LEGRES REVALIDA DEBATE CLTUCH QUESTIONS

1. The Justices of the Supreme Court sits en banc in all cases involving disciplinary
actions among lawyers and judges. Carmelo, a practicing lawyer from Bataan felt
that there is an inner woman in him that he is suppresing through the years. Firm
with his decision, he saved a lot of money and underwent sex change in
Thailand. After a month of recuperation, he returned to work as litigation lawyer.
The IBP Bataan Chapter filed a disciplinary action against him on the groung of
conduct unbecoming as a lawyer. Is is tenable?

2. International treatises shall form part of the law of the land in which we must
adhere as part of family of nations. The Country is a part of the ASEAN that
included free trade of goods and services. Can a Singaporean lawyer be allowed
to establish his law firm to give corporate legal services to Singaporean firms and
nationalities in the Philippines?

3. Anjo, a 45 year old female sales executive would like to correct the clerical error
in her birth certificate alleging error submitted by a hilot who assisted her mother
in giving birth. She wants her name to be corrected as Anji. The Civil registry
opposed that the change of her name is not clerical but substantial change that
only courts may change. Said change demanded shall result to having a full
fledged woman as her status

4. Amor engaged Dr Beli to perform liposuction. Notwithstanding the right amount of

anesthesia, Amor suffered difficulty of breathing and died despite due care. The
doctor was sued

a. Can Dr Beli be held accoubtable on account of testimony stated by an

expert witness

b. If Dr Beli died during the pendency of the case, can there be a

civilclaims against his estate.

c. If during the pendency of the case, a new medical malpractice law

was enacted to providing for permanent revocation of license as
penalty, will it apply to him?
 5. Angelina, a married woman, is a division chief in the Department of Science and
Technology. She had been living with a married man, not her husband, for the
last 15 years. Administratively charged with immorality and conduct prejudicial to
the best interest to the service, she admits her live-in arrangement, but maintains
that this conjugal understanding is in conformity with their religious beliefs. As
members of the religious sect, Dating Dito Religious Org., they had executed a
Declaration of Pledging Faithfulness which has been confirmed and blessed by
their Council of Elders. At the formal investigation of the administrative case, the
Grand Elder of the sect affirmed Angelina’s testimony and attested to the
sincerity of Angelina and her partner in the profession of their faith. Can the court
interfere with the case taking into consideration her right to such religious beliefs
and practice.

6. The Destilleria Notario is famous for its 15-year old rum, which it has produced
and marketed successfully for the past 40years. Its latest commercial
advertisement uses the line: "Nakatikim ka na ba ng kinse anyos?" Very soon,
activist groups promoting women's and children's rights were up in arms against
the advertisement.

- All advertising companies in the Philippines have formed an association, the

Philippine Advertising Council, and have agreed to abide by all the ethical
guidelines and decisions by the Council. In response to the protests, the Council
orders the pull- out of the "kinse anyos" advertising campaign. Can Destilleria
Notario claim that its constitutional rights are thus infringed?

7. You are a Family Court judge and before you is a Petition for the Declaration of Nullity
of Marriage (under Article 36 of the Family Code) filed by Maria against Neil. Maria claims
that Neil is psychologically incapacitated to comply with the essential obligations of
marriage because Neil is a drunkard, a womanizer, a gambler, and a mama's boy- traits
that she never knew or saw when Neil was courting her. Although summoned, Neil did
not answer Maria's petition and never appeared in court.

To support her petition, Maria presented three witnesses- herself, Dr. Elsie Chan, and
Ambrosia. Dr. Chan testified on the psychological report on Neil that she prepared. Since
Neil never acknowledged that he responded to her invitation for interviews, her report is
solely based on her interviews with Maria and the spouses' minor children. Dr. Chan
concluded that Neil is suffering from Narcissistic Personality Disorder, an ailment that she
found to be already present since Neil's early adulthood and one that is grave and
incurable. Maria testified on the specific instances when she found Neil drunk, with
another woman, or squandering the family's resources in a casino. Ambrosia, the
spouses' current household help, corroborated Maria's testimony.
On the basis of the evidence presented, will you grant the petition?

8. Ariz and Paz were officemates at Perlas ng Silangan Bank (PSB). They fell in love
with each other and had a civil and church wedding. Meanwhile, Paz rapidly climbed
the corporate ladder of PSB and eventually became its Vice President, while Ariz
remained one of its bank supervisors, although he was short of 12 units to finish his
Masters of Business Administration (MBA) degree. Ariz became envious of the
success of his wife. He started to drink alcohol until he became a drunkard. He
preferred to join his "barkadas" became a wifebeater; would hurt his children without
any reason; and failed to contribute to the needs of the family. Despite rehabilitation
and consultation with a psychiatrist, his ways did not change.After 19 years of
marriage, Paz, a devout Catholic, decided to have their marriage annulled by the
church. Through the testimony of Paz and a psychiatrist, it was found that Ariz was a
spoiled brat in his youth and was sometimes involved in brawls. In his teens, he was
once referred to a psychiatrist for t reatment due to his violent tendencies. In due time,
the National Appellate Matrimonial Tribunal (NAMT) annulled the union of Ariz and
Paz due to the failure of Ariz to perform and fulfill his duties as a husband and as a
father to their children. The NAMT concluded that it is for the best interest of Paz, Ariz
and their children to have the marriage annulled.In view of the NAMT decision, Paz
decided to file a Petition for Declaration of Nullity of Marriage of their civil wedding
before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Makati City using the NAMT decision and the
same evidence adduced in the church annulment proceedings as basis.If you are the
judge, will you grant the petition? Explain

9. Miko and Dinah started to live together as husband and wife without the benefit of
marriage in 1984. Ten (10) years after, they separated. In 1996, they decided to live
together again, and in 1998, they got married.
On February 17, 2001, Dinah filed a complaint for declaration of nullity of her marriage
with Miko on the ground of psychological incapacity under Article 36 of the Family Code.
The court rendered the following decision:
1. Declaring the marriage null and void;
2. Dissolving the regime of absolute community of property; and
3. Declaring that a decree of absolute nullity of marriage shall only be issued after
liquidation, partition and distribution of the parties’ properties under Article 147 of the
Family Code."
Dinah filed a motion for partial reconsideration questioning the portion of the decision on
the issuance of a decree of nullity of marriage only after the liquidation, partition and
distribution of properties under Article 147 of the Code.
If you are the judge, how will you decide petitioner’s motion for partial reconsideration?
Why?

10. On March 30, 2000, Mariano died intestate and was survived by his wife, Leonora,
and children, Danilo and Carlito. One of the properties he left was a piece of land in
Alabang where he built his residential house.After his burial, Leonora and Mariano’s
children extrajudicially settled his estate. Thereafter, Leonora and Danilo advised Carlito
of their intention to partition the property. Carlito opposed invoking Article 159 of the
Family Code. Carlito alleged that since his minor child Lucas still resides in the premises,
the family home continues until that minor beneficiary becomes of age.Is the contention
of Carlito tenable?

11. After undergoing sex reassignment in a foreign country, Jose, who is now using the
name of "Josie," married his partner Ador. Is the marriage valid?

12. Spouses Esteban and Maria decided to raise their two (2) nieces, Faith and Hope,
both minors, as their own children after the parents of the minors died in a vehicular
accident.Ten (10) years after, Esteban died. Maria later on married her boss Daniel, a
Britishnational who had been living in the Philippines for two (2) years.With the
permission of Daniel, Maria filed a petition for the adoption of Faith and Hope. She did
not include Daniel as her co-petitioner because for Maria, it was her former husband
Esteban who raised the kids.If you are the judge, how will you resolve the petition?

13. Romeo and Juliet, both Filipinos, got married. After a few years, Juliet got word from
her mother that she can go to the United States for naturalization. Juliet promised she will
be back the moment she becomes an American. After sometime, Romeo learned from a
friend that Juliet already became a U.S. citizen and even divorced him to marry a wealthy
American businessman. Romeo filed a petition before the Regional Trial Court praying
that an order be issued authorizing him to remarry pursuant to Article 26 of the Family
Code. Decide the petition with reasons:

14. Leo married Lina and they begot a son. After the birth of their child, Lina exhibited
unusual behavior and started to neglect her son; she frequently went out with her friends
and gambled in casinos. Lina later had extra-marital affairs with several men and
eventually abandoned Leo and their son. Leo was able to talk to the psychiatrist of Lina
who told him that Lina suffers from dementia praecox, a form of psychosis where the
afflicted person is prone to commit homicidal attacks, Leo was once stabbed by Lina but
fortunately he only suffered minor injuries, Will a Petition for Declaration of Nullity of
Marriage filed with the court prosper? Explain.