2020 Bar — Remedial Law

A search warrant was issued authorizing the police to search for and seize: “(a) documents that will show that the respondent is guilty of swindling and/or estafa; (b) copies of bounced checks; and (c) all other relevant matters.” Is the search warrant valid? Explain briefly.

Can dolphins be plaintiffs in a suit to enjoin a land reclamation that will affect a biodiverse coral reef? Explain briefly.

Is the printout of a photograph from your mobile phone showing a fly in the soup you ordered admissible evidence in an action for damages against the restaurant owner? Explain briefly.

The last day of a losing party to file a notice of appeal from the Regional Trial Court to the Court of Appeals fell on June 12, a legal holiday. The day after, or on June 13, the counsel for the losing party moved that the period within which to file a notice of appeal be extended for 10 days, citing the counsel’s “humongous” case load, among others. On June 23 that same year, without the motion for extension being acted upon, the counsel for the losing party filed a notice of appeal. Should this appeal be dismissed? Explain briefly.

The spokesperson of a special unit of the Armed Forces of the Philippines announced in a television interview that the Armed Forces was putting all progressive and left-leaning party-list representatives under surveillance for alleged links to the ongoing insurgency. An outspoken and progressive party-list representative approaches you for advice on how to discover the information that the Armed Forces may have collated through the surveillance operations. Will a petition for the writ of habeas data be the proper remedy? Explain briefly.

Upon learning of her husband’s death, the wife and their daughter went to a funeral parlor where the husband’s remains lay. The husband had been killed in a military encounter in the hinterlands. He had been suspected as one of the members of an insurgent group, which had been yearning for the violent overthrow of the status quo for more than 50 years. Upon arriving at the funeral parlor, the wife and the daughter found that the premises were guarded by heavily armed individuals clad in military uniform. These individuals accosted the wife and the daughter when they attempted to approach the husband’s casket. The two were then interrogated for almost an hour. Fearing for their lives, the wife and the daughter hurriedly left after the interrogation. On their way home, they noticed a red car following them. The same car, which carried individuals sporting crew cuts, parked in front of their home for several days. The daughter noted the car’s license plate and called the local police for assistance. The local police simply laughed at her, saying that they should just cooperate with the military and reveal all that they knew or they would also suffer the same fate as her father. Will a petition for the writ of amparo prosper for the wife and the daughter? Explain briefly.

In an Information, a man was charged with having forcible carnal knowledge of a 16-year-old woman. The Information did not contain any allegation concerning the victim’s relationship with the accused. During the direct examination of the victim, the prosecution was able to elicit information that the accused was the 16-year-old woman’s father. The defense counsel failed to object to the testimony, having also been surprised by the revelation. After trial, the judge convicted the accused of simple rape and imposed the corresponding penalty. The prosecution moved for reconsideration, claiming that the accused should be convicted of qualified rape and not simple rape because the relationship between the victim and the accused was proven, even as it had not been alleged in the Information. Is the prosecution legally correct? Explain briefly.

Will a petition for mandamus lie to compel the Secretary of Foreign Affairs to convene representatives of neighboring countries similarly situated with the Philippines in order for them to find diplomatic solutions to enforce the Arbitral Award relating to the West Philippine Sea? Explain briefly.

Inspired by the movie On The Job, the Superintendent of the New Bilibid Prison, without any court order, transferred 10 persons deprived of liberty to an agricultural farm in Davao del Norte to plant camote. The owner of the agricultural farm promised to ensure that the persons deprived of liberty would not escape and would always wear the proper uniforms. Two of these 10 persons deprived of liberty found a way to approach you and suggested that you file a petition for the writ of habeas corpus on their behalf. The persons deprived of liberty added that they had no family in Davao and that their families had no means to visit them there. Is a petition for the writ of habeas corpus the proper remedy for their case? Explain briefly.

On her deathbed, your grandmother revealed to you that in 1994, she and her family won a civil action for damages against a former President for human rights atrocities committed against them during martial law. The judgment was never appealed. Your grandmother informed you that she never had the judgment executed because she wanted this to be her parting gift for you when she passed. She said that she also felt the need to wait for one of her grandchildren to become a lawyer. It so happened that you have just passed the #BestBarEver2020_21. Your grandmother spent her last moments narrating how she had been arrested by the military during martial law, and was then tortured and raped while under detention. She emphasized that her case was not unique, and that until now, she was yet to receive an apology from any member of the former President’s family. With her last breath, she instructed you not to let her experience happen again. Her parting words to you were: “Never again!” Is an action for revival of judgment the proper remedy to enable the judgment’s execution? Explain briefly.

A party, through counsel, filed a complaint to nullify the extrajudicial foreclosure of mortgage done by a creditor bank. The bank had already filed its answer. However, the counsel for the plaintiff felt that the judge was partial to the defendant’s counsel. Wanting to bolster the chances of winning for their client, the counsel for the plaintiff filed a second case against the same bank seeking to nullify the same extrajudicial foreclosure, but this time adding a prayer for the award of damages. The second case was raffled to another judge. The defendant bank’s counsel then moved to dismiss the second case. Will the motion prosper? Explain briefly.

Two years after receiving a copy of a decision rendered by a Regional Trial Court, a party engaged a counsel and asked them to work on reopening the case. The party explained that it took two years to find the best legal counsel available, and that counsel had to await two years to pass the #BestBarEver2020_21. After perusing the judgment and the case records, the counsel filed before the Court of Appeals a petition for annulment of judgment under Rule 47 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, asserting that the trial judge improperly assessed the evidence and misapplied a doctrine long adopted by the Supreme Court. Will the petition for annulment of judgment prosper? Explain briefly.