Centro Escolar University

SCHOOL OF LAW AND JURISPRUDENCE

No. 259 Senator Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City
Telefax No. 88467491/ Tel. Nos. 88467490 / 88897491 loc. 134
Email Address – ceulawschool@ceu.edu.ph

Political Law

1. On Police Power. To be considered reasonable, the government's exercise of police power must
satisfy the "valid object and valid means" method of analysis: first, the interest of the public
generally, as distinguished from those of a particular class, requires interference; and second, the
means employed are reasonably necessary to attain the objective sought and not unduly
oppressive upon individuals.(Association of Medical Clinics for Overseas Workers, Inc. v. GCC
Approved Medical Centers Association, Inc., G.R. No. 207132, December 6, 2016)
2. Requisites for the Exercise of Judicial Review. (1) there must be an actual case or controversy
calling for the exercise of judicial power; (2) the person challenging the act must have standing to
challenge the validity of the subject act or issuance; otherwise stated, he must have a personal
and substantial interest in the case such that he has sustained, or will sustain, direct injury as a
result of its enforcement; (3) the question of constitutionality must be raised at the earliest
opportunity; and (4) the issue of constitutionality must be the very lis mota of the case. (Senate v.
Ermita, G.R. No. 169777, April 20, 2006)
3. On the exercise of the "calling out" powers of the president. The President shall be the
Commander-in-Chief of all armed forces of the Philippines and whenever it becomes necessary,
he may call out such armed forces to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion or rebellion.
(Article VII, Section 18, 1987 Philippine Constitution).
4. On the power of the president to veto a particular item. The President shall have the power to
veto any particular item or items in an appropriation, revenue, or tariff bill, but the veto shall not
affect the item or items to which he does not object. For the President to exercise his item-veto
power, it necessarily follows that there exists a proper "item" which may be the object of the veto.
An item, as defined in the field of appropriations, pertains to "the particulars, the details, the
distinct and severable parts of the appropriation or of the bill." (Belgica v. Executive Secretary, G.R.
No. 208566, November 19, 2013).
5. On the exemption of liability for libelous statements made during a privileged speech. Said
expression refers to utterances made by Congressmen in the performance of their official
functions, such as speeches delivered, statements made, or votes cast in the halls of Congress,
while the same is in session, as well as bills introduced in Congress, whether the same is in session
or not, and other acts performed by Congressmen, either in Congress or outside the premises
housing its offices, in the official discharge of their duties as members of Congress and of
Congressional Committees duly authorized to perform its functions as such, at the time of the
performance of the acts in question. (Jimenez vs. Cabangbang, G.R. No. L-15905, August 3, 1966;
Trillanes vs. Marigomen, G.R. No. 224451, March 14, 2018).
6. The plain view doctrine. Objects falling in plain view of an officer who has a right to be in a
position to have that view are subject to seizure even without a search warrant and may be
introduced in evidence. The 'plain view' doctrine applies when the following requisites concur:
(a) the law enforcement officer in search of the evidence has a prior justification for an intrusion
or is in a position from which he can view a particular area; (b) the discovery of evidence in plain
view is inadvertent; (c) it is immediately apparent to the officer that the item he observes may be
evidence of a crime, contraband or otherwise subject to seizure. The law enforcement officer must
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 lawfully make an initial intrusion or properly be in a position from which he can particularly
view the area. In the course of such lawful intrusion, he came inadvertently across a piece of
evidence incriminating the accused. The object must be open to eye and hand and its discovery
inadvertent. (People vs. Lagman, G.R. No. 168695, December 8, 2008).
7. The Terry Search. The Terry search or the "stop and frisk" situation refers to a case where a police
officer approaches a person who is acting suspiciously, for purposes of investigating possibly
criminal behavior in line with the general interest of effective crime prevention and detection. To
assure himself that the person with whom he is dealing is not armed with a weapon that could
unexpectedly and fatally be used against him, he could validly conduct a carefully limited search
of the outer clothing of such person to discover weapons which might be used to assault him.
(People v. Canton, G.R. No. 148825, December 27, 2002; People v. Cristobal y Ambrosio, G.R. No. 234207,
June 10, 2019).
8. On the ownership requirements for mass media corporations. The ownership and management
of mass media shall be limited to citizens of the Philippines, or to corporations, cooperatives or
associations, wholly-owned and managed by such citizens. (Article XVI, Section 11, 1987 Philippine
Constitution)
9. On the regulation of speech. Generally, restraints on freedom of speech and expression are
evaluated by either or a combination of three tests, i.e., (a) the dangerous tendency doctrine which
permits limitations on speech once a rational connection has been established between the speech
restrained and the danger contemplated; (b) the balancing of interests tests, used as a standard
when courts need to balance conflicting social values and individual interests, and requires a
conscious and detailed consideration of the interplay of interests observable in a given situation
of type of situation; and (c) the clear and present danger rule which rests on the premise that
speech may be restrained because there is substantial danger that the speech will likely lead to an
evil the government has a right to prevent. This rule requires that the evil consequences sought
to be prevented must be substantive, "extremely serious and the degree of imminence extremely
high." As articulated in our jurisprudence, we have applied either the dangerous tendency
doctrine or clear and present danger test to resolve free speech challenges. More recently, we have
concluded that we have generally adhered to the clear and present danger test. (Chavez v.
Gonzales, G.R. No. 168338, February 15, 2008)
10. On the regulation of speech. Content-based restraint or censorship refers to restrictions "based
on the subject matter of the utterance or speech." In contrast, content-neutral regulation includes
controls merely on the incidents of the speech such as time, place, or manner of the speech. (Note:
Content-Neutral Regulation is allowed, Diocese of Bacolod vs. COMELEC, G.R. No. 205728, January
21, 2015).

International Law

1. As to the sources of international law. a) international conventions, whether general or

particular, establishing rules expressly recognized by the contesting states; b) international
custom, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law; c) the general principles of law
recognized by civilized nations; d) subject to the provisions of Article 59, judicial decisions and
the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists of the various nations, as subsidiary means
for the determination of rules of law. (Article 38(1), ICJ Statute).
2. On Customary International Law. In order to establish the customary status of a particular norm,
two elements must concur: State practice, the objective element; and opinio juris sive necessitates,
the subjective element.

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 State practice refers to the continuous repetition of the same or similar kind of acts or norms by
States. It is demonstrated upon the existence of the following elements: (1) generality; (2)
uniformity and consistency; and (3) duration. While, opinio juris, the psychological element,
requires that the state practice or norm "be carried out in such a way, as to be evidence of a belief
that this practice is rendered obligatory by the existence of a rule of law requiring it (Bayan Muna
v. Romulo, G.R. No. 159618, February 1, 2011).

3. On Monism and Dualism. This ambivalent attitude towards the relationship between
international and municipal law exemplifies the still on-going debate between two schools of
thought — "monism" and "dualism". Monists believe that international law and domestic law are
part of a single legal order; international law is automatically incorporated into each nation's legal
system and that international law is supreme over domestic law. Monism requires that domestic
courts "give effect to international law, notwithstanding inconsistent domestic law, even
constitutional law of a constitutional character." Dualists, however, contend that international
law and domestic law are distinct, each nation ascertaining for itself and to what extent
international law is incorporated into its legal system, and that the status of international law in
the domestic system is determined by domestic law. Under this view, "when municipal law
provides that international law applies in whole or in part within our jurisdiction, it is but an
exercise of the authority of municipal law, an adoption or transformation of the rules of
international law. (Government of the United States of America v. Purganan, G.R. No. 148571
(Resolution), December 17, 2002)

Labor Law

1. On the question of who are indirect employers. Any person, partnership, association, or
corporation which, not being an employer, contracts with an independent contractor for the
performance of any work, task, job or project.
2. On service charges. If service charges are abolished, the equivalent share of each covered
employee computed for 12 months shall be added to his salary by management. Management
cannot use the tip as substitute for service charges.
3. On the two-tiered test in the determination of the existence of employer-employee
relationship.
a. The putative employer's power to control the employee with respect to the means and
method by which work is accomplished.
b. Underlying economic realities of the activity or relationship.
4. On the two methods of minimum wage adjustment.
a. "Floor Wage" method – fixing of the determinate amount that would be added to the
prevailing statutory minimum wage
b. "Salary-ceiling" method – wage adjustment is applied to employees receiving a certain
denominated salary ceiling. Sometimes referred to as "salary cap" method.
5. On an employee's right to refuse a promotion. There is no law that compels an employee to
accept a promotion, as a promotion is in the nature of a gift or a reward, which a person has the
right to refuse. When the employee refuses to accept his promotion, he is exercising a right and

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 he cannot be punished for it. He who uses his legal right injures no one (Dosch vs. NLRC and
Northwest Airlines).
6. On the Entitlements or benefits due to night workers which are not usually available to
ordinary workers.
a. Health assessment free of charge and at regular intervals;
b. Mandatory facilities such as first aid facilities, sleeping or resting quarters and
transportation fares from the work premises to nearest point of residence; and
c. Transfer to a regular day job for those certified not fit for night work.
7. On the Membership of Priests with the SSS. Membership of priests with the SSS is not in
violation of the constitution against the application of public funds for the benefits of priests
working for the church. Funds contributed to the SSS are not public funds but belong to the
members held in trust by the government. Payment to the priest is made because he is an
employee, not because he is a priest.
8. On the reason for a moving picket. The right to picket is one of passage – a pedestrian right. It
does not create the additional rights of squatting or assembling on the portion of the employer's
land used as highway or public thoroughfare.
9. On the definition of gross violation of the CBA. Gross violation of the CBA is flagrant and/or
malicious refusal to comply with the economic provisions of the CBA. The labor arbiter has
jurisdiction over disputes arising from gross violations of the CBA.
10. On the creation of local chapters. A duly registered Federation or National Union may directly
create a local chapter by issuing a charter certificate indicating the establishment of a local
chapter. The chapter shall acquire legal personality upon the issuance of the charter certificate to
file a petition for certification election.

Taxation Law

1. On double taxation. There is double taxation when the same taxpayer is taxed twice when he
should be taxed only once for the same purpose by the same taxing authority within the same
jurisdiction during the same taxing period, and the taxes are of the same kind or character.
(Nursery Care Corp. v. Acevedo, G.R. No. 180651, July 30, 2014).
2. On the principles of a sound tax system. The principles of a sound tax system are fiscal adequacy,
administrative feasibility, and theoretical justice. Fiscal adequacy means the sources of revenue
must be sufficient to meet government expenditures and other public needs. Administrative
feasibility means tax laws and regulations must be capable of being effectively enforced with the
least inconvenience to the taxpayer. And, theoretical justice means that a sound tax system must
be based on the taxpayers' ability to pay.
3. On donor's tax. Donor's Tax is a tax on a donation or gift, and is imposed on the gratuitous
transfer of property between two or more persons who are living at the time of the transfer. It
shall apply whether the transfer is in trust or otherwise, whether the gift is direct or indirect and
whether the property is real or personal, tangible or intangible.
4. On the coverage of MCIT. A corporation starts to be covered by the MCIT on the 4th year
following the year of the commencement of its business operations. The period of reckoning
which is the start of its business operations is the year when the corporation was registered with
the BIR. This rule will apply regardless of whether the corporation is using the calendar year or
fiscal year as its taxable year.

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5. On the carry forward provision of the MCIT. Any excess of the MCIT over the normal income
tax may be carried forward and credited against the normal income tax for the three (3)
immediately succeeding taxable years.
6. On VAT. Value-Added Tax (VAT) is a form of sales tax. It is a tax on consumption levied on the
sale, barter, exchange or lease of goods or properties and services in the Philippines and on
importation of goods into the Philippines. It is an indirect tax, which may be shifted or passed on
to the buyer, transferee or lessee of goods, properties or services.
7. On the lifeblood doctrine. That taxation is an essential attribute of sovereignty and the lifeblood
of every nation are doctrines well-entrenched in our jurisdiction. Taxes are the government's
primary means to generate funds needed to fulfill its mandate of promoting the general welfare
and well-being of the people and so should be collected without unnecessary hindrance. (CIR v.
Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., G.R. Nos. 197945 & 204119, July 9, 2018)

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 Criminal Law

1. On Extraterritoriality of penal laws. The provisions of this [Revised Penal] Code shall be
enforced not only within the Philippine Archipelago, including its atmosphere, its interior waters
and maritime zone, but also outside of its jurisdiction, against those who:
a. Should commit an offense while on a Philippine ship or airship
b. Should forge or counterfeit any coin or currency note of the Philippine Islands or
obligations and securities issued by the Government of the Philippine Islands;
c. Should be liable for acts connected with the introduction into these islands of the
obligations and securities mentioned in the presiding number;
d. While being public officers or employees, should commit an offense in the exercise of their
functions; or
e. Should commit any of the crimes against national security and the law of nations, defined
in Title One of Book Two of this Code. (Art. 2 of the Revised Penal Code)
2. On mens rea. Mens rea has been defined before as "a guilty mind, a guilty or wrongful purpose
or criminal intent," and "essential for criminal liability."The criminal statute must also provide for
the overt acts that constitute the crime. For a crime to exist in our legal law, it is not enough that
mens rea be shown; there must also be an actus reus. It is from the actus reus and the mens rea,
as they find expression in the criminal statute, that the felony is produced. (Valenzuela y Natividad
v. People, G.R. No. 160188, June 21, 2007, 552 PHIL 381-419).
3. On self-defense. The elements of self-defense of are:
a. unlawful aggression;
b. reasonable necessity to prevent or repel the aggression; and
c. absence of provocation on the part of the person the defending himself. (Masipequiña v.
Court of Appeals, G.R. No. L-51206, [August 25, 1989], 257 PHIL 710-721).
4. On unlawful aggression. The three elements of unlawful aggression, namely:
a. there must be a physical or material attack or assault;
b. the attack or assault must be actual, or, at least, imminent; and
c. the attack or assault must be unlawful. (People v. Nugas, 677 Phil. 168, 177 2011).
5. On alternative circumstances. Alternative circumstances are those which must be taken into
consideration as aggravating or mitigating according to the nature and effects of the crime and
the other conditions attending its commission. They are the relationship, intoxication and the
degree of instruction and education of the offender. The alternative circumstance of relationship
shall be taken into consideration when the offended party is the spouse, ascendant, descendant,
legitimate, natural, or adopted brother or sister, or relative by affinity in the same degrees of the
offender. (Planos y Lanoy v. People, G.R. No. 232506 (Notice), [November 18, 2020]).
6. On intent to kill. If the victim dies due to the accused's deliberate act, intent to kill is conclusively
presumed and there is no need for evidence (Jaca v. People, G.R. No. 219145 (Noitce), [January 20,
2020]).
7. On the safe spaces act. Crimes of gender-based streets and public spaces sexual harassment are
committed through any unwanted and uninvited sexual actions or remarks against any person
regardless of the motive for committing such action or remarks:
a. Gender-Based Sexual Harassment in Restaurants and Cafes, Bars and Clubs, Resorts and
Water Parks, Hotels and Casinos, Cinemas, Malls, Buildings and Other Privately-Owned
Places Open to the Public.
b. Gender-Based Sexual Harassment in Public Utility Vehicles
c. Gender-Based Sexual Harassment in Streets and Public Spaces Committed by Minors
d. Gender-Based Online Sexual Harassment.
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 e. Gender-Based Sexual Harassment in the Workplace.
f. Gender Based Sexual Harassment in Educational and Training Institutions. (Republic Act
11313).
8. On Qualified Gender-Based Streets, Public Spaces and Online Sexual Harassment. The
penalty next higher in degree will be applied in the following cases:
a. The act takes place in a common carrier or PUV, including, but not limited to, jeepneys,
taxis, tricycles, or app-based transport network vehicle services, where the perpetrator is
the driver of the vehicle and the offended party is a passenger:
b. If the offended party is a minor, a senior citizen, or a person with disability (PWD), or a
breastfeeding mother nursing her child;
c. If the offended party is diagnosed with a mental problem tending to impair consent;
d. If the perpetrator is a member of the uniformed services, such as the PNP and the Armed
Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the act was perpetrated while the perpetrator was in
uniform; and
e. If the act takes place in the premises of a government agency offering frontline services to
the public and the perpetrator is a government employee. (Republic Act 11313).
9. On the scope of the data privacy act. The Act applies to the processing of all types of personal
information and to any natural and juridical person involved in personal information processing
including those personal information controllers and processors who, although not found or
established in the Philippines, use equipment that are located in the Philippines, or those who
maintain an office, branch or agency in the Philippines subject to the immediately succeeding
paragraph: Provided, That the requirements of Section 5 are complied with. This Act does not
apply to the following:
a. Information about any individual who is or was an officer or employee of a government
institution that relates to the position or functions of the individual, including:
i. The fact that the individual is or was an officer or employee of the government
institution;
ii. The title, business address and office telephone number of the individual;
iii. The classification, salary range and responsibilities of the position held by the
individual; and
iv. The name of the individual on a document prepared by the individual in the
course of employment with the government;
b. Information about an individual who is or was performing service under contract for a
government institution that relates to the services performed, including the terms of the
contract, and the name of the individual given in the course of the performance of those
services;
c. Information relating to any discretionary benefit of a financial nature such as the granting
of a license or permit given by the government to an individual, including the name of the
individual and the exact nature of the benefit;
d. Personal information processed for journalistic, artistic, literary or research purposes;
e. Information necessary in order to carry out the functions of public authority which
includes the processing of personal data for the performance by the independent, central
monetary authority and law enforcement and regulatory agencies of their constitutionally
and statutorily mandated functions. Nothing in this Act shall be construed as to have
amended or repealed Republic Act No. 1405, otherwise known as the Secrecy of Bank
Deposits Act; Republic Act No. 6426, otherwise known as the Foreign Currency Deposit
Act; and Republic Act No. 9510, otherwise known as the Credit Information System Act
(CISA);
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 f. Information necessary for banks and other financial institutions under the jurisdiction of
the independent, central monetary authority or Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to comply
with Republic Act No. 9510, and Republic Act No. 9160, as amended, otherwise known as
the Anti-Money Laundering Act and other applicable laws; and
g. Personal information originally collected from residents of foreign jurisdictions in
accordance with the laws of those foreign jurisdictions, including any applicable data
privacy laws, which is being processed in the Philippines. (Republic Act 10173).
10. On the right to Data Portability. Right to Data Portability. – The data subject shall have the right,
where personal information is processed by electronic means and in a structured and commonly
used format, to obtain from the personal information controller a copy of data undergoing
processing in an electronic or structured format, which is commonly used and allows for further
use by the data subject. The Commission may specify the electronic format referred to above, as
well as the technical standards, modalities and procedures for their transfer. (Republic Act 10173).
11. On the Battered Woman Syndrome. SECTION 26. Battered Woman Syndrome as a Defense. –
Victim-survivors who are found by the courts to be suffering from battered woman syndrome do
not incur any criminal and civil liability notwithstanding the absence of any of the elements for
justifying circumstances of self-defense under the Revised Penal Code. In the determination of
the state of mind of the woman who was suffering from battered woman syndrome at the time
of the commission of the crime, the courts shall be assisted by expert psychiatrists/ psychologists.
12. On Economic Abuse under R.A. 9262. Economic abuse" refers to acts that make or attempt to
make a woman financially dependent which includes, but is not limited to the following:
a. withdrawal of financial support or preventing the victim from engaging in any legitimate
profession, occupation, business or activity, except in cases wherein the other
spouse/partner objects on valid, serious and moral grounds as defined in Article 73 of the
Family Code;
b. deprivation or threat of deprivation of financial resources and the right to the use and
enjoyment of the conjugal, community or property owned in common;
c. destroying household property;
d. controlling the victims' own money or properties or solely controlling the conjugal money
or properties.
13. On Child Abuse. Notably, case law qualifies that for one to be held criminally liable for the
commission of acts of Child Abuse under Section 10 (a), Article VI of RA 7610, "the prosecution
[must] prove a specific intent to debase, degrade, or demean the intrinsic worth of the child;
otherwise, the accused cannot be convicted [for the said offense]."The foregoing requirement was
first established in the case of Bongalon v. People(Bongalon), where it was held that the laying of
hands against a child, when done in the spur of the moment and in anger, cannot be deemed as
an act of child abuse under Section 10 (a) of RA 7610, absent the essential element of intent to
debase, degrade, or demean the intrinsic worth and dignity of the child as a human being on the
part of the offender, viz.: Not every instance of the laying of hands on a child constitutes the crime
of child abuse under Section 10 (a) of Republic Act No. 7610. Only when the laying of hands is
shown beyond reasonable doubt to be intended by the accused to debase, degrade or demean the
intrinsic worth and dignity of the child as a human being should it be punished as child abuse.
Debasement is defined as the act of reducing the value, quality, or purity of something;
degradation, on the other hand, is a lessening of a person's or thing's character or quality; while
demean means to lower in status, condition, reputation, or character.

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 God Speed.
From your CEU SLAJ administration, your professors, and the Bar Ops Academics Team.