I.

A priority thrust of the Administration is the change of the form of government from unitary to
federal. The change can be effected only through constitutional amendment or revision.

a. What are the methods of amending the Constitution? Explain briefly each method. (3%)

b. Cite at least three provisions of the Constitution that need to be amended or revised to effect the
change from unitary to federal, and explain briefly why. (3%)

II.

A.

Under the doctrine of immunity from suit, the State cannot be sued without its consent. How may the
consent be given by the State? Explain your answer. (3%)

B.

The doctrine of immunity from suit in favor of the State extends to public officials in the
performance of their official duties. May such officials be sued nonetheless to prevent or undo their
oppressive or illegal acts, or to compel them to act? Explain your answer. (3%)

C.

Do government-owned or -controlled corporations also enjoy the immunity of the State from suit?
Explain your answer. (3%)

III.

State A and State B, two sovereign states, enter into a 10-year mutual defense treaty. State A finds
that more progressive State B did not go to the aid of State A when it was threatened by its strong
neighbor State C. State B reasoned that it had to be prudent and deliberate in reacting to State C
because of their existing trade treaties.

a. May State A unilaterally withdraw from its mutual defense treaty with State B? Explain your
answer. (2.5%)

b. What is the difference between the principles of pacta sunt servanda and rebus sic stantibus in
international law? (2.5%)
c. Are the principles of pacta sunt servanda and rebus sic stantibus relevant in the treaty relations
between State A and State B? What about in the treaty relations between State B and State C?
Explain your answer. (2.5%)

IV.

a. What is the pardoning power of the President under Art. VIII, Sec. 19 of the Constitution? Is the
exercise of the power absolute? (4%)

b. Distinguish pardon from amnesty. (4%)

V.

a. What is the right of legation, and how is it undertaken between states? Explain your answer. (2%)

b. Under this right, may a country like Malaysia insist that the Philippines establishes a consulate in
Sabah to look after the welfare of the Filipino migrants in the area? Explain your answer. (2%)

VI.

A.

The President appoints the Vice President as his Administrations Housing Czar, a position that
requires the appointee to sit in the Cabinet. Although the appointment of the members of the Cabinet
requires confirmation by the Commission on Appointment (CA), the Office of the President does not
submit the appointment to the CA. May the Vice President validly sit in the Cabinet? (2.5%)

B.

The Executive Department has accumulated substantial savings from its appropriations. Needing
P3,000,000 for the conduct of a plebiscite for the creation of a new city but has no funds appropriated
soon by the Congress for the purpose, the COMELEC requests the President to transfer funds from
the savings of the Executive Department in order to avoid a delay in the holding of the plebiscite.

May the President validly exercise his power under the 1987 Constitution to transfer funds from the
savings of the Executive Department, and make a cross-border transfer of P3,000,000 to the
COMELEC by way of augmentation? Is your answer the same if the transfer is treated as aid to the
COMELEC? Explain your answer. (4%)

VII.

Give the limitations on the power of the Congress to enact the General Appropriations Act. Explain
your answer. (5%)
 VIII.

A bank acquired a large tract of land as the highest bidder in the foreclosure sale of the mortgaged
assets of its borrower. It appears that the land has been originally registered under the Torrens system
in 1922 pursuant to the provisions of the Philippine Bill of 1902, the organic act of the Philippine
Islands as a colony of the USA. Sec. 21 of the Philippine Bill of 1902 provided that all valuable
mineral deposits in public lands in the Philippine Islands, both surveyed and unsurveyed, are hereby
declared to be free and open too exploration, occupation, and purchase, and the land in which they
are found to occupation and purchase, by citizens of the United States, or of said Islands. Sec. 27 of
the law declared that a holder of the mineral claim so located was entitled to all the minerals that lie
within his claim but he could not mine outside the boundary lines of his claim.

The 1935 Constitution expressly prohibited the alienation of natural resources except agricultural
lands. Sec. 2, Art. XII of the 1987 Constitution contains a similar prohibition, and proclaims that all
lands of public domain, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum, and other mineral oils, all forces of
potential energy, fisheries, forests, or timber, wildilfe, flora, and fauna, and other natural resources
are owned by the State. This provision enunciates the Regalian Doctrine.

May the Government, on the basis of the Regalian Doctrine enunciated in the constitutional
provisions, deny the bank its right as the owner of the mineral resources underneath the surface of its
property as recognized under the Philippine Bill of 1902? Explain your answer. (5%)

IX.

A.

Ambassador Robert of State Alpha committed a very serious crime while he headed his foreign
mission in the Philippines. Is he subject to arrest by Philippine authorities? Explain your answer.
(3%)

B.

Extradition is the process pursuant to a treaty between two State parties for the surrender by the
requested State to the custody of the requesting State of a fugitive criminal residing in the former.
However, extradition depends on the application of two principles the principle of specialty and the
dual criminality principle. Explain these principles. (4%)

C.

The President signs an agreement with his counterpart in another country involving reciprocity in the
treatment of each other countrys nationals residing in the others territory. However, he does not
submit the agreement to the Senate for concurrence.
Sec. 21, Art. VII of the Constitution provides that no treaty or international agreement shall be valid
and effective without such concurrence.

Is the agreement signed by the President effective despite the lack of Senate concurrence? Explain
your answer. (4%)

X.

A.

Under the enrolled bill doctrine, the signing of a bill by both the Speaker of the House of
Representatives and the President of the Senate and the certification by the secretaries of both Houses
of Congress that the bill was passed on a certain date are conclusive on the bills due enactment.
Assuming there is a conflict between the enrolled bill and the legislative journal, to the effect that the
enrolled bill signed by the Senate President and eventually approved by the President turned out to be
different from what the Senate actually passed as reflected in the legislative journal.

a. May the Senate President disregard the enrolled bill doctrine and consider his signature as invalid
and of no effect? (2.5%)

b. May the President thereafter withdraw his signature? Explain your answer. (2.5%)

B.

Sec. 26(2), Art. VI of the Constitution provide that no bill passed by either House of Congress shall
become a law unless it has passed three readings on separate days and printed copies of it in its final
form have been distributed to the Members of the House three days before its passage.

Is there an exception to the provision? Explain your answer. (3%)

XI.

Sec. 17, Art. VI of the Constitution establishes an Electoral Tribunal for each of the Houses of
Congress, and makes each Electoral Tribunal the sole judge of all contests relating to the election,
returns, and qualifications of their respective Members. On the other hand, Sec. 2(1).C Art. IX of
the Constitution grants to the COMELEC the power to enforce and administer all laws and
regulations relative to the conduct of an election, plebiscite, initiative, referendum, and recall.

Considering that there is no concurrence of jurisdiction between the Electoral Tribunals and the
COMELEC, state when the jurisdiction of the Electoral Tribunals begins, and the COMELECs
jurisdiction ends. Explain your answer. (4%)

XII.
The Congress establishes by law Philippine Funds, Inc., a private corporation, to receive foreign
donations coming from abroad during national and local calamities and disasters, and to enable the
unhampered and speedy disbursements of the donations through the mere action of its Board of
Directors. Thereby, delays in the release of the donated funds occasioned by the stringent rules of
procurement would be avoided. Also, the releases would not come under the jurisdiction of the
Commission on Audit (COA).

a. Is the law establishing Philippine Funds, Inc., constitutional? Explain your answer. (3%)

b. Can the Congress pass the law that would exempt foreign grants from the jurisdiction of the COA.
Explain your answer. (3%)

XIII.

Command responsibility pertains to the responsibility of commanders for crimes committed by

subordinate members of the armed forces or other persons subject to their control in international
wars or domestic conflicts. The doctrine has now found application in civil actions for human rights
abuses, and in proceedings seeking the privilege of the writ of amparo.

a. What are the elements to be established in order to hold the superior or commander liable under
the doctrine of command responsibility? (4%)

b. May the doctrine of command responsibility apply to the President for the abuses of the armed
forces (AFP and PNP) given his unique role as the commander-in-chief of all the armed forces?
Explain your answer. (4%)

XIV.

To fulfill a campaign promise to the poor folk in a far-flung area in Mindanao, the President
requested his friend, Pastor Roy, to devote his ministry to them. The President would pay Pastor Roy
a monthly stipend of P50,000 from his discretionary fund, and would also erect a modest house of
worship in the locality in an area of the latters choice.

Does the President thereby violate any provisions of the Constitution? Explain your answer. (3%)

XV.

a. According the Sec. 3, Art. VIII of the Constitution, the Judiciary shall enjoy fiscal autonomy.
What does the term fiscal autonomy signify? Explain your answer. (3%)

b. May a complaint for disbarment against the Ombudsman prosper during her incumbency? Explain
your answer. (3%)
c. Sec. 3, Art. XI of the Constitution states that [n]o impeachment proceedings shall be initiated
against the same official more than once within a period of one year. What constitutes initiation of
impeachment proceedings under the provision? (3%)

*** END OF EXAMINATION***

a. What are the accepted tests to determine the existence of an employer-employee relationship?
(5%)

b. Applying the tests to determine the existence of employer-employee relationship, is a jeepney

driver operating under the boundary system an employee of the jeepney operator or a mere lessee of
the jeepney? Explain your answer. (3%)

II

Procopio was dismissed from employment for stealing his co-employee Rauls watch. Procopio filed
a complaint for illegal dismissal. The Labor Arbiter ruled in Procopios favor on the ground that
Rauls testimony was doubtful, and, therefore, the doubt should be resolved in favor of Procopio. On
appeal, the NLRC reversed the ruling because Article 4 of the Labor Code which states that all
doubts in the interpretation and implementation of the provisions of the Labor Code, including the
implementing rules and regulations, shall be resolved in favor of labor applied only when the doubt
involved the implementation and interpretation of the Labor Code; hence, the doubt, which
involved the application of the rules on evidence, not the Labor Code, could not necessarily be
resolved in favor of Procopio. Was the reversal correct? Explain your answer. (3%)

III

a. Andrew Manning Agency (AMA) recruited Feliciano for employment by Invictus Shipping, its
foreign principal. Meantime, AMA and Invictus Shipping terminated their agency agreement. Upon
his repatriation following his premature termination, Feliciano claimed from AMA and Invictus
Shipping the payment of his salaries and benefits for the unserved portion of the contract. AMA
denied liability on the ground that it no longer had an agency agreement with Invictus Shipping. Is
AMA correct? Explain your answer. (3%)

b. As a rule, direct hiring of migrant workers is not allowed. What are the exceptions? Explain your
answer. (2.5%)

c. Phil, a resident alien, sought employment in the Philippines. The employer, noticing that Phil was
a foreigner, demanded that he first secures an employment permit from the DOLE. Is the employer
correct? Explain your answer. (2.5%)
 IV.

The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) for Region 3 issued a wage order
on November 2, 2017, fixing the minimum wages for all industries throughout Region 3.

a. Is the wage order subject to the approval of the National Wages and Productivity Commission
before it takes effect? (2%)

b. The law mandates that no petition for wage increase shall be entertained within a period of 12
months from the effectivity of the wage order. Under what circumstances may the Kilusang Walang
Takot, a federation of labor organizations that publicly and openly assails the wage order as blatantly
unjust, initiate the review of the wage increases under the wage order without waiting for the end of
the 12-month period? Explain your answer. (3%)

V.

a. Percival was a mechanic of Pacific Airlines. He enjoyed a meal break of one hour. However,
during meal breaks, he was required to be on standby for emergency work. During emergencies, he
was made to forego his meals or to hurry up eating. He demanded payment of overtime for work
done during his meal periods. Is Percival correct? Explain your answer. (3%)

b. Distinguish a learner from an apprentice. (4%)

c. Are there differences between a househelper and a homeworker? Explain your answer. (4%)

VI.

a. One of Pacific Airlines policies was to hire only single applicants as flight attendants, and
considered as automatically resigned the flight attendants at the moment they got married. Is the
policy valid? Explain your answer. (2.5%)

b. Tarcisio was employed as operations manager and received a monthly salary of P25,000 through
his payroll account with DB Bank. He obtained a loan from Roberto to purchase a car. Tarcisio failed
to pay Roberto when the loan fell due. Roberto sued to collect, and moved to garnish Tarcisios
payroll account. The latter vigorously objected and argued that salaries were exempt from
garnishment. Is Tarcisio correct? Explain your answer. (3%)

VII.

Dr. Crisostomo entered into a retainer agreement with AB Hotel and Resort whereby he would
provide medical services to the guests and employees of AB Hotel and Resort, which, in turn, would
provide the clinic premises and medical supplies. He received a monthly retainer fee of P60,000, plus
70% share in the service charges from AB Hotel and Resorts guests availing themselves of the
clinics services. The clinic employed nurses and allied staff, whose salaries, SSS contributions, and
other benefits he undertook to pay. AB Hotel and Resort issued directives giving instructions to him
on the replenishment of emergency kits and forbidding the clinic staff from receiving cash payments
from the guests. In time, the nurses and the clinic staff claimed entitlement to rights as regular
employees of AB Hotel and Resort, but the latter refused on the ground that Dr. Crisostomo, who
was their employer, was an independent contractor. Rule with reasons. (4%)

VIII.

Marciano was hired as Chief Engineer on board the vessel M/V Australia. His contract of
employment was for nine months. After nine months, he was re-hired. He was hired for a third time
after another nine months. He now claims entitlement to the benefits of a regular employee based on
his having performed tasks usually necessary and desirable to the employers business for a
continuous period of more than one year. is Marcianos claim tenable? Explain your answer. (3%)

IX.

Section 255 of the Labor Code recognizes three categories of employees, namely: managerial,
supervisory, and rank-and-file.

a. Give the characteristics of each category of employees, and state whether the employees in each
category may organize and form unions. Explain your answer. (5%)

b. May confidential employees who assist managerial employees and who act in a confidential
capacity or have access to confidential matters being handled by persons exercising managerial
functions in the field of labor relations form, or assist, or join labor unions? Explain your answer.
(2.5%)

X.

a. The labor sector has been loudly agitating for the end of labor-only contracting, as distinguished
from job contracting. Explain these two kinds of labor contracting, and give the effect of a finding
that one is a labor-only contractor. Explain your answers. (4%)

b. What are the grounds for validly terminating the services of an employee based on a just cause?
(5%)

c. Give the procedure to be observed for validly terminating the services of an employee based on a
just cause. (4%)

XI.
a. The modes of determining the exclusive bargaining agent of the employees in a business are: (a)
voluntary recognition; (b) certification election; and (c) consent election. Explain how they differ
from one another. (4%)

b. Marcel was the Vice President for Finance and Administration and a member of the Board of
Directors of Mercedes Corporation. He brought a complaint for illegal suspension and illegal
dismissal against Mercedes Corporation, which moved to dismiss the complaint on the ground that
the complaint pertained to the jurisdiction of the RTC due to the controversy being intracorporate
based on his positions in the corporation. Marcel countered that he had only been removed as Vice
President for Finance and Administration, not as a member of the Board of Directors. he also argued
that his position was not listed as among the corporate offices in Mercedes Corporations by-laws. Is
the argument of Marcel correct? Explain your answer. (2.5%)

c. State the jurisdiction of the Voluntary Arbitrator, or Panel of Voluntary Arbitrators in labor
disputes? (4%)

XII.

A.

Juanito initiated a case for illegal dismissal against Mandarin Company. The Labor Arbiter decided
in his favor, and ordered his immediate reinstatement with full backwages and without loss of
seniority and other benefits. Mandarin Company did not like to allow him back in its premises to
prevent him from influencing his co-workers to move against the interest of the company; hence, it
directed his payroll reinstatement and paid his full backwages and other benefits even as it appealed
to the NLRC.

A few months later, the NLRC reversed the ruling of the Labor Arbiter and declared that Juanitos
dismissal was valid. The reversal ultimately became final.

May Mandarin Company recover the backwages and other benefits paid to Juanito pursuant to the
decision of the Labor Arbiter in view of the reversal by the NLRC? Rule with reasons. (2.5%)

B.

Gene is a married regular employee of Matibay Corporation. The employees and Matibay
Corporation had an existing CBA that provided for funeral and bereavement aid of P15,000 in case
of the death of a legal dependent of a regular employee. His widowed other, who had been living
with him and his family for many years, died; hence, he claimed the funeral aid. Matibay Corporation
denied the claim on the basis that she had not been his legal dependent as the term legal
dependent was defined by the Social Security Law.

a. Who may be the legal dependents of Gene under the Social Security Law? (2.5%)
b. Is Gene entitled to the funeral aid for the death of his widowed mother? Explain your answer. (2%)

C.

Rosa was granted vacation leave by her employer to spend three weeks in Africa with her family.
Prior to her departure, the General manager of the company requested her to visit the plant of a client
of the company in Zimbabwe in order to derive the best manufacturing practices useful to the
company. She accepted the request because the errand would be important to the company and
Zimbabwe was anyway in her itinerary. It appears that she contracted a serious disease during the
trip. Upon her return, she filed a claim for compensation, insisting that she had contracted the disease
while serving the interest of her employer.

Under the Labor Code, the sickness or death of an employee, to be compensable, must have resulted
from an illness either definitely accepted as an occupational disease by the Employees
Compensation Commission, or caused by employment subject to proof that the risk of contracting the
same is increased by working conditions.

Is the serious disease Rosa contracted during her trip to Africa compensable? Explain your answer.
(2.5%)

XIII.

A.

Given that the liability for an illegal strike is individual, not collective, state when the participating
union officers and members may be terminated from employment because of the illegal strike.
Explain your answer. (4%)

B.

A sympathetic strike is stoppage of work to make common cause with other strikers in another
establishment or business. Is the sympathetic strike valid? Explain your answer. (1%)

C.

Due to business recession, Ballistic Company retrenched a part of its workforce. Opposing the
retrenchment, some of the affected employees staged a strike. Eventually, the retrenchment was
found to be justified, and the strike was declared illegal; hence, the leaders of the strike, including the
retrenched employees, were declared to have lost their employment status.

Are the striking retrenched employees still entitled to separation pay under Sec. 298 of the Labor
Code despite the illegality of their strike? Explain your answer. (2%)
 XIV.

Pursuant to his power under Sec. 278(g) of the Labor Code, the Secretaryy of Labor assumed
jurisdiction over the three-day old strike in Armor Steel Plates, Inc., one of the countrys bigger
manufacturers of steel plates, and ordered all the striking employees to return to work. The striking
employees ignored the order to return to work.

a. What conditions may justify the Secretary of Labor to assume jurisdiction? (2.5%)

b. What are the consequences of the assumption of jurisdiction by the Secretary of Labor, and of the
disobedience to the return to work? Explain your answer. (2.5%)

***END OF EXAMINATION***