Legal Ethics

Atty. Cervantes-Poco

PP ANNIV WRITING ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS

Soon we will be commemorating the People Power Revolution of 1986, which marked the end of a
decades-long dictatorship. For your assignment, we will not be focusing on the politics of martial law
and the people power revolution, but rather, the legal framework and personalities that incubated and
facilitated this chapter in our history. Simply put, you may think this way: what happened? --> what
laws/policies made this happen? (legal basis that allowed it) --> who made it happen? --> what was the
significance of these people having been lawyers? did it contribute to their having played a role in this
chapter in history?

You may also revisit Sen. Diokno's letter to his son and Justice Diaz's commencement speech (Passion
for Justice) to set the tone for this exercise.

The assignment

Choose one law (can be a very specific provision, an entire law, or even a policy) or prominent legal
personality (lawyer, judge/justice, lawmaker government official who happened to be a lawyer). Research
on the role this law or person played in the martial law regime or the people power revolution (see
clusters below).

Write a one-page paper (about 400-500 words, but I'm not strict with the word count) on your selected
law or personality, discussing what or who it is [objective] and your personal reflection on how the law or
legal personality contributed to the situation described in your cluster [subjective].

The objective of this exercise is for us to ultimately reflect on the legal profession, the power it holds,
and the real consequences its practice has on the people.

Clusters

To ensure that we can cover more topics for this exercise, the class will be divided into four clusters
representing temporal points. The assignment will be individual, and the groupings are merely for
coordination purposes. Each cluster must not have more than seven students. In each cluster, no more
than two persons should write about the same topic or person.

For legal personalities, it can be noted that one person could have played a significant role in two or
more of the temporal markers/clusters. Students can write about these legal personalities in the different
clusters, but the same rule applies - no more than two students writing about the same topic/person
within the cluster. Just make sure to clearly show in your paper what that person's role was within the
period covered by your cluster.

The beadle should give me a list of selected clusters and subtopics on the day of the submission of the
reflection papers (by email, please).

The following are the clusters, and some guide questions that can help you reflect & research on your
selected cluster. These questions are meant to facilitate, and not limit, your research process. Hence,
you can tackle topics outside of these questions but are still necessarily related to your cluster's
coverage. Also, remember, your paper should be about one specific law or legal personality, and not just
a general reflection on these guide questions.

Cluster 1: What made the declaration of martial law possible? (pre-martial law)

For this cluster, you can look at the legal and socio-economic conditions before martial law (so for the
constitution, we're still looking at 1935). There must have been some legal basis for the declaration of
martial law - what was this? Who were involved in the planning? Who were the legal personalities that
supported/opposed this proposal?

Cluster 2: How did the Marcos administration keep its power for so long? (martial law)

For this cluster, you can look into the amendments introduced to the constitution and the new powers
which the president arrogated upon himself. What was the relationship among the three branches of
government like during martial law? What was the judiciary like? Who were the prominent judges and
justices during this time, and how did they show support for the administration and its policies? Who
were the prominent lawmakers at this time; how did they show support for the administration and its
policies? Were there any specific laws or policies that enabled so-called "cronyism"? How was the law
enforced during this time? What were legal developments during this time which made the public think
that martial law was beneficial to them?

Cluster 3: Resisting martial law (martial law - dissenters)

For this cluster, examine what were the effects of martial law on the people. Why did martial law meet
resistance (which eventually paved the way for the People Power Revolution)? Who were the legal
personalities who openly resisted martial law and/or its effects? What were the laws or policies which
these dissenters opposed? Where there justices/judges/lawmakers who used their positions to oppose
the martial law regime? How? We know that generally, the law needs to be obeyed and those who
publicly and openly disobey or violate laws should be punished. How did these dissenters justify their
dissent? Did they also have some form of "legal basis" to oppose martial law?

Cluster 4: Post-martial law

For this cluster, examine how the martial law experience shaped our laws and legal practice today. What
changed? What remained the same? What can be traced as direct effects or reactionary measures to
the martial law experience? Who are the legal personalities who led these changes, and in what way?

Deadline

Papers should be submitted through the Canvas assignment page by 21 February 2022, Monday, at
6:00 PM. I will call on some students to discuss their papers during our session the Wednesday
following.