16 April 2020

Dear Class 2D,

I hope everyone's doing well - physically, mentally and spiritually. These are extra-ordinary times,

As you all know, the law school will continue with the current asynchronous learning arrangement until the
end of the semester. Given this, the following will be our ways forward for our class:

1. Reading assignments.

The class is expected to study at their own pace, guided by the syllabus that was distributed at the start
of the semester. Following our schedule, you should be able to start working on Session 9 by next week
(April 20) and finish the weekly assignments with Session 14 by the week of May 25. While this is a self-
paced study, I encourage everyone to finish the weekly readings on time, to give you more space to digest
the materials.

2. Online Forum.

To assist your learnings, I will set-up three thematic online discussions/fora with the class. These sessions
are meant to give the class an avenue to ask questions, have a discussion on the principles/concepts as
applied in practical terms, and to synthesize key learning points. The online discussions will be freestyle
(not strictly Q&A, more like kapihan or roundtable style). Attendance to these sessions will be voluntary.

The three thematic discussions and dates are:

a. Powers and functions of LGUs - May 14;
b. LGU structure and officials - May 21; and
c. Public accountability - May 28.

I will coordinate the time with your beadle, but if okay with everyone, I prefer doing the sessions in the
morning.

3. Class project.

As part of your online assessment, and in lieu of midterms, I will be assigning a class project. The class will
be expected to develop a primer on public corporations law. This should include basic concepts and
principles, doctrines from case law, and relevant Constitutional and LGC provisions. Bonus points if there
are situational examples included on how LGC provisions and principles are applied. Please note that the
primer should not contain any case digests. I leave it up to the class to decide on the format (whether it
be FAQs, summary of notes, narrative, etc). This will also serve the purpose of having a class reviewer for
the final exams.

Kindlydivide yourselves in 10 groups to work on the following topics:

a. Public corporations (general concepts and principles) and local autonomy
b. LGUs: nature, dual agency, types, creation, abolition
c. General attributes and powers of LGUs (3 groups)
i. General attributes, police power, eminent domain
ii. Land re-classification, other corporate powers and local legislation
iii. Power to tax and fiscal autonomy
d. Local government structure and officials (2 groups)
i. Qualifications, terms of office, powers and functions
ii. Prohibitions, vacancies and succession
e. Public accountability (2 groups)
 i. Liability of LGUs
ii. Disciplinary actions over local government officials
f. Public participation in local governance

Your beadle will send me a list of the group members per topic. Although you will be working in small
groups, I expect the primer to be one coherent output. The project will be graded per group output and as
a whole. This will be due 5 June 2020.

4. Integration lectures.

Two 2-hour integration lectures will be scheduled on the 1st two weeks of June, prior to your final exams.
This will be done onsite should government and university regulations allow us, or remotely if the present
movement restrictions are extended. I’ll coordinate this further with your beadle by the 3rd week of May.

5. Final grade.

Final exams will be given starting 15 June 2020. Coverage of your exams will be comprehensive. Breakdown
of final grade will be as follows:

Recitation 30%
Online assessment 30%
Final Exams 40%
Total 100%

That’s about it. Should you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to email me.

Stay safe and healthy, and study well. J

Sincerely,
MBU