JMJ Marist Brothers

NOTRE DAME OF MARBEL UNIVERSITY

Koronadal City

COLLEGE OF LAW

COURSE SYLLABUS FOR LEGAL RESEARCH WITH BIBLIOGRAPHY

COURSE TITLE & CODE Legal Research; Law 107

COURSE UNITS & TYPE 2 units; Regular & required
PROFESSOR Prima Jesusa Quinsayas-Mangelen
TEXT AND MATERIALS Textbooks:
a. RODRIGUEZ, Legal Research (2002)
b. SANTOS-ONG, Legal Research and Citations of the
Philippines (2018)

References:
a. PUTMAN, Legal Research Analysis and Writing
b. STRUNK & WHITE, The Elements of Style
c. YELIN, The Legal Research and Writing Handbook: a basic
approach for paralegals
d. Philippine Law Journal; Ateneo Law Journal; IBP Journal
e. Revised Rules of Court of the Philippines
f. 1987 Constitution of the Philippines
COURSE CONTENT AND FLOW
Week 0 Introduction, orientation and class policies
Weeks 1 and 2 Introduction to Legal Research
Week 1: asynchronous online a. Definition of Legal Research
Week 2: synchronous online
b. Purpose of Legal Research
c. Sources of Legal Research
Weeks 3 to 5 Historical Evolution of Philippine Law
Week 3: synchronous online a. Pre-Spanish
Weeks 4 and 5:
- In person classes
b. Spanish
- Group reporting c. American
d. Japanese
e. Philippine Republic
f. Martial Law
g. Republic Revival
Weeks 6 and 7 The Legal Research Process
Week 6: asynchronous online a. Systematic approach
Week 7: synchronous online
- Factual analysis: TARP
- Thing/subject matter
- Action (cause of action/defense)
- Relief
- Parties
- Formulate legal issues for research
- Substantive law
- General to specific
- Do research
- Constitution, statutes (IRRs/admin
regulations), jurisprudence; treatises
(for unexplored questions of law in the
face of new/unique set of facts)
- Annotations (SCRA); read footnotes and

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 endnotes
- Computer-assisted research (Google;
lawphil.net; sc.judiciary.gov.ph)
- Update
b. Search tools and common methods of search
- Topic method
- Fact word method
- Case method
- Dictionary method
- Popular name method
c. Sources of Law
- Primary sources of law: recorded laws & rules enforced
by the state
(i) Constitution, preamble
> Article 7, The New Civil Code (NCC)
Laws are repealed only by subsequent ones, and their violation
or non-observance shall not be excused by disuse, or custom
or practice to the contrary.

When the courts declared a law to be inconsistent with the

Constitution, the former shall be void and the latter shall
govern.

Administrative or executive acts, orders and regulations shall

be valid only when they are not contrary to the laws or the
Constitution.
> Angara v. Electoral, 15 July 1936 (supremacy of
the Constitution)
(ii) Statutes or statutory law
> Legislative enactments - Enactment of laws;
Section 26 (2) and 27, Article VI, Constitution
(legislative process: bill  3 readings  law)
> Repeal and amendment of laws
> Presumption of validity
> Declaration of unconstitutionality - De Agbayani
v. PNB, 28 SCRA 429
An unconstitutional act, in this case an executive order, cannot
be the source of any legal right or duty. It cannot justify any
official act taken under it. Administrative or executive acts,
orders and regulations shall be valid only when not contrary to
the Constitution. The Constitution being supreme and
paramount, any legislative or executive act to its contrary
cannot survive.
> Effectivity of laws
 Article 2, NCC; Tañada v. Tuvera, G.R. No.
63915, 29 December 1983; Honasan II v.
The Panel, 13 April 2004
Laws shall take effect after fifteen days following the
completion of their publication in the Official Gazette, unless it
is otherwise provided. This Code shall take effect one year
after such publication.
Counting of 15 days: exclude first and include last.
Constitutionality of the OMB-DOJ Circular questioned as basis
for DOJ authority; SC said DOJ authority is based on the

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 Administrative Code. OMB and DOJ have concurrent
jurisdiction to conduct P.I.
 Article 3, 7 and 8, NCC; Tawang MPC v. La
Trinidad Water District, G.R. No. 166471, 22
March 2011
Ignorance of the law excuses no one from compliance
therewith.
Judicial decisions applying or interpreting the laws or the
Constitution shall form a part of the legal system of the
Philippines.
Water franchise issue; PD No. 198, as amended, former
President Ferdinand E. Marcos created indirectly franchises
that are exclusive in character by allowing the BOD of LTWD
and the LWUA to create directly franchises that are exclusive
in character. Cert of public convenience/operation of a public
utility is not exclusive (1935, 1973, 1987 Consti): When the
law is clear, there is nothing for the courts to do but to apply it.
The duty of the Court is to apply the law the way it is worded.
What cannot be legally done directly cannot be done indirectly.
(iii) Executive/Presidential and other issuances of
different government agencies including GOCCs
> Sec. 1, Chapter 1, Book III, Admin. Code
EO 292
Book III – Office of the President
Ch. 1 – Power of Control
Section 1. Power of Control. - The President shall have control
of all the executive departments, bureaus, and offices. He shall
ensure that the laws be faithfully executed.

> Sec. 2 to 7, Chapter 2, Book III, Admin. Code

Ch. 2 – Ordinance Power
Section 2. Executive Orders. - Acts of the President providing
for rules of a general or permanent character in
implementation or execution of constitutional or statutory
powers shall be promulgated in executive orders.

Section 3. Administrative Orders. - Acts of the President which

relate to particular aspect of governmental operations in
pursuance of his duties as administrative head shall be
promulgated in administrative orders.

Section 4. Proclamations. - Acts of the President fixing a date

or declaring a status or condition of public moment or interest,
upon the existence of which the operation of a specific law or
regulation is made to depend, shall be promulgated in
proclamations which shall have the force of an executive
order.
Section 5. Memorandum Orders. - Acts of the President on
matters of administrative detail or of subordinate or temporary
interest which only concern a particular officer or office of the
Government shall be embodied in memorandum orders.

Section 6. Memorandum Circulars. - Acts of the President on

matters relating to internal administration, which the President

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 desires to bring to the attention of all or some of the
departments, agencies, bureaus or offices of the Government,
for information or compliance, shall be embodied in
memorandum circulars.

Section 7. General or Special Orders. - Acts and commands of

the President in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines shall be issued as general or
special orders.
> Sec. 7, Chapter 2, Book IV, Admin. Code
Bk IV – The Executive Branch
Ch. 2 – Secretaries, Undersecretaries & Assistant Secretaries
REMEMBER the doctrine: Secretaries act as the alter ego of
the President
Section 7. Powers and Functions of the Secretary. - The
Secretary shall:

(1) Advise the President in issuing executive orders,

regulations, proclamations and other issuances, the
promulgation of which is expressly vested by law in the
President relative to matters under the jurisdiction of the
Department;

(2) Establish the policies and standards for the operation of

the Department pursuant to the approved programs of
governments;

(3) Promulgate rules and regulations necessary to

carry out department objectives, policies, functions,
plans, programs and projects;

(4) Promulgate administrative issuances necessary for the

efficient administration of the offices under the Secretary and
for proper execution of the laws relative thereto. These
issuances shall not prescribe penalties for their violation,
except when expressly authorized by law;

(5) Exercise disciplinary powers over officers and employees

under the Secretary in accordance with law, including their
investigation and the designation of a committee or officer to
conduct such investigation;

(6) Appoint all officers and employees of the Department

except those whose appointments are vested in the President
or in some other appointing authority; Provided, however, that
where the Department is regionalized on a department-wide
basis, the Secretary shall appoint employees to positions in the
second level in the regional offices as defined in this Code;

(7) Exercise jurisdiction over all bureaus, offices, agencies and

corporations under the Department as are provided by law,
and in accordance with the applicable relationships as
specified in Chapters 7, 8, and 9 of this Book;

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 (8) Delegate authority to officers and employees under the
Secretary's direction in accordance with this Code; and

(9) Perform such other functions as may be provided by law.

> Sec. 50, Chapter 11, Book IV, Admin. Code

Ch. 11 – Administrative Issuances
Section 50. General Classification of Issuances. - The
administrative issuances of Secretaries and heads of bureaus,
offices or agencies shall be in the form of circulars or orders.

(1) Circulars shall refer to issuances prescribing policies, rules

and regulations, and procedures promulgated pursuant to law,
applicable to individuals and organizations outside the
Government and designed to supplement provisions of the law
or to provide means for carrying them out, including
information relating thereto; and

(2) Orders shall refer to issuances directed to particular

offices, officials, or employees, concerning specific matters
including assignments, detail and transfer of personnel, for
observance or compliance by all concerned.
(iv) Treaties and international agreements
> Sec. 2, Article II, Constitution; Pharmaceutical v.
Duque, G.R. No. 173034, 09 October 2007
Art. II - Declaration of Principles and State Policies
Section 2. The Philippines renounces war as an instrument of
national policy, adopts the generally accepted principles
of international law as part of the law of the land and
adheres to the policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom,
cooperation, and amity with all nations.
> Sec. 21, Article VII, Constitution; Bayan v.
Romulo, G.R. No. 159618, 01 February 2011
Art. VII – Executive Department
Section 21. No treaty or international agreement shall be valid
and effective unless concurred in by at least two-thirds of all
the Members of the Senate.
Bayan v. Romulo, re: Rome Statute creating the ICC, and the
Non-Surrender Agreement between the Philippines and the US
(v) Administrative rules and regulations
(vi) Local ordinances and resolutions
> Sections 1 and 2, Article X, Constitution;
Magtajas v. Pryce Properties, 234 SCRA 255
Art. X – Local Government
Section 1. The territorial and political subdivisions of the
Republic of the Philippines are the provinces, cities,
municipalities, and barangays. There shall be autonomous
regions in Muslim Mindanao and the Cordilleras as hereinafter
provided.

Section 2. The territorial and political subdivisions shall enjoy

local autonomy.
Magtajas v. Pryce, re: opening of a PAGCOR casino in CDO,
which protested and passed 2 ordinances prohibiting the

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 opening of a casino. It was held that the ordinances enacted
are invalid. Ordinances should not contravene a statute.
Municipal governments are merely agents of the National
Government. Local Councils exercise only delegated powers
conferred by Congress. The delegate cannot be superior to the
principal powers higher than those of the latter. PD 1869
authorized casino gambling. As a statute, it cannot be
amended/nullified by a mere ordinance.

> Section 16, RA 7160; City v. Laguio, G.R. No.

118127, 12 April 2005; White Light Corp, et al.
v. City, G.R. No. 122846, 20 January 2009
LGC of 1991
Section 16. General Welfare. - Every local government unit
shall exercise the powers expressly granted, those necessarily
implied therefrom, as well as powers necessary, appropriate,
or incidental for its efficient and effective governance, and
those which are essential to the promotion of the general
welfare. Within their respective territorial jurisdictions, local
government units shall ensure and support, among other
things, the preservation and enrichment of culture, promote
health and safety, enhance the right of the people to a
balanced ecology, encourage and support the development of
appropriate and self-reliant scientific and technological
capabilities, improve public morals, enhance economic
prosperity and social justice, promote full employment among
their residents, maintain peace and order, and preserve the
comfort and convenience of their inhabitants.
City of Laguio, re: Victoria Court in Malate established as a
motel but accredited by DOT as a hotel. Manila LGU passed an
Ordinance prohibiting certain entertainment establishments in
Manila including inns and motels. It was held ultra vires. The
tests of a valid ordinance are well established. A long line of
decisions has held that for an ordinance to be valid, it must not
only be within the corporate powers of the local government
unit to enact and must be passed according to the procedure
prescribed by law, it must also conform to the following
substantive requirements:
(1) must not contravene the Constitution or any statute;
(2) must not be unfair or oppressive;
(3) must not be partial or discriminatory;
(4) must not prohibit but may regulate trade;
(5) must be general and consistent with public policy; and
(6) must not be unreasonable.
White v. City, re: Manila LGU passed “Ordinance Prohibiting
Short-Time Admission, Short-Time Admission Rates, and
Wash-Up Rate Schemes in Hotels, Motels, Inns, Lodging
Houses, Pension Houses, and Similar Establishments in the City
of Manila.” It was held that Ordinance No. 7774 is not a valid
exercise of police power, and is unconstitutional. The facts
recall the recent City of Manila v Laguio Jr ruling and the 1967
decision in Ermita-Malate Hotel and Motel Operations
Association, Inc., v. Hon. City Mayor of Manila. The common
thread that runs through those decisions and the case at bar

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 goes beyond the singularity of the localities covered under the
respective ordinances. All three ordinances were enacted with
a view of regulating public morals including particular illicit
activity in transient lodging establishments. This could be
described as the middle case, wherein there is no wholesale
ban on motels and hotels but the services offered by these
establishments have been severely restricted. At its core, this is
another case about the extent to which the State can intrude
into and regulate the lives of its citizens.
(vii) Case Law/Jurisprudence (separate discussion)
(viii) Regulations and rulings of administrative
agencies
- Secondary sources of law
i. Classification by authority
> Primary authority: mandatory and persuasive
 Mandatory primary authority
 Persuasive mandatory authority
> Secondary authority
ii. Classification by source
> Primary sources
> Secondary sources
iii. Classification by Character
> Statute Law Books
> Case Law Books or Law Reports
> Combination of Stature Law Books and Case Law
Books
> Law Finders
d. Case Briefs/Digests: The FIR structure
e. Synthesizing Cases
Week 8 (in person) Midterms
Weeks 9 and 10 Overview of the Philippine System
Online (wait for announcement as a. The Legislative
to whether class is asynchronous
or synchronous)
> Tio v. Videogram, 151 SCRA 208 re: creation of the
Videogram Regulatory Board
> Sec. 2, Sec. 5 (1) and Sec. 27, Article VI, Constitution
b. The Executive
> Sec. 1, Article VII, Constitution; Marcos v. Manglapus,
177 SCRA 668 re: CCA banning the return of Marcoses
> Sec. 17 and Sec. 18, Article VII, Constitution; David v.
Arroyo, 489 SCRA 160 re: GMA’s issuance of PP 1017
and GO 5
c. The Judiciary
> Sec. 5, Article VIII, Constitution; Rule-making power
> SC: Sec. 1, Article VIII, Constitution
> CA: Sec. 9, BP 129 as amended by RA 7902
> Sandiganbayan: Sec. 4, Article XI, Constitution
> CTA: Sec. 7, RA 1125 as amended by RA 9282
> RTC and first level courts: BP 129
d. Others: Quasi-Judicial Bodies, Constitutional Commissions
and Local Governments
Weeks 11 to 14 Jurisprudence/Case Law
In person classes a. Overview
- Articles 4 and 8, NCC

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 - Sps Benzonan v. CA, G.R. No. 97973, 27 January 1992;
Silverio v. RP, G.R. No. 174689, 19 October 2007; Re:
Resolution Granting Automatic Permanent Total
Disability Benefits, A.M. No. 02-12-01-SC
b. Present judicial system
- Trial courts of limited jurisdiction
- Trial courts of general jurisdiction
- Appellate courts
- Court of last resort
c. Principles in studying case law
- Doctrine of Precedent
- Stare Decisis and Res Judicata: Ting v. Velez-Ting, 31
March 2009; Philippine v. Llanos, et al., 14 August 1965
- Reversal of judgment and Overruling of decision:
Sec. 4 (3), Article VIII, Constitution; Castro v. JBC, 20
April 2010
- Ratio Decidendi and Obiter Dictum: Obra v. Sps Badua,
G.R. No. 149125, 09 August 2007; Office of the
Ombudsman v. CA, 16 June 2006
- Binding authority and Persuasive authority
d. Forms of decisions
- Dispositive or Fallo and Ratio Decidendi: Obra v. Sps
Badua
- Minute Resolutions and Decisions: Philippine v.
Commissioner, G.R. No. 167330, 18 September 2009
- Opinion and Decision: Disini v. Secretary, 11 February
2014
Weeks 15 Legal Citations
Online (wait for announcement as a. Citation of statutes
to whether class is asynchronous
or synchronous) - Constitution
- Session laws
- Codes
- Bills, Resolutions and Committee Reports
- Treaties and International Agreements
- Presidential Acts
- Administrative Rules and Regulations
- Ordinances
- Court Rules
b. Citation of case law or jurisprudence
- Case Names
> General rule
> Exceptions
- Case Reports
> Supreme Court decisions
> Court of Appeals decisions
> Other Courts decisions
> Administrative Decisions
Week 16 (in person) Finals

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