?
A. 31 October 2021
B. 1 November 2021
C. 31 December 2020
D. 31 December 2021
4. A notary public is empowered to perform any of the following notarial acts except:
A. Jurat
B. Acknowledgment
C. Oaths or Affirmations
D. Signing as a Witness
5. Which of the following will subject Atty. Y, a lawyer with a notarial commission from Imus, Cavite to
sanctions under the 2004 Notarial Rules?
A. Notarizing a verification and certification of non-forum shopping in Sofitel
Hotel at the request of the Senate President.
B. Refusing to notarize the Last Will and Testament of his father-in-law.
C. Declining to notarize a document of an affiant he does know personally and has no
Competent proof of identity.
D. Affirming an acknowledgment of the real estate mortgage between the creditor
bank and the property owner.

II.
Part B: Answer TRUE if the statement is true and FALSE if the statement FALSE. Explain your answer in one
sentence. (2 points each)
1. A notary public is disqualified from performing a notarial act of a relative within the 4 th civil degree of
affinity.
2. A notary public is required to record chronologically his notarial acts in a Notarial Book.
3. The monthly report of the notarial acts of a lawyer is submitted to the Executive Judge.
4. The Integrated Bar of the Philippines through its Board of Governors may revoke the notarial
commission of a lawyer.

1|Page
 5. A document which was notarized without evidence of competent identity is unenforceable.

III.
Part C:
1. Distinguish between a jurat and an acknowledgment. (5 points)
2. Distinguish between a notarial seal and a notarial register. (5 points)

Part D: Answer the following questions in more than five sentences: (10 points per item)
IV.
Mr. G appeared before Atty. J to present to him his Last Will and Testament. Atty. J affixed his signature to the
Last Will and Testament of Mr. G but he failed to indicate the expiry date of his notarial commission. Mr. G
filed a disbarment case against Atty. J. Will the case prosper? Why?

V.
Atty. Z went out of the country of a period of two weeks. She is the retained counsel of Company W. During
her absence, she authorized Ms. Y, her office secretary to sign all the documents which Company W needed
for notarization. May Atty. Z validly delegate to Ms.Y the authority to notarize documents in her absence?
Why?

VI.
Atty. R and Mr. S were classmates in high school. Mr. S presented to Atty. R a Deed of Absolute Sale of a motor
vehicle which Mr. S owns. Upon assurance of Mr. S, Atty. R notarized the document in the absence of the buyer
and the witnesses to the notarial act. Ms. T, the buyer, sued Mr. S because she found out that the vehicle was
under a chattel mortgage with a universal bank. Can Ms. T file an administrative case against Atty. R? Justify
your answer.

VII.
Atty. H’s notarial commission expired last 31 December 2019. Despite knowing that his notarial commission
already expired, Atty. H continued to perform notarial acts from January 1, 2020 up March 1, 2020. What
disciplinary action, if any, may be instituted against Atty. H?
VIII.
In view of the news that one of the COVID patients resided at the Joya Building, Rockwell in Makati, Spouses
W and E decided to sell their condominium unit there. Newly married celebrity couple M and G decided to
buy the subject unit. Atty. V prepared the Deed of Absolute Sale between Spouses W and E and Spouses M and
G. He explained to both parties the terms and conditions in the deed and asked them if understood the same
and if they all freely entering the transaction. After the execution of the document, Atty. V notarized the same.
He collected a fee of P150,000.00 for the transaction. He did not, however, issue any BIR-registered receipt
for his notarial fee.
Will the non-issuance of a BIR-registered receipt affect the validity of the transaction? Why?

IX.
Atty. F, in his capacity as Notary Public, prepared and acknowledged a document wherein G and H, husband
and wife, stipulated that G can live with J, a member of the LGBT community and that H can also live her
former boyfriend who remains unmarried. Can Atty. F be subject for preparing the subject notarial deed?
Justify your answer.

X.
Part D: Write the Lawyer’s Oath (10 points)

2|Page