SAN BEDA COLLEGE OF LAW

FINAL EXAMINATIONS REVIEW QUESTIONS

SUBJECT : CONSTITUTIONAL LAW I

PROF : Comm. Wilhelm D. Soriano

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A. True or False sample questions (30%)

1. Legislative power is exclusively vested in Congress.

2. The question on the validity of an Apportionment Law is a political
question.
3. Congress, by law, may validly delegate to Autonomous Region for
Muslim Mindanao Regional Legislative Assembly the power to create
legislative districts.
4. The Constitution limits the power of Congress to increase their
membership.
5. A Senator or Member of the House of Representatives shall, in all
offenses, be privileged from arrest while the Congress is in session.
6. The qualifications for Members of Congress prescribed in the
Constitution must be possessed only at the time of the election.
7. Residence as a constitutional requirement for Members of the House of
Representatives means domicile.
8. The President may not limit the subjects which may be considered
during special session called by him.
9. Under its power of the purse, the Congress is completely free to
appropriate money in any manner and for whatever purpose it may
choose.
10. Under the doctrine of inappropriate provisions, an
unconstitutional provision in an Appropriation Law may be singled out
for veto.

MULTIPLE CHOICE SAMPLE QUESTIONS (30%)

1. The following is part of the Philippine archipelago, except;

a) Turtle and Mangsee Islands
b) Islands of Sibutu and Sulu
c) Scarborough Shoal
d) Kalayaan Group of Islands

2. Two states of unequal power voluntarily establish durable links and one
state delegates certain responsibilities to the other, while it maintains
its international status as a state, is known as the principle;
a) Delegation
b) Association
c) Attachment
d) Dependency

NOTE: More questions on the next page, please

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3. The following are characteristics of the power of eminent domain,

except;
a) Only private properties may be subject to eminent domain
b) Eminent domain may mean not only the actual disposition but even
impairment of the use of property for purposes other than for which
it was intended
c) Payment in Land Bank bonds may be allowed in all cases of
expropriation
d) Title over the property is transferred to the expropriator only upon
payment of just compensation

4. The political question doctrine may be validly invoked in the following;

a) The Presidents ban on the return of then President Marcos to the
Philippines
b) The authority of the President to decide whether an exigency has
arisen
c) The imposition of martial law or suspension of the privilege of the
writ of habeas corpus
d) The ascertainment of the manner of forming the Commission on
Appointments

5. Two months before the next presidential elections up to the end of his
term, a President or Acting President may not make appointments to
executive positions, except;
a) Temporary appointments to executive positions
b) When continued vacancies therein will prejudice public service or
endanger public safety
c) In appointments to fill vacancies in the Judiciary
d) When there is a law providing for such

B. Objectives (20%)

1. Discuss briefly the procedure in the approval of bills.

2. What are the methods by which a bill may become a law?
3. What are the limitations on the power of legislative investigation?
4. Kindly give an instance when a bill shall become a law upon its
approval on third reading by the Congress.
5. Enumerate the Powers of the President of the Philippines
6. What are the two (2) sets of rules for filling a vacancy in the presidency
7. What are the limitations and guidelines on the authority of the
Supreme Court to promulgate rules concerning the pleading, practice
and procedure, and admission to the practice of law?
8. Give at least four (4) safeguards embodied in the Constitution to
maintain the independence of the Judiciary.
9. What are the requisites of a judicial inquiry?
10. What are the exceptions of the general rule that the
constitutional questions must be raised at the earliest possible
opportunity?
 NOTE: More questions on the next page, please

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Case Problems (20%)

1. A group of well-meaning law abiding citizens petitioned the

Supreme Court questioning the deployment of the Philippine
Marines in Metro Manila to combat criminality upon the order of the
President of the Philippines pursuant to his calling-out power, will
the petition prosper? Decide with reasons.

2. Plaintiff filed a complaint for the recovery of instalments which fell

due in 1990. The defendant pleaded prescription, thirteen years
having elapsed since the due date. The plaintiff argued that the
prescriptive period had been suspended by the Moratorium Law, but
the defendants countered that the Moratorium Law had been
declared unconstitutional and therefore no rights could be built
upon it.

If you are the Supreme Court, which side would you sustain?

3. The House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations

conducted an inquiry in aid of legislation into alleged irregular and
anomalous disbursement of the Countryside Development Fund as
exposed by Mr. X, the incumbent Division Chief of the Department
of Budget and Management. Implicated in the questionable
disbursement are high officials at the Palace. The House of
Representatives Committee on Appropriation summoned the wistle-
blower Mr. X and the Secretary of the Department of Budget and
Management. Mr. X refused to appear, while the DBM Secretary
appeared but refused to answer on the ground of Executive
Privilege.

Issue: May Mr. X be compelled to appear and testify? If yes, what

sanction may be imposed on him?

What about the DBM Secretary, may he validly invoke Executive

Privilege?

4. Section 42 of House Bill 12345 which became Republic Act No.

67890 imposed a Caterers tax on various operators of restaurants.
The President, however, vetoed the portion of Section 42 which
imposed a twenty per centum (20%) Caterers tax on restaurants
operated by hotels, motels, and resorts. It is contended that the
veto was invalid since item veto refers to a veto of an entire section
and not portions of a section.

Decide with reasons