In re Cunanan

In the Matter of the Petitions for Admission to the Bar of

Unsuccessful Candidates of 1946 to 1953; ALBI!
CUAA
"acts#
Congress passed Republic Act Number 972, commonly known as
the Bar lunkers! Act o" #9$%&' (n accordance with the said law,
the )upreme Court then passed and admitted to the bar those
candidates who had obtained an a*erage o" 72 per cent by raising
it to 7$ percent&
A"ter its appro*al, many o" the unsuccess"ul postwar candidates
+led petitions "or admission to the bar in*oking its pro*isions,
while other motions "or the re*ision o" their e,amination papers
were still pending also in*oked the a"oresaid law as an additional
ground "or admission& -here are also others who ha*e sought
simply the reconsideration o" their grades without, howe*er,
in*oking the law in .uestion& -o a*oid in/ustice to indi*idual
petitioners, the court +rst re*iewed the motions "or
reconsideration, irrespecti*e o" whether or not they had in*oked
Republic Act No& 972&
RA 972 Bar Flunkers Act of 1953
Objectives0 to admit to the Bar those candidates who su1ered
"rom0
2a3 (nsu4ciency o" reading materials and 2b3 inade.uate
preparation& By its declared ob/ecti*e, the law is contrary to public
interest because it .uali+es #,596 law graduates who con"essedly
had inade.uate preparation "or the practice o" the pro"ession&
7 Admission to practice o" law is almost without e,ception
conceded e*erywhere to be the e,ercise o" a /udicial "unction&
Admission to practice ha*e also been held to be the e,ercise o"
one o" the inherent powers o" the court&
7 (" the legislature cannot indirectly control the action o" the
courts by re.uiring o" them construction o" the law according to
its own *iews, it is *ery plain it cannot do so directly, by settling
aside their /udgments, compelling them to grant new trials,
ordering the discharge o" o1enders, or directing what particular
steps shall be taken in the progress o" a /udicial in.uiry&
$%L&# (n decreeing the bar candidates who obtained in the bar
e,aminations o" #968 to #9$2, a general a*erage o" 75 per cent
without "alling below $5 per cent in any sub/ect, be admitted in
mass to the practice o" law, the disputed law is not a legislation9 it
is a /udgment : a /udgment re*oking those promulgated by this
Court during the a"orecited year a1ecting the bar candidates
concerned9 and although this Court certainly can re*oke these
/udgments e*en now, "or /usti+able reasons, it is no less certain
that only this Court, and not the legislati*e nor e,ecuti*e
department, that may be so& Any attempt on the part o" any o"
these departments would be a clear usurpation o" its "unctions, as
is the case with the law in .uestion&
'A(I!AL%# -he public interest demands o" legal pro"ession
ade.uate preparation and e4ciency, precisely more so as legal
problem e*ol*ed by the times become more di4cult& An ade.uate
legal preparation is one o" the *ital re.uisites "or the practice o"
law that should be de*eloped constantly and maintained +rmly& -o
the legal pro"ession is entrusted the protection o" property, li"e,
honor and ci*il liberties& -o appro*e o4cially o" those
inade.uately prepared indi*iduals to dedicate themsel*es to such
a delicate mission is to create a serious social danger& ;oreo*er,
the statement that there was an insu4ciency o" legal reading
materials is grossly e,aggerated&
"AC() !" ($% CA)%#
(n the manner o" the petitions "or Admission to the Bar o"
unsuccess"ul candidates o" #968 to #9$%9 Albino Cunanan et& al
petitioners&
(n recent years "ew contro*ersial issues ha*e aroused so much
public interest and concern as R&A& 972 popularly known as the
Bar lunkers! Act o" #9$%&' <enerally a candidate is deemed
passed i" he obtains a general a*e o" 7$= in all sub/ects w>o
"alling below $5= in any sub/ect, although "or the past "ew e,ams
the passing grades were changed depending on the strictness o"
the correcting o" the bar e,aminations 2#968? 72=, #967? 89=,
#96@? 75= #969?76=, #9$5?#9$% A 7$=3&
Belie*ing themsel*es to be "ully .uali+ed to practice law as those
reconsidered and passed by the )&C&, and "eeling that they ha*e
been discriminated against, unsuccess"ul candidates who
obtained a*erages o" a "ew percentages lower than those
admitted to the bar went to congress "or, and secured in #9$#
)enate Bill no& #2, but was *etoed by the president a"ter he was
gi*en ad*ise ad*erse to it& Not o*erriding the *eto, the senate
then appro*ed senate bill no& %72 embodying substantially the
pro*isions o" the *etoed bill& -he bill then became law on Bune 2#,
#9$%
Republic Act 972 has "or its ob/ect, according to its author, to
admit to the Bar those candidates who su1ered "rom insu4ciency
o" reading materials and inade.uate preparations& By and large,
the law is contrary to public interest since it .uali+es #,596 law
graduates who had inade.uate preparation "or the practice o" law
pro"ession, as e*idenced by their "ailure in the e,ams&
())CD) E -FD CA)D0
Gue to the "ar reaching e1ects that this law would ha*e on the
legal pro"ession and the administration o" /ustice, the )&C& would
seek to know i" it is CEN)-(-C-(ENAH&
An ade.uate legal preparation is one o" the *ital re.uisites "or the
practice o" the law that should be de*eloped constantly and
maintained +rmly&
-he Budicial system "rom which ours has been deri*ed, the act o"
admitting, suspending, disbarring, and reinstating attorneys at
law in the practice o" the pro"ession is concededly /udicial&
-he Constitution, has not con"erred on Congress and the )&C&
e.ual responsibilities concerning the admission to the practice o"
law& -he primary power and responsibility which the constitution
recogniIes continue to reside in this court&
(ts retroacti*ity is in*alid in such a way, that what the law seeks
to cure' are not the rules set in place by the )&C& but the lack o"
will or the de"ect in /udgment o" the court, and this power is not
included in the power granted by the Const& to Congress, it lies
e,clusi*ely w>in the /udiciary&
Reasons "or Cnconstitutionality0
#& -here was a mani"est encroachment on the constitutional
responsibility o" the )upreme Court&
2& (t is in e1ect a /udgment re*oking the resolution o" the court,
and only the )&C& may re*ise or alter them, in attempting to do so
R&A& 972 *iolated the Constitution&
%& -hat congress has e,ceeded its power to repeal, alter, and
supplement the rules on admission to the bar 2since the rules
made by congress must ele*ate the pro"ession, and those rules
promulgated are considered the bare minimum&3
6& (t is a class legislation
$& Art& 2 o" R&A& 972 is not embraced in the title o" the law,
contrary to what the constitution en/oins, and being inseparable
"rom the pro*isions o" art& #, the entire law is *oid&
FDHG0
Cnder the authority o" the court0
#& -hat the portion o" art& # o" R&A& 972 re"erring to the
e,aminations o" #968 to #9$2 and all o" art& 2 o" the said law are
unconstitutional and there"ore *oid and w>o "orce and e1ect&
2& -he part o" AR- # that re"ers to the e,aminations subse.uent to
the appro*al o" the law 2#9$%? #9$$3 is *alid and shall continue in
"orce& 2those petitions by the candidates who "ailed the bar "rom
#968 to #9$2 are denied, and all the candidates who in the
e,amination o" #9$% obtained a <DN A*e& o" 7#&$= w>o getting a
grade o" below $5= in any sub/ect are considered as ha*ing
passed whether they ha*e +led petitions "or admissions or not&