Bar Examination Questionnaire for Civil Law
Set A
1.When does a declaration of absence of a missing person
take effect?
A. Immediately from the issuance of the declaration of
absence.
B. 3 months after the publication of the declaration of
absence.
C. 6 months after the publication of the declaration of
absence.
D. 15 days from the issuance of the declaration of absence.
2. The authority that school administrators exercise over
school children under
their supervision, instruction, or custody is called
A. legal parental authority.
B. substitute parental authority.
C. ordinary parental authority.
D. special parental authority.
3. Can future inheritance be the subject of a contract of
sale?
A. No, since it will put the predecessor at the risk of harm
from a tempted buyer,
contrary to public policy.
B. Yes, since the death of the decedent is certain to occur.
C. No, since the seller owns no inheritance while his
predecessor lives.
D. Yes, but on the condition that the amount of the
inheritance can only be
ascertained after the obligations of the estate have been
paid.
4. Upon the proposal of a third person, a new debtor
substituted the original
debtor without the latter’s consent. The creditor accepted
the substitution. Later,
however, the new debtor became insolvent and defaulted in
his obligation. What
is the effect of the new debtor’s default upon the original
debtor?
A. The original debtor is freed of liability since novation
took place and this
relieved him of his obligation.
B. The original debtor shall pay or perform the obligation
with recourse to the
new debtor.
C. The original debtor remains liable since he gave no
consent to the
substitution.
D. The original debtor shall pay or perform 50% of the
obligation to avoid unjust
enrichment on his part.
5. Lennie bought a business class ticket from Alta Airlines.
As she checked in,
the manager downgraded her to economy on the ground that a
Congressman
had to be accommodated in the business class. Lennie
suffered the discomfort
and embarrassment of the downgrade. She sued the airlines
for quasi-delict but
Alta Airlines countered that, since her travel was governed
by a contract between
them, no quasi-delict could arise. Is the airline correct?
A. No, the breach of contract may in fact be tortious as
when it is tainted as in
this case with arbitrariness, gross bad faith, and malice.
B. No, denying Lennie the comfort and amenities of the
business class as
provided in the ticket is a tortious act.Bar Examination
Questionnaire for Civil Law
Set A
C. Yes, since the facts show a breach of contract, not a
quasi-delict.
D. Yes, since quasi-delict presupposes the absence of a
pre-existing contractual
relation between the parties.
6. Which of the following is an indispensable requirement in
an action for
“quieting of title” involving real property? The plaintiff
must
A. be in actual possession of the property.
B. be the registered owner of the property.
C. have legal or equitable title to the property.
D. be the beneficial owner of the property.
7. X and Y were to marry in 3 months. Meantime, to express
his affection, X
donated a house and lot to Y, which donation X wrote in a
letter to Y. Y wrote
back, accepting the donation and took possession of the
property. Before the
wedding, however, Y suddenly died of heart attack. Can Y’s
heirs get the
property?
A. No, since the marriage did not take place.
B. Yes, since all the requisites of a donation of an
immovable are present.
C. No, since the donation and its acceptance are not in a
public instrument.
D. Yes, since X freely donated the property to Y who became
its owner.
8. Rene and Lily got married after a brief courtship. After
one month, Lily
discovered that while Rene presented himself as a macho man
he was actually
gay. He would not go to bed with her. He kept obscene
magazines of nude men
and always sought the company of handsome boys. What legal
remedy does
Lily have?
A. She can file an action for annulment of marriage on
ground of fraud.
B. She can seek a declaration of nullity of the marriage based
on Rene’s
psychological incapacity.
C. She can go abroad and file for divorce in a country that
can grant it.
D. She has none since she had the opportunity to examine the
goods and freely
entered into the marriage.
9. Lucio executed a simple deed of donation of P50 million
on time deposit with a
bank in favor of A, B, C, D, and E, without indicating the
share of each donee.
All the donees accepted the donation in writing. A, one of
the donees, died. Will
B, C, D, and E get A’s share in the money?
A. Yes, accretion will automatically apply to the
joint-donees in equal shares.
B. Yes, since the donor’s intention is to give the whole of
P50 million to the jointdonees in equal shares.
C. No, A”s share will revert to the donor because accretion
applies only if the
joint-donees are spouses.
D. No, A’s share goes to his heirs since the donation did
not provide for reversion
10. Raul, Ester, and Rufus inherited a 10-hectare land from
their father. Before
the land could be partitioned, however, Raul sold his
hereditary right to Raffy, a
stranger to the family, for P5 million. Do Ester and Rufus
have a remedy for
keeping the land within their family?
Page 2 of 22Bar Examination Questionnaire for Civil Law
Set A
A. Yes, they may be subrogated to Raffy’s right by
reimbursing to him within the
required time what he paid Raul.
B. Yes, they may be subrogated to Raffy’s right provided
they buy him out before
he registers the sale.
C. No, they can be subrogated to Raffy’s right only with his
conformity.
D. No, since there was no impediment to Raul selling his
inheritance to a
stranger.
11. When one exercises a right recognized by law, knowing
that he thereby
causes an injustice to another, the latter is entitled to
recover damages. This is
known as the principle of
A. res ipsa loquitur.
B. damnum absque injuria.
C. vicarious liability.
D. abuse of rights.
12. Which of the following is NOT a basis for rendering a
disinheritance defective
or imperfect?
A. Its cause comes from the guilt of a spouse in a legal
separation case, the
innocent-spouse having died.
B. The truth of its cause is denied and not sufficiently
proved by evidence.
C. Its cause is not authorized by the law.
D. Its cause is not specified.
13. Manuel came to Manila and married Marianne. Unknown to
Marianne,
Manuel had been previously convicted in Palawan of theft and
served time for it.
After Marianne learned of his previous conviction, she
stopped living with him.
Can Marianne seek the annulment of the marriage based on
Manuel’s nondisclosure of his previous crime?
A. No, since the assumption is that marriage forgives all
past wrongs.
B. Yes, since the non-disclosure of that crime is the
equivalent of fraud, which is
a ground for annulment.
C. No, in case of doubt, the law must be construed to
preserve the institution of
marriage.
D. No, since Manuel already served the penalty for his
crime.
14. Arthur and Helen, both Filipinos, got married and had 2
children. Arthur later
worked in Rome where he acquired Italian citizenship. He got
a divorce from
Helen in Rome but, on returning to the Philippines, he
realized his mistake,
asked forgiveness of his wife, and resumed living with her.
They had 2 more
children. What is the status of their 4 children?
A. The children born before the divorce are legitimate but
those born after it are
not since Arthur got the divorce when he had ceased to be a
Filipino.
B. The divorce rendered illegitimate the children born
before it since the marriage
that begot them had been nullified.
C. The children born before and after the divorce are all
legitimate since
Philippine law does not recognize divorce.
Page 3 of 22Bar Examination Questionnaire for Civil Law
Set A
D. All the children are legitimate since they were born of
the same father and
mother.
15. Who can make a donation?
A. All persons who can enter into contracts and dispose of
their property.
B. All persons who are of legal age and suffer from no civil
interdiction.
C. All persons who can make a last will and testament.
D. All persons, whether natural or artificial, who own
property.
16. The liability of the partners, including industrial
partners for partnership
contracts entered into in its name and for its account, when
all partnership assets
have been exhausted is
A. Pro-rata.
B. Joint.
C. Solidary.
D. Voluntary.
17. When can a missing person who left someone to administer
his property be
declared an absentee by the court? When he has been missing
for
A. 2 years from the receipt of the last news about him.
B. 7 years from the receipt of the last news about him.
C. 10 years from the receipt of the last news about him.
D. 5 years from the receipt of the last news about him.
18. Which of the following claims against the debtor enjoys
preference over the
others with respect to his specific immovable property and
real rights?
A. Unpaid price of real property sold, upon the immovable
property.
B. Mortgage credits recorded in the registry of property,
upon the mortgaged real
estate.
C. Taxes due, upon the land or building.
D. Expenses for the preservation and improvement of
property, when the law
authorizes reimbursement, upon the preserved or improved
immovable.
19. When bilateral contracts are vitiated with vices of
consent, they are rendered
A. rescissible.
B. void.
C. unenforceable.
D. voidable.
20. An agent, authorized by a special power of attorney to
sell a land belonging
to the principal succeeded in selling the same to a buyer
according to the
instructions given the agent. The agent executed the deed of
absolute sale on
behalf of his principal two days after the principal died,
an event that neither the
agent nor the buyer knew at the time of the sale. What is
the standing of the
sale?
A. Voidable.
Page 4 of 22Bar Examination Questionnaire for Civil Law
Set A
B. Valid.
C. Void.
D. Unenforceable.
21. Spouses A and B leased a piece of land belonging to B's
parents for 25
years. The spouses built their house on it worth
P300,000.00. Subsequently, in
a case that C filed against A and B, the court found the
latter liable to C for
P200,000.00. When the sheriff was attaching their house for
the satisfaction of
the judgment, A and B claimed that it was exempt from
execution, being a family
home. Is this claim correct?
A. Yes, because while B’s parents own the land, they agreed
to have their
daughter build her family home on it.
B. No, because there is no judicial declaration that it is a
family home.
C. No, since the land does not belong to A and B, it cannot
qualify as a family
home.
D. Yes, because the A and B’s family actually lives in that
house.
22. Solomon sold his coconut plantation to Aragon, Inc. for
P100 million, payable
in installments of P10 million per month with 6% interest
per annum. Solomon
married Lorna after 5 months and they chose conjugal
partnership of gains to
govern their property relations. When they married, Aragon
had an unpaid
balance of P50 million plus interest in Solomon’s favor. To
whom will Aragon’s
monthly payments go after the marriage?
A. The principal shall go to the conjugal partnership but
the interests to Solomon.
B. Both principal and interests shall go to Solomon since
they are his exclusive
properties.
C. Both principal and interests shall go to the conjugal partnership
since these
become due after the marriage.
D. The principal shall go to Solomon but the interests to
the conjugal partnership.
23. X and Y, although not suffering from any impediment,
cohabited as husband
and wife without the benefit of marriage. Following the
birth of their child, the
couple got married. A year after, however, the court
annulled the marriage and
issued a decree of annulment. What is the present status of
the child?
A. Legitimated.
B. Illegitimate.
C. Natural child.
D. Legitimate.
24. When A and B married, they chose conjugal partnership of
gains to govern
their property relations. After 3 years, B succeeded in
getting her marriage to A
annulled on ground of the latter’s psychological incapacity.
What liquidation
procedure will they follow in disposing of their assets?
A. They will follow the rule governing the liquidation of a
conjugal partnership of
gains where the party who acted in bad faith forfeits his
share in the net profits.
B. Since the marriage has been declared void, the rule for
liquidation of absolute
community of property shall be followed.
C. The liquidation of a co-ownership applies since the
annulment brought their
Page 5 of 22Bar Examination Questionnaire for Civil Law
Set A
property relation under the chapter on property regimes
without marriage.
D. The law on liquidation of partnerships applies.
25. X and Y agreed verbally before their marriage (a) on the
paternity of the
illegitimate child of Y and (b) on the economic regime that
will govern X and Y’s
property relations. Is the verbal agreement valid?
A. No, because a marriage settlement to be valid should be
in writing.
B. Yes, since ante-nuptial agreements need not be in
writing.
C. No, because a marriage settlement cannot include an
agreement on the
paternity of an illegitimate child.
D. Yes, since even if it is not a valid marriage settlement,
it is a valid verbal
contract.
26. Spouses X and Y have a minor daughter, Z, who needs
support for her
education. Both X and Y, who are financially distressed,
could not give the
needed support to Z. As it happens, Z’s other relatives are
financially capable of
giving that support. From whom may Z first rightfully demand
support? From her
A. grandfather.
B. brother.
C. uncle.
D. first cousin.
27. Fidel, a Filipino with fair complexion, married Gloria.
Before the marriage,
Gloria confessed to Fidel that she was two-month pregnant
with the child of a
black African who had left the country for good. When the
child was born, Fidel
could not accept it being too black in complexion. What is
the status of the child?
A. Illegitimate, because Gloria confessed that the child is
not Fidel’s.
B. Illegitimate, because by the color of its skin, the child
could not possibly be
that of Fidel.
C. Legitimate, because the child was born within a valid
marriage.
D. Legitimate, because Fidel agreed to treat the child as
his own after Gloria told
him who the father was.
28. The husband’s acts of forcibly ejecting his wife without
just cause from the
conjugal dwelling and refusing to take her back constitutes
A. desertion.
B. recrimination.
C. constructive abandonment.
D. de facto separation.
29. In his will, the testator designated X as a legatee to
receive P2 million for the
purpose of buying an ambulance that the residents of his
Barangay can use.
What kind of institution is this?
A. a fideicomissary institution.
B. a modal institution.
C. a conditional institution.
D. a collective institution.
Page 6 of 22Bar Examination Questionnaire for Civil Law
Set A
30. X insured himself for P5 million, designating Y, his
wife, as his sole
beneficiary. The designation was irrevocable. A few years
later, X had their
marriage annulled in court on the ground that Y had an
existing prior marriage. X
subsequently died, Is Y entitled to the insurance benefits?
A. Yes, since the insurance was not dependent on the
marriage.
B. Yes, since her designation as beneficiary was
irrevocable.
C. No, X’s designation of Y is revoked by operation of law
upon the annulment of
their marriage based on Y’s fault.
D. Yes, since without judicial revocation, X’s designation
of Y remains valid and
binding.