Bar Examination Questionnaire for Political Law
Set A
1. Filipino citizenship may be acquired through judicial
naturalization only by an
alien
A. born, raised, and educated in the Philippines who has all
the qualifications and
none of the disqualifications to become a Filipino citizen.
B. who has all the qualifications and none of the
disqualifications to become a
Filipino citizen.
C. born and raised in the Philippines who has all the
qualifications and none of
the disqualifications to become a Filipino citizen.
D. whose mother or father is a naturalized Filipino and who
himself is qualified to
be naturalized.
2. Jax Liner applied for a public utility bus service from
Bacolod to Dumaguete
from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory
Board (LTFRB). BB
Express opposed. LTFRB ruled in favor of Jax. BB appealed to
the Secretary of
the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC),
who reversed the
LTFRB decision. Jax appealed to the Office of the President
which reinstated the
LTFRB’s ruling. BB Express went to the Court of Appeals on
certiorari
questioning the decision of the Office of the President on
the ground that Office
of the President has no jurisdiction over the case in the
absence of any law
providing an appeal from DOTC to the Office of the
President. Will the petition
prosper?
A. No, exhaustion of administrative remedies up to the level
of the President is a
pre-requisite to judicial recourse.
B. No, the action of the DOTC Secretary bears only the
implied approval of the
President who is not precluded from reviewing the decision
of the former.
C. Yes, when there is no law providing an appeal to the
Office of the President,
no such appeal may be pursued.
D. Yes, the doctrine of qualified political agency renders
unnecessary a further
appeal to the Office of the President.
3. Where A is set for promotion to Administrative Assistant
III and B to the post of
Administrative Assistant II vacated by A, the appointing
authority must
A. submit to the CSC the two promotional appointments
together for approval.
B. not appoint B until the CSC has approved A’s appointment.
C. submit to the Civil Service Commission (CSC) the second
appointment after
its approval of the first.
D. simultaneously issue the appointments of A and B.
4. When a witness is granted transactional immunity in
exchange for his
testimony on how his immediate superior induced him to
destroy public records
to cover up the latter's act of malversation of public
funds, the witness may NOT
be prosecuted for
A. direct contempt.
B. infidelity in the custody of public records.
C. falsification of public documents.
D. false testimony.
5. Mario, a Bureau of Customs’ examiner, was
administratively charged with
grave misconduct and preventively suspended pending
investigation. The head Bar Examination Questionnaire for Political Law
Set A
of office found him guilty as charged and ordered his
dismissal. The decision
against him was executed pending appeal. The Civil Service
Commission (CSC)
subsequently found him guilty and after considering a number
of mitigating
circumstances, reduced his penalty to only one month
suspension. Is Mario
entitled to back salaries?
A. Yes, the reduction of the penalty means restoration of
his right to back
salaries.
B. No, the penalty of one month suspension carries with it
the forfeiture of back
salaries.
C. No, he is still guilty of grave misconduct, only the
penalty was reduced.
D. Yes, corresponding to the period of his suspension
pending appeal less one
month.
6. Althea, a Filipino citizen, bought a lot in the
Philippines in 1975. Her
predecessors-in-interest have been in open, continuous,
exclusive and notorious
possession of the lot since 1940, in the concept of owner.
In 1988, Althea
became a naturalized Australian citizen. Is she qualified to
apply for registration
of the lot in her name?
A. Yes, provided she acquires back her Filipino citizenship.
B. No, except when it can be proved that Australia has a
counterpart domestic
law that also favors former Filipino citizens residing
there.
C. Yes, the lot is already private in character and as a
former natural-born
Filipino, she can buy the lot and apply for its registration
in her name.
D. No, foreigners are not allowed to own lands in the
Philippines.
7. The privacy of communication and correspondence shall be
inviolable except
upon lawful order of the court or when
A. public safety or public health requires otherwise as
prescribed by law.
B. dictated by the need to maintain public peace and order.
C. public safety or order requires otherwise as prescribed
by law.
D. public safety or order requires otherwise as determined
by the President.
8. One advantage of a written Constitution is its
A. reliability.
B. permanence.
C. flexibility.
D. expediency.
9. An appointment held at the pleasure of the appointing
power
A. essentially temporary in nature.
B. requires special qualifications of the appointee.
C. requires justifiable reason for its termination.
D. is co-extensive with the term of the public officer who appointed
him.
10. The city government filed a complaint for expropriation
of 10 lots to build a
recreational complex for the members of the homeowners'
association of Sitio
Sto. Tomas, the most populated residential compound in the
city. The lot owners
Page 2 of 21Bar Examination Questionnaire for Political Law
Set A
challenged the purpose of the expropriation. Does the
expropriation have a valid
purpose?
A. No, because not everybody uses a recreational complex.
B. No, because it intends to benefit a private organization.
C. Yes, it is in accord with the general welfare clause.
D. Yes, it serves the well-being of the local residents.
11. An example of a content based restraint on free speech
is a regulation
prescribing
A. maximum tolerance of pro-government demonstrations.
B. a no rally-no permit policy.
C. when, where, and how lawful assemblies are to be
conducted.
D. calibrated response to rallies that have become violent.
12. The President forged an executive agreement with Vietnam
for a year supply
of animal feeds to the Philippines not to exceed 40,000
tons. The Association of
Animal Feed Sellers of the Philippines questioned the
executive agreement for
being contrary to R.A. 462 which prohibits the importation
of animal feeds from
Asian countries. Is the challenge correct?
A. Yes, the executive agreement is contrary to our existing
domestic law.
B. No, the President is the sole organ of the government in
external relations and
all his actions as such form part of the law of the land.
C. No, international agreements are sui generis which must
stand independently
of our domestic laws.
D. Yes, the executive agreement is actually a treaty which
does not take effect
without ratification by the Senate.
13. Jose Cruz and 20 others filed a petition with the
COMELEC to hold a
plebiscite on their petition for initiative to amend the
Constitution by shifting to a
unicameral parliamentary form of government. Assuming that
the petition has
been signed by the required number of registered voters,
will it prosper?
A. No, only Congress can exercise the power to amend the
Constitution.
B. Yes, the people can substantially amend the Constitution
by direct action.
C. Yes, provided Congress concurs in the amendment.
D. No, since they seek, not an amendment, but a revision.
14. The Comelec en banc cannot hear and decide a case at
first instance
EXCEPT when
A. a Division refers the case to it for direct action.
B. the case involves a purely administrative matter.
C. the inhibition of all the members of a Division is
sought.
D. a related case is pending before the Supreme Court en
banc.
15. Each of the Constitutional Commissions is expressly
described as
“independent,” exemplified by its
A. immunity from suit.
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Set A
B. fiscal autonomy.
C. finality of action.
D. collegiality.
16. There is double jeopardy when the dismissal of the first
case is
A. made at the instance of the accused invoking his right to
fair trial.
B. made upon motion of the accused without objection from
the prosecution.
C. made provisionally without objection from the accused.
D. based on the objection of the accused to the
prosecution's motion to postpone
trial.
17. The new Commissioner of Immigration, Mr. Suarez, issued
an Office Order
directing the top immigration officials to tender courtesy
resignation to give him a
free hand in reorganizing the agency. In compliance,
Director Sison of the
Administrative Department tendered his resignation in
writing which Mr. Suarez
immediately accepted. Director Sison went to court,
assailing the validity of his
courtesy resignation and Mr. Suarez’s acceptance of the
same. Will the action
prosper?
A. No, Director Sison tendered his resignation and it was
accepted.
B. No, estoppel precludes Director Sison from disclaiming
the resignation he
freely tendered.
C. Yes,for so long as no one has yet been appointed to
replace him, Director
Sison may still withdraw his resignation.
D. Yes, Director Sison merely complied with the order of the
head of office; the
element of clear intention to relinguish office is lacking.
18. An administrative rule that fixes rates is valid only
when the proposed rates
are
A. published and filed with the UP Law Center.
B. published and hearings are conducted.
C. published and posted in three public places.
D. published and all stakeholders are personally notified.
19. The government sought to expropriate a parcel of land
belonging to Y.
The law provides that, to get immediate possession of the
land, the government
must deposit the equivalent of the land's zonal value. The
government insisted,
however, that what apply are the rules of court which
require an initial deposit
only of the assessed value of the property. Which should
prevail on this matter,
the law or the rules of court?
A. Both law and rules apply because just compensation should
be fixed based on
its zonal or assessed value, whichever is higher.
B. Both law and rules apply because just compensation should
be fixed based on
its zonal or assessed value, whichever is lower.
C. The law should prevail since the right to just
compensation is a substantive
right that Congress has the power to define.
D. The rules of court should prevail since just compensation
is a procedural
matter subject to the rule making power of the Supreme
Court.
Page 4 of 21Bar Examination Questionnaire for Political Law
Set A
20. After X, a rape suspect, was apprised of his right to
silence and to counsel,
he told the investigators that he was waiving his right to
have his own counsel or
to be provided one. He made his waiver in the presence of a
retired Judge who
was assigned to assist and explain to him the consequences of
such waiver. Is
the waiver valid?
A. No, the waiver was not reduced in writing.
B. Yes, the mere fact that the lawyer was a retired judge
does not cast doubt on
his competence and independence.
C. Yes, the waiver was made voluntarily, expressly, and with
assistance of
counsel.
D. No, a retired Judge is not a competent and independent
counsel.
21. Governor Paloma was administratively charged with abuse
of authority
before the Office of the President. Pending hearing, he ran
for reelection and
won a second term. He then moved to dismiss the charge
against him based on
this supervening event. Should the motion be granted?
A. Yes, Governor Paloma's reelection is an expression of the
electorate's
obedience to his will.
B. No, Governor Paloma's reelection cannot extinguish his
liability for
malfeasance in office.
C. No, Governor Paloma's reelection does not render moot the
administrative
case already pending when he filed his certificate of
candidacy for his reelection
bid.
D. Yes, Governor Paloma's reelection is an expression of the
electorate's
restored trust.
22. The decision of the Regional Trial Court on appeals
pertaining to inclusions
or exclusions from the list of voters
A. is inappealable.
B. is subject to an action for annulment.
C. may be brought straight to the Supreme Court.
D. is appealable to the Commission on Elections.
23. The equal protection clause allows valid classification
of subjects that applies
A. only to present conditions.
B. so long as it remains relevant to the government.
C. for a limited period only.
D. for as long as the problem to be corrected exists.
24. The President wants to appoint A to the vacant post of
Associate Justice of
the Supreme Court because of his qualifications, competence,
honesty, and
efficiency. But A’s name is not on the list of nominees that
the Judicial and Bar
Council (JBC) submitted to the President. What should the
President do?
A. Request the JBC to consider adding A to the list.
B. Decline to appoint from the list.
C. Appoint from the list.
D. Return the list to JBC.
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Set A
25. Courts may still decide cases that have otherwise become
academic when
they involve
A. the basic interest of people.
B. petitions for habeas corpus.
C. acts of the Chief Executive.
D. Presidential election protests.
26. The right of the State to prosecute crimes by available
evidence must yield to
the right of
A. the accused against self-incrimination.
B. another State to extradite a fugitive from justice.
C. the State to deport undesirable aliens.
D. the complainant to drop the case against the accused.
27. A temporary appointee to a public office who becomes a
civil service eligible
during his tenure
A. loses his temporary appointment without prejudice to his
re-appointment as
permanent.
B. has the right to demand conversion of his appointment to
permanent.
C. automatically becomes a permanent appointee.
D. retains his temporary appointment.
28. Upon endorsement from the Senate where it was first
mistakenly filed, the
House of Representatives Committee on Justice found the
verified complaint for
impeachment against the President sufficient in form but
insufficient in
substance. Within the same year, another impeachment suit
was filed against
the President who questioned the same for being violative of
the Constitution. Is
the President correct?
A. No, “initiated” means the Articles of Impeachment have
been actually filed with
the Senate for trial; this did not yet happen.
B. No, the first complaint was not deemed initiated because
it was originally filed
with the Senate.
C. Yes, the dismissal of the first impeachment proceeding
bars the initiation of
another during the same term of the President.
D. Yes, no impeachment proceeding can be filed against the
President more than
once within a year.
29. The Solicitor General declines to institute a civil
action on behalf of a
government agency due to his strained relation with its
head, insisting that the
agency’s lawyers can file the action. Is the Solicitor
General correct?
A. Yes, when he deems he cannot harmoniously and effectively
work with the
requesting agency.
B. No, he must, in choosing whether to prosecute an action,
exercise his
discretion according to law and the best interest of the
State.
C. Yes, as in any lawyer-client relationship, he has the
right to choose whom to
serve and represent.
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Set A
D. No, the Solicitor General's duty to represent the
government, its offices and
officers is mandatory and absolute.
30. A department secretary may, with the President's
consent, initiate his
appearance before the Senate or the House of Representatives
which
A. must seek the concurrence of the other House before
acting.
B. must hold an executive session to hear the department
secretary.
C. may altogether reject the initiative.
D. must accept such initiated appearance.