Republic of the Philippines
Supreme Court
Manila
2020/21 BAR EXAMINATIONS
PROCEDURE AND PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
FEBRUARY 6, 2022
2:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.
INSTRUCTIONS
This is a 4-hour examination consisting of 18 problems. Each of the problems
is worth 5 points.
As earlier announced in Bar Bulletin No. 31, of the 18 problems, the first 12
problems are on Remedial Law, followed by 4 problems on Ethics, and 2 practical
exercises.
All the problems will first require a "Yes" or "No" answer, followed by a
concise legal explanation. You are highly encouraged to read the question in the
problem first before reading the entire problem.
Do not type your final answer in the notes box, which is only placed as a
tool if you want to use it. Any answer written in the notes box will not be included
in your final answer.
Allocate your time efficiently, since the software allows you to skip problems.
Feel free to first answer questions you find relatively easier than the others. You may
return to the more difficult questions initially left unanswered. Use the Flag feature
so that you remember which items to return to.
Do not leave distinguishing marks in any of your answers. Do not write a
mantra, motto, prayer to deities or saints, special plea addressed to the examiner or
the Bar Chairperson, or any other such extraneous text. Leaving any distinguishing
mark is classified as cheating and can disqualify you from the whole Bar
Examinations.
Technical issues during the exam are rare, but if you experience one, do not
panic. Do not attempt to submit your exam answers. Call the attention of your
proctor for assistance.
If you need to step out of the room, use the Hide Screen feature to prevent
anyone from seeing your answers.
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You have until 6:00 p.m. to finish the exam. Make sure you have answered
everything and reviewed your answers before then. When submitting, the system
will ask you one more time to confirm if you are ready to submit your answer file,
giving you another opportunity to review your answers.
Once done, show your proctor the green screen confirming your submission.
If the green screen does not appear, check with your proctor before leaving the room.
Always keep in mind your obligations under the Honor Code.
When you hurdle the Bar Examinations, do not forget to serve the people.
Always remember: honor and excellence.
All the women and men who have made the Bar Examinations possible
despite the pandemic and other challenges wish you: All the best!
MARVIC M.V.F. LEONEN
Associate Justice and
Chairperson, 2020/21 Bar Examinations
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1.
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.
2.
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.
3.
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.
4.
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.
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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.
5.
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.
6.
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.
7.
Can dolphins be plaintiffs in a suit to enjoin a land reclamation that will affect
a biodiverse coral reef? Explain briefly.
8.
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.
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9.
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.
10. 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.
11. 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
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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.
12. 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.
13. While attending a wedding, a lawyer got to dance with and talk to another guest
who ended up sharing details of their marital problems. When asked by the
guest, the lawyer explained the distinctions among legal separation, annulment,
declaration of nullity, and divorce. The lawyer went on to not only extend
advice, but even to map out a strategy on how the guest's marital woes could be
addressed.
At the end of the conversation, the lawyer and the guest agreed to meet at a later
time to continue their discussion.
After the dance, the lawyer returned to their seat and shared with their best
friend the guest's marital problems.
Did the lawyer breach attorney-client privilege? Explain briefly.
14. During work, an overseas Filipino seafarer was seriously injured after falling
into the elevator shaft of a foreign vessel. After initial treatment in Singapore,
the seafarer was flown to the Philippines to continue medical treatment.
While the seafarer was confined in a hospital, two paralegals representing a
lawyer approached the seafarer offering that lawyer's services at a significantly
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discounted rate. They explained that they could sue the employer for indemnity
and added that the lawyer had a good track record at the National Labor
Relations Commission. The paralegals even bragged about the lawyer's
connections at the Supreme Court.
The seafarer agreed to engage the lawyer's services.
The employer proposed to settle the case out of court and eventually paid
PHP5,000,000.00. The employer deposited this amount in the lawyer's bank
account. The lawyer tried to remit PHP1,000,000.00 to the seafarer, making it
appear that the settlement was only for that amount.
The seafarer refused to accept the amount of PHP1,000,000.00, as no prior
approval had been given to the lawyer to settle the case. The seafarer filed a
complaint before the Supreme Court for the lawyer's disbarment.
Does the seafarer have legal grounds to file the complaint? Explain briefly.
15. The lawyer of an accused filed a motion to inhibit, alleging as ground that the
judge was the cousin of the private complainant, which is within the fourth
degree of consanguinity
Should the judge inhibit? Explain briefly.
16. A known tax lawyer in Iloilo became a member of the Integrated Bar of the
Philippines in 1974. This lawyer later migrated to the United States and became
an American citizen in 1989. In 2006, the lawyer reacquired their Philippine
citizenship by taking the oath of allegiance as a Filipino citizen before the
Philippine consulate in Washington, D.C. in the United States.
The lawyer now intends to return to Iloilo and resume legal practice.
Can this lawyer continue to practice law in the Philippines? Explain briefly.
17. Draft a jurat.
18. Draft a certification against forum shopping.
- END OF 2020/21 BAR EXAMINATIONS. CONGRATULATIONS! -
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