Course Outline Hi guys!
I'm here to tell you some tips on how to
MASS MEDIA LAWS AND ETHICS
2nd Semester, SY 2018-2019
Atty. Belen Cristina R. Princesa
1) January 26, 2019 (2nd Saturday)
COMPILED READINGS
A.
1. 1987 Philippine Constitution
Overview of the 1987 Philippine Constitituion
The Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines
PREAMBLE
ARTICLE I National Territory
ARTICLE II Declaration of Principles and State
Policies
ARTICLE III Bill of Rights (sec. 4-Freedom of
Expression; Sec. 7-Right to Information)
ARTICLE IV Citizenship
ARTICLE V Suffrage
ARTICLE VI Legislative Department
ARTICLE VII Executive Department
ARTICLE VIII Judicial Department
ARTICLE IX Constitutional Commissions
ARTICLE X Local Government
ARTICLE XI Accountability of Public Officers
ARTICLE XII National Economy and Patrimony
ARTICLE XIII Social Justice and Human Rights
ARTICLE XIV Education, Science and Technology, Arts,
Culture and Sports
ARTICLE XV The Family
ARTICLE XVI General Provisions
ARTICLE XVII Amendments or Revisions
ARTICLE XVIII Transitory Provisions
2. How to Make a Case Digest
LET'S DIGEST (A GUIDE ON HOW TO DIGEST A CASE)
LET'S DIGEST
(A GUIDE ON HOW TO DIGEST A CASE)
properly digest a case. As a law student, we are often
asked by our professors as a requirement to digest cases
which are normally assigned by your professors for the
whole semester. These cases contains the real life
application of the principles and theories that are
discussed in the law. Some cases are long and some are
short, some can reach up to 30 pages and some reach
only 2 to 5 pages, it depends on how critical the case is.
Now, some students have difficulty in digesting these
cases whether they are long or short. Probably because
of lack of experience in digesting cases or probably this is
a new concept for you. Digesting a case is more like a
book summary, you read a novel or a story then you
summarize the story. Same thing with case digest, you
read the case and summarize the whole case into
something comprehensive for a layman and of course for
yourself.
Here are some tips I'd like to share with you today. Some
of these tips are supported by different sources from
other blogs on How to Write a Case Digest. I'll be posting
the links of these sources in the end of this blog.
WHY SHOULD YOU DIGEST CASES?
The cases that will be assigned to you will be a huge part
of the discussions and recitations. It's really hard to
answer a question which you do not know the answer,
sometimes, you've read the cases by heart and
understand the doctrines inside it but because there are
tons of cases to read you might find yourself mixing facts
and ruling up and that's bad too. You digest cases in
order for you to have guidelines and overview regarding
the case you've read. Digest contains brief facts of the
case, issue which needs to be resolve in the case and the
decision and solution given by the court. You cannot
possibly memorize everything except if you're a boy
genius or someone who have a photographic memory.
Some professors do not allow open books but allow
open written notes, without a copy of a full text you're a
goner and you'd probably mix up the facts of the cases
assigned. When you have a written digest, you can
follow the discussion and probably even prepare for the
questions that might be asked by the professors with the
little life save you call, "Case Digest".
Some professors, also require that you submit your case
digests either week, or by the end of the semester. Don't
do the digests, and it's your loss. Some professors give
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considerations for the effort given in the digest. Some
professors put an incomplete (INC) mark to those who
did not pass their cases or those who have incomplete
case digest. It may not be possible for your professors to
read all your digests but it's worth the effort to impress
your professor with a complete and magnificent case
digest.
STEP 1: GET YOURSELF A FULL TEXT COPY OF THE CASE.
Why? I'll tell you why. You want to appreciate and
understand a story? Read the book and watch the movie
after. As a general rule you DO NOT! I repeat, YOU DO
NOT read the digest first before the full text of the case.
That is a mortal sin for professors if they found out
you've only read the case digest and not the full text. It
gives you that image of being lazy, and that's a big
problem with the capital "P" in it. But as the saying goes,
"if there's a general rule, there's an exception" which is,
if you are hopeless already and you have to finish the
case before the end of the world which is the class itself.
But this is not advisable some professors are tricky and
try to ask questions that are found in the full text and
most of the time are being overlooked by the students
(Such as the date, the justice who penned the case, the
names of the petitioner and respondent, etc.). SO DO
YOURSELF A FAVOR, GET A FULL TEXT COPY OF THE
CASE! You can get the full text of the case either through
the internet or directly from your law library.
HERE'S A TIP:
You can just leave the copy of the list of cases to the
librarian or the Xerox Copy Person (XCP because I do not
know how those people are called.) and ask him/her
kindly if he/she could go look for the listed cases there, if
they are kind enough to fetch the case for you then
you're lucky, and perhaps a tip would be nice to show
your appreciation. Make sure you give them the case list
2 days or a day before you need the copies of the full
text. It's not easy to xerox all those cases you know. If
not? Well, it's one hell of a long journey for you looking
at the SCRA one by one.
I prefer getting the full text of the case directly from the
library than the internet. Why? You can see the rulings
directly at the first page of the SCRA, it's already
categorized according to a particular topic of law
related/included in the case. It's much easier to digest.
STEP 2: DON'T JUST LOOK AT IT, READ IT!
You got the case? Good. Now, you read it. Have this
relationship with the case, you pay close attention to the
case and while you're at it perhaps you might want to
write some notes regarding the case not so hard of a
start isn't it? Reading the case takes some time, but take
note of the important things just in case, these are:
Full names of the petitioner and the respondent;
Date of the decision of case;
Important places in the case (specific address, name of
the boat, name of the street, etc.)
Justice who penned the case;and
Other information that seem important to the case.
These things are important specially in Criminal Cases
specially the time and place where the crime was
committed.
Now, some cases are interesting, criminal cases, cases
relating to annulment and the likes. However, you'll have
a problem with cases that will not really spark your
interest. For me, cases relating to tax and corporations
are incomprehensible and boring, but you have to read
these cases no matter what. It's worth the effort guys. If
you can read fifty shades of grey or the twilight saga then
you can also read those cases. Think that your life and
grade depend on it. Put humor in the cases, something
that will remind you of what is that case all about.
STEP 3: NOW WRITE!
Don't just think bout them, ink them. Remember that a
case digest should be a page short only as much as
possible, you're not rewriting the full text, you are
summarizing it. Now there are formalities which are to
observed in writing down your case digest, I will discuss
them step by step.
STEP 3.A: NAME OF THE CASE, GR. No., DATE and
JUSTICE WHO PENNED THE CASE.
This is important. If the full text is entitled "Maria
Corazon de Jesus Victoria Trinidad vs. Manuel Gabriel" or
if the case have many petitioners and respondents, the
you can shortcut it into (for my example) "Trinidad v.
Gabriel" Last name of the petitioner and last name of
respondent.
(based on an actual case. Note: I removed the name of
petitioner and respondent)
Then after the case title, under that, you put the G.R
Number of the case and the date of the decision of the
case beside it.
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(based on an actual case. Note: I removed the name of
petitioner and respondent)
After writing those two, you write the surname of the
Justice who penned the decision.
(based on an actual case. Note: I removed the name of
petitioner and respondent)
Your Case Caption should look like this (based on my
example earlier):
TRINIDAD v. GABRIEL
G.R. No. XXXXXXX, August 30, 1950
DE GUZMAN, J.:
STEP 3.B: FACTS
Facts are the brief story of the case. You should write
what happened in the case, who are the petitioner and
the respondents, what is the decision of the Court of
Appeals and Lower Courts. Facts should be brief as
possible. A digest is a summary of the full text and not
another copy of the full text.
STEP 3.C: ISSUE
Issue for me, always starts with WHETHER OR NOT
followed by the issue that is related to your topic. For
example, the topic is warrant of arrest and the issue in
the case is the validity of the warrant, then your issue
should be, WHETHER OR NOT the warrant is valid.
STEP 3.D: RULING/HELD
This is the decision of the SUPREME COURT. I repeat, this
is the DECISION OF THE SUPREME COURT not the ruling
of any lower court regarding the issue you raised in your
issue portion. So, The ISSUE is the question, the RULING
is the answer.
You can use Ruling or Held, whatever is comfortable for
you. The point is, you or other people should see the
decision of the court whether it is granted or dismissed
and the rationale for such decision. Decision should
answer the issue as i said earlier, if you put a decision
that does not answer your issue then you have a
problem discussing the case.
STEP 3.E: HOW IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE
TRINIDAD v. GABRIEL
G.R. No. XXXXXXX, August 30, 1950
DE GUZMAN, J.:
FACTS:
ISSUE:
RULING:
STEP 3.F: SAMPLE DIGEST
BIRAOGO v. THE PHILIPPINE TRUTH COMMISSION OF
2010
G.R No. 192935. December 7, 2010
MENDOZA, J.:
FACT:
E.O No. 1 establishing the Philippine Truth Commission
(PTC) of 2010 was signed by President Aquino. The said
PTC is a mere branch formed under the Office of the
President tasked to investigate reports of graft and
corruption committed by third-level public officers and
employees, their co-principals, accomplices and
accessories during the previous administration and
submit their findings and recommendations to the
President, Congress and the Ombudsman. However, PTC
is not a quasi-judicial body, it cannot adjudicate,
arbitrate, resolve, settle or render awards in disputes
between parties. Its job is to investigate, collect and
asses evidences gathered and make recommendations. It
has subpoena powers but it has no power to cite people
in contempt or even arrest. It cannot determine for such
facts if probable cause exist as to warrant the filing of an
information in our courts of law.
Petitioners contends the Constitutionality of the E.O. on
the grounds that.
It violates separation of powers as it arrogates the power
of Congress to create a public office and appropriate
funds for its operation;
The provisions of Book III, Chapter 10, Section 31 of the
Administrative Code of 1987 cannot legitimize E.O. No. 1
because the delegated authority of the President to
structurally reorganize the Office of the President to
achieve economy, simplicity, and efficiency does not
include the power to create an entirely new office was
inexistent like the Truth Commission;
The E.O illegally amended the Constitution when it made
the Truth Commission and vesting it the power
duplicating and even exceeding those of the Office of the
Ombudsman and the DOJ.
It violates the equal protection clause
ISSUE:
WHETHER OR NOT the said E.O is unconstitutional.
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RULING:

Yes, E.O No. 1 should be struck down as it is violative of

the equal protection clause. The Chief Executive’s power
to create the Ad hoc Investigating Committee cannot be
doubted. Having been constitutionally granted full
control of the Executive Department, to which
respondents belong, the President has the obligation to
ensure that all executive officials and employees
faithfully comply with the law. With AO 298 as mandate,
the legality of the investigation is sustained. Such validity
is not affected by the fact that the investigating team
and the PCAGC had the same composition, or that the
former used the offices and facilities of the latter in
conducting the inquiry.
One basic corollary in a presidential system of
government is the principle of separation of powers
4. CONCLUSION wherein legislation belongs to Congress, execution to the
Executive, and settlement of legal controversies to the
So That's all that you need to know with regards to
Judiciary.
digesting cases. I hope these helps and please let me
know what you think about digesting cases. We're also
open for other suggestions just leave it on the comments
The Legislative branch is authorized to make laws, alter,
section. THANK YOU AND GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR
and repeal them through the power vested in the
DIGESTS!
Philippine Congress. This institution is divided into the
http://letstalkaboutthelaw.blogspot.com/2015/04/lets- Senate and the House of Representatives.
digest-guide-on-how-to-digest-case.html

3. Hierarchy of Laws The Executive branch carries out laws. It is composed of

the President and the Vice President who are elected by
direct popular vote and serve a term of six years. The
Constitution grants the President authority to appoint his
Cabinet. These departments form a large portion of the
country’s bureaucracy.

The Judicial branch evaluates laws. It holds the power to

______________________________________________
4. Branches of the Philippine Government
settle controversies involving rights that are legally
demandable and enforceable. This branch determines
whether or not there has been a grave abuse of
discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on
the part and instrumentality of the government. It is
made up of a Supreme Court and lower courts.

Each branch of government can change acts of the other

branches as follows:

 The President can veto laws passed by Congress.

 Congress confirms or rejects the President's

appointments and can remove the President
from office in exceptional circumstances.

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  The Justices of the Supreme Court, who can
overturn unconstitutional laws, are appointed by
the President and confirmed by the Senate.
 The Philippine government seeks to act in the
best interests of its citizens through this system
of checks and balances.
 The Constitution expressly grants the Supreme
Court the power of Judicial Review as the power
to declare a treaty, international or executive
agreement, law, presidential decree,
proclamation, order, instruction, ordinance or
regulation unconstitutional.
Legislative Department
The Legislative Branch enacts legislation, confirms or
rejects Presidential appointments, and has the authority
to declare war. This branch includes Congress (the
Senate and House of Representatives) and several
agencies that provide support services to Congress.
Senate – The Senate shall be composed of twenty-four
Senators who shall be elected at large by the qualified
voters of the Philippines, as may be provided by law.
House of Representatives – The House of
Representatives shall be composed of not more than two
hundred and fifty members, unless otherwise fixed by
law, who shall be elected from legislative districts
apportioned among the provinces, cities, and the
Metropolitan Manila area in accordance with the
number of their respective inhabitants, and on the basis
of a uniform and progressive ratio, and those who, as
provided by law, shall be elected through a party-list
system of registered national, regional, and sectoral
parties or organizations.
The party-list representatives shall constitute twenty
per cent of the total number of representatives including
those under the party list. For three consecutive terms
after the ratification of this Constitution, one-half of the
seats allocated to party-list representatives shall be
filled, as provided by law, by selection or election from
the labor, peasant, urban poor, indigenous cultural
communities, women, youth, and such other sectors as
may be provided by law, except the religious sector.
Executive Department
The executive branch carries out and enforces laws. It
includes the President, Vice President, the Cabinet,
executive departments, independent agencies, and other
boards, commissions, and committees.
Key roles of the executive branch include:
President – The President leads the country. He/she is
the head of state, leader of the national government,
and Commander in Chief of all armed forces of the
Philippines. The President serves a six-year term and
cannot be re-elected.
Vice President – The Vice President supports the
President. If the President is unable to serve, the Vice
President becomes President. He/she serves a six-year
term.
The Cabinet – Cabinet members serve as advisors to the
President. They include the Vice President and the heads
of executive departments. Cabinet members are
nominated by the President and must be confirmed by
the Commission of Appointments.
Judicial Department
The judicial branch interprets the meaning of laws,
applies laws to individual cases, and decides if laws
violate the Constitution. The judicial power shall be
vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower courts as
may be established by law.
Judicial power includes the duty of the courts of justice
to settle actual controversies involving rights which are
legally demandable and enforceable, and to determine
whether or not there has been a grave abuse of
discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on
the part of any branch or instrumentality of the
Government. The judicial branch interprets the meaning
of laws, applies laws to individual cases, and decides if
laws violate the Constitution.
5. Principle of Judicial Hierarchy
PRINCIPLE OF JUDICIAL HIERARCHY
A higher court will not entertain direct resort to it unless
the redress cannot be obtained in the appropriate
courts.
This is an ordained sequence of recourse to courts
vested with concurrent jurisdiction, beginning from the
lowest, on to the next highest, and ultimately to the
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highest. This hierarchy is determinative of the venue of
appeals, and is likewise determinative of the proper
forum for petitions for extraordinary writs. This is an
established policy necessary to avoid inordinate
demands upon the Court‘s time and attention which are
better devoted to those matters within its exclusive
jurisdiction, and to preclude the further clogging of the
Court‘s docket.
The SC is a court of last resort. It cannot and should not
be burdened with the task of deciding cases in the first
instances. Its jurisdiction to issue extraordinary writs
should be exercised only where absolutely necessary or
where serious and important reasons exist.
Petitions for the issuance of extraordinary writs against
first level courts should be filed with the RTC and those
against the latter with the CA. A direct invocation of the
SC‘s original jurisdiction to issue these writs should be
allowed only where there are special and important
reasons therefore, clearly and specifically set out in the
petition.
The doctrine of hierarchy of courts may be disregarded if
warranted by the nature and importance of the issues
raised in the interest of speedy justice and to avoid
future litigations, or in cases of national interest and of
serious implications.
Sec. 9[1], BP 129; Sec. 5[1], Art. VIII, Constitution of the
Philippines, By “hierarchy of courts” is meant that while
the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, and the
Regional Trial Courts have concurrent original jurisdiction
to issue writs of certiorari, prohibition, mandamus, quo
warranto and habeas corpus, such occurrence does not
accord litigants unrestrained freedom of choice of the
court to which application therefore maybe directed. The
application should be filed with the court of lower level
unless the importance of the issue involved deserves the
action of the court of higher level. (Uy vs. Contreras, 237
SCRA 167)
6. Principle of “Stare Decises”
Stare Decisis
Principle of Stare Decisis
The principle of stare decisis enjoins adherence by lower
courts to doctrinal rules established by this Court in its
final decisions. It is based on the principle that once a
question of law has been examined and decided, it
should be deemed settled and closed to further
argument.[49] Basically, it is a bar to any attempt to
relitigate the same issues,[50] necessary for two simple
reasons: economy and stability. In our jurisdiction, the
principle is entrenched in Article 8 of the Civil Code.[51]
This doctrine of adherence to precedents or stare decisis
was applied by the English courts and was later adopted
by the United States. Associate Justice (now Chief
Justice) Reynato S. Puno’s discussion on the historical
development of this legal principle in his dissenting
opinion in Lambino v. Commission on Elections[52] is
enlightening:
The latin phrase stare decisis et non quieta movere
means “stand by the thing and do not disturb the calm.”
The doctrine started with the English Courts. Blackstone
observed that at the beginning of the 18th century,
“it is an established rule to abide by former precedents
where the same points come again in litigation.” As the
rule evolved, early limits to its application were
recognized:
(1) it would not be followed if it were “plainly
unreasonable”;
(2) where courts of equal authority developed
conflicting decisions; and,
(3) the binding force of the decision was the “actual
principle or principles necessary for the decision; not the
words or reasoning used to reach the decision.”
The doctrine migrated to the United States. It was
recognized by the framers of the U.S. Constitution.
According to Hamilton, “strict rules and precedents” are
necessary to prevent “arbitrary discretion in the
courts.”Madison agreed but stressed that “x x x once the
precedent ventures into the realm of altering or
repealing the law, it should be rejected.” Prof. Consovoy
well noted that Hamilton and Madison “disagree about
the countervailing policy considerations that would allow
a judge to abandon a precedent.” He added that their
ideas “reveal a deep internal conflict between the
concreteness required by the rule of law and the
flexibility demanded in error correction. It is this internal
conflict that the Supreme Court has attempted to deal
with for over two centuries.”
Indeed, two centuries of American case law will confirm
Prof. Consovoy’s observation although stare decisis
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developed its own life in the United States. Two strains (3) it allows for predictability.
of stare decisis have been isolated by legal scholars.

Contrariwise, courts refuse to be bound by the stare

The first, known as vertical stare decisis deals with the
duty of lower courts to apply the decisions of the higher
courts to cases involving the same facts.
The second, known as horizontal stare decisis requires
that high courts must follow its own precedents. Prof.
Consovoy correctly observes that vertical stare decisis
has been viewed as an obligation, while horizontal stare
decisis, has been viewed as a policy, imposing choice but
not a command. Indeed, stare decisis is not one of the
precepts set in stone in our Constitution.
decisis rule where
(1) its application perpetuates illegitimate and
unconstitutional holdings;
(2) it cannot accommodate changing social and political
understandings;
(3) it leaves the power to overturn bad constitutional law
solely in the hands of Congress; and,
(4) activist judges can dictate the policy for future courts
while judges that respect stare decisis are stuck agreeing
with them.

It is also instructive to distinguish the two kinds of In its 200-year history, the U.S. Supreme Court has
horizontal stare decisis — constitutional stare decisis and refused to follow the stare decisis rule and reversed its
statutory stare decisis. decisions in 192 cases. The most famous of these
reversals is Brown v. Board of Education which junked
Constitutional stare decisis involves judicial
Plessy v. Ferguson’s “separate but equal doctrine.”
interpretations of the Constitution while
Plessy upheld as constitutional a state law requirement
statutory stare decisis involves interpretations of that races be segregated on public transportation. In
statutes. Brown, the U.S. Supreme Court, unanimously held that
“separate . . . is inherently unequal.” Thus, by freeing
The distinction is important for courts enjoy more
itself from the shackles of stare decisis, the U.S. Supreme
flexibility in refusing to apply stare decisis in
Court freed the colored Americans from the chains of
constitutional litigations. Justice Brandeis’ view on the
inequality. In the Philippine setting, this Court has
binding effect of the doctrine in constitutional litigations
likewise refused to be straitjacketed by the stare decisis
still holds sway today. In soothing prose, Brandeis stated:
rule in order to promote public welfare. In La Bugal-
“Stare decisis is not . . . a universal and inexorable
B’laan Tribal Association, Inc. v. Ramos, we reversed our
command. The rule of stare decisis is not inflexible.
original ruling that certain provisions of the Mining Law
Whether it shall be followed or departed from, is a
are unconstitutional. Similarly, in Secretary of Justice v.
question entirely within the discretion of the court,
Lantion, we overturned our first ruling and held, on
which is again called upon to consider a question once
motion for reconsideration, that a private respondent is
decided.” In the same vein, the venerable Justice
bereft of the right to notice and hearing during the
Frankfurter opined: “the ultimate touchstone of
evaluation stage of the extradition process.
constitutionality is the Constitution itself and not what
we have said about it.” In contrast, the application of
stare decisis on judicial interpretation of statutes is more
An examination of decisions on stare decisis in major
inflexible. As Justice Stevens explains: “after a statute
countries will show that courts are agreed on the factors
has been construed, either by this Court or by a
that should be considered before overturning prior
consistent course of decision by other federal judges and
rulings. These are workability, reliance, intervening
agencies, it acquires a meaning that should be as clear as
developments in the law and changes in fact. In addition,
if the judicial gloss had been drafted by the Congress
courts put in the balance the following determinants:
itself.” This stance reflects both respect for Congress’
closeness of the voting, age of the prior decision and its
role and the need to preserve the courts’ limited
merits.
resources.

The leading case in deciding whether a court should

In general, courts follow the stare decisis rule for an
ensemble of reasons, viz.:
(1) it legitimizes judicial institutions;
(2) it promotes judicial economy; and,
follow the stare decisis rule in constitutional litigations is
Planned Parenthood v. Casey. It established a 4-pronged
test. The court should (1) determine whether the rule
has proved to be intolerable simply in defying practical
workability; (2) consider whether the rule is subject to a
7
kind of reliance that would lend a special hardship to the
consequences of overruling and add inequity to the cost
of repudiation; (3) determine whether related principles
of law have so far developed as to have the old rule no
more than a remnant of an abandoned doctrine; and, (4)
find out whether facts have so changed or come to be
seen differently, as to have robbed the old rule of
significant application or justification.[53]

To be forthright, respondent’s argument that the

doctrinal guidelines prescribed in Santos and Molina
should not be applied retroactively for being contrary to
the principle of stare decisis is no longer new. The same
argument was also raised but was struck down in Pesca
v. Pesca,[54] and again in Antonio v. Reyes.[55] In these
cases, we explained that the interpretation or
construction of a law by courts constitutes a part of the
law as of the date the statute is enacted. It is only when
a prior ruling of this Court is overruled, and a different
view is adopted, that the new doctrine may have to be
applied prospectively in favor of parties who have relied
on the old doctrine and have acted in good faith, in
accordance therewith under the familiar rule of “lex
prospicit, non respicit.”

https://bataspinoy.wordpress.com/quotations/supreme-
court/

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