POLITICAL LAW: SLAYING THE MYTH OF ITS DIFFICULTY

Where do you find yourself right now?

Imbedded in the middle of quarantine, amidst the unseen and dangerous virus.
You cannot go out to your favorite beach to display your most revealing two pieces of cloth;
or climb your balding mountain and declare your long awaited end of the semester shout.
You cannot attend your intimate parties, or simply sip coffee in the midst of the clattering voices
of millennials.
Ironically, no matter how excited you are to see your long lost professor, or extremely
determined to take your final examinations, your law school will not even allow you to enter its
doors.

But in the confusion of all these, in the mounting loads of boredom and losing shapes and curves
of your bodies, you have your complete law books and materials, steady or faltering internet
connection, and more importantly an intact configuration of your dream of becoming a lawyer.

So instead of cursing the virus, or cementing your realization of how idiotic you are in voting for
the present government officials who seem to be one step behind than the mutation of the virus,
let us go down to work.

My present concern is Political Law and how best to prepare for it in the Comprehensive or Bar
Examinations. There is a common view that it is difficult and with it being scheduled as the first
subject to be taken in the examinations, it becomes all the more a daunting task. Don’t believe
any of it. It is only an opinion. The truth is it is extremely difficult for those who are not
prepared. So the secret of slaying the myth of Political Law’s difficulty is preparation.

This is only a suggestion. You may want to follow what is written here or you may want to
ignore it. It all depends on you. As one softdrinks advertisement used to declare, “ we are the
product of the choices we make.”

First, before anything else, read the codal of the 1987 Philippine Constitution. From the
“We, the sovereign Filipino people…” of the Preamble up to the “herein affixed.” of the
Transitory Provisions. There is no substitute for a mastery of the constitution.

 It is the basic law of the land so all other laws, especially in political law, emanate from it
 Even if you will not be able to remember the pertinent cases, if you remember the
provisions applicable to the facts, then you will not leave the number blank
 Many of the questions in the Compre and Bar Exams are answerable from the codal
provisions. i.e. bills covered by origin clause, persons allowed to transfer savings,
impeachable officers, votes required, periods to decide cases, valid grounds for changing
membership in the Electoral Tribunal, etc.
 Bring a codal of the constitution wherever you go. Any spare time you have, don’t use it
counting the vehicles in front of you, or criticizing disproportionate legs passing you by.
Read the constitution. If you are finished reading it, take a break. Count the stars, feel the
grasses, appreciate the sunrise or the sunset. Then read again the codal in your spare time.
Remember the word is Mastery.

Second, read the cases. It will be more difficult to deal with Political Law if you are not well
verse with cases.
 For a start, you can get a copy of the cases I assign to you in Constitutional Law 1 and
2. I am sure when you were taking up Administrative Law, Law on Public officers,
Law on Public Corporations, Election Law and Public International Law, you were
assigned so many cases to digest. Get them and read them. In Political Law Review,
there are also assigned cases for all these seven subjects.
 Don’t be satisfied with the digested version in the internet. When you were in first
year (for those who were my students) you have digested many of these cases. As
 much as possible read the complete version of the cases so that you will be able to
understand the facts of the cases and the subsequent application of the law.
 There are so many issues in one case. So if you are studying for Political Law, please
take note especially of the issues that affect it. Take for example, the series of cases
on the declaration of Martial Law, the Lagman vs, Medialdea cases. Aside from the
review on the constitutionality of Martial Law, there are also other issues on
Remedial Law, such as standing, joinder of parties, moot and academic exceptions,
etc.
 When I was checking compre notebooks, I felt really sad that the examinee cannot
answer correctly that the review of the Supreme Court regarding the constitutionality
of the declaration of martial and the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas
corpus, is independent of whatever action that congress will undertake. The SC does
not have to wait for congress to finish its review before the former can act. If the
student did not answer that question correctly, that means, first, he did not read the
codal well enough, second, he did not read Lagman vs. Medialdea, and he still sticks
to the case of Fortun. In short, he is not prepared to take the Compre in Political Law.
 Sadder still is regarding a student who cited a correct title of the case but his
conclusion about the ruling in the case is wrong. That simply means that he did not
read the case thoroughly enough to understand the facts, the ruling of the court and its
applicability. Please don’t make any short cuts in reading the cases. If you skip the
paragraph or a particular page in what you are reading make sure that you know and
understand what you are skipping.
 Update your list of cases. There are cases that are promulgated by the SC every year.
My list may not contain all the recent ones so it is better to do the updating
yourselves. Consider also the following:
o Martial Law in Mindanao was already extended three times.
o There is a new law on recognizance
o There is a limit already in how long congress can detain a resource person
cited in contempt. The Arvin R. Balag case.
o The rotational scheme being observed in promotional appointments in the
Constitutional Commissions, does not apply to the Office of the Omsbudsman
o The case of Laila De Lima, as to jurisdiction of the RTC and the
Sandiganbayan.
o In updating your cases you may ask for materials from those who just took the
bar examinations. Just pray that they did not burn them in frustration or are
still holding to them because they believe that they will have another trip back
to UST. But you can always have them recopied.

Third, read your text books. Much as you want to tickle already your Red Books, your
blue notes, or any different colors of your memory aids, restrain yourselves first. Go back and
connect with Joaquin again. Embrace once more Isagani or any other secret author you have in
Political Law. I am not saying you will read every page of Joaquin’s book. You will be
consuming a lot of time. But go back and understand the portions that explain the fundamentals,
the basic. You won’t believe that there are still students who took the compre exam but cannot
completely and correctly apply the parliamentary immunity. They mention the requisite of
congress being in session but failed to apply the impossible penalty. Why go back to the texts
now?

 Because with the quarantine, you have all the time. You will be gasping for time
if classes will already start in June or July.
 You will not have time anymore to go back to your textbooks once your regular
review classes begin or your bar review starts.
 As you read your texts, take hold again of your notes while you were in first
years. Your notes will help you understand the complex or complicated
provisions. For instance, how do you determine quorum in relation to those
 members of congress outside the Philippines or whether or not congress is in
session based simply on the dates given.
 If you don’t have your notes, I am sure you know where to get them. From your
favorite classmate.
 I don’t know if you were compiling the quizzes given you from first year to third
or fourth years. If you did, then just review your answers, especially those that
you were mistaken. Not repeating your mistakes is a sign of learning and is part of
the preparation process. Repeating the same mistake is a sign that you are
prolonging your march towards achieving your goals. In always prolonging, there
is a danger of burn out.

Fourth, after doing all the previous three, then read Nachura. The book of Nachura is in
Outline Form. Many of the cases cited there are not completely discussed but only those portions
which are relevant. That is why if you have already a mastery of the constitution, well verse of
the cases and a clear understanding of the fundamental principles in different subjects, you will
find that your experience of reading Nachura is more meaningful and productive.

If you find some cases cited by Nachura which you are not familiar with, it is wise to
look it up and read the complete facts and ruling of the court so that you will understand why
those cases are being cited there.
If you are confused while reading the provisions or the cases cited, do something about
your “confusement” (confusion). Ask for an explanation, seek from those who can reconcile the
provisions, or PM those who are in a position to know. Don’t appreciate the sunset or go down
with the twilight with your confusement. My account name in FB is Jose Edmund Guillen.

Fifth, you have to make sure that you cover all the bases. The topics in Political Law are
listed in the Syllabus of the Bar Examinations. You have to download it and as you progress in
your journey, you just have to check whether you already covered it or not. For those who are
taking the bar examinations, you will be in the best position to go to your bar Review classes if
you finished already all the topics listed in the Syllabus. For the incoming fourth years, it is best
if you do so before your regular classes start.

Sixth, you have to realize that the coverage of the Bar Examinations and the
Comprehensive Examinations is too broad. That’s why you need all the time in the world so that
you can read and study all the topics. Your confidence level is reasonable if you know that you
have covered all the bases.
You may ask, is it too early to do all these things? It is never too early to prepare for the
Compre or the Bar Examinations. You remember that student from Bacolod City who topped the
Bar Examinations years ago? He prepared for the Bar Exams the moment he sits in his first year
classes.

Seventh, please be aware of the current events, or what is in the news every day. A news
may trigger the application of the provisions of the constitution or any law that has a political
complexion. It is a good exercise if upon hearing the news, you ask yourselves what provision is
applicable, or whether the action of the government is constitutional or not.
If a warrant of arrest is issued by the court against Sen. Koko Pimentel, can it be validly
served today or next week?
Can the NBI file a case against Mayor Vico Sotto for violation of the BAHO Act? Is it
already applying the law in violation of the prohibition against an ex post facto law?
You have to realize that in applying the law and answering the various issues involved,
there can be so many variables that you have to ascertain. These variables may change from one
case to another. In the case of Pimentel, what is the impossable penalty for the offense charged?
Is congress in session on March 28, 2020? Which court issued that warrant of arrest?
You have to take down notes of all these issues that you considered, discussed and
answered. You will never know whether they will come out in the Compre or Bar examinations.
 Eight, perhaps in your boredom and loneliness, you will ask yourselves, why do you
have to sacrifice so much when others are taking it easy and chilling it out. There is only one
answer to that.
Because you have chosen to measure yourselves by a higher bar which does not permit
mediocrity, but always demands excellence.
You could have taken it easy.
But you did not.
You committed yourselves to become a lawyer and to become one, it is being demanded
of you to give your best and measure your best along the bar of excellence.

Excellence does not demand dramatic and grand things you will do at this time. It is
simply being consistent with the little things you do every day:
 the determination to open your books and read every morning when body rebels
against it
 the willingness to make notes or summarize and reconcile provisions
 the tenacity to strictly observe your study schedule, when all are celebrating on a
Saturday night
 the acceptance of being incomplete, and the humility to ask for help in your down
moments
 cultivating a healthy amount of grit that will enable you to go on with your
journey in the face of all adversity
 holding on to your faith in Him and that with Him you will become a lawyer

Lastly, aside from Political Law, you still have seven other subjects. You have to divide
and manage your time. Give more time to Political Law, Civil Law, Mercantile Law and
Remedial Law. If you start studying immediately after making your personal schedules, you will
be amazed to know that even in this time of quarantine, you have made significant steps towards
the realization of your dreams.

As I always say, scratch for every inch of the scrimmage. Don’t settle for what is
mediocre for mediocrity is not a virtue. Always strive for excellence. With faith, grit and
determination, you will surely succeed.

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