Go BC Law From Today and Beyond

01/09/2017

Republic Act 10951 modifies the 87 year-old Revised Penal Code by updating the values on which penalties are based and the fines for offenses to reflect present economic values.

07/07/2017

A movie about a group of friends who enter law school and get more than what they bargained for. Starring: Carlo Aquino, Rocco Nacino, Enzo Pineda and Kean C...

21/10/2016

Good evening everyone.
Kindly be advised that due to certain circumstances, the BC Law Council will be distributing the "yellow booklet" tomorrow, October 22, 2016 for the scheduled final examinations instead of the standard white booklet that we normally use.
No white booklet will be sold tomorrow because of its unavailability.

We will be distributing such booklets for free to compensate for this lapse and for the inconvenience it may cause.

As for those who have secured a number of the white booklets to be used tomorrow, kindly wait for instructions as to their usability. This is in consideration of uniformity in the use of booklets to be submitted to the professors.

We beg your understanding and cooperation on the matter at hand. Thank you and good luck for the finals tomorrow!

-Mary John A. Lomerio,
BC Law Student Council 2016

27/08/2016

"Surely, you have a duty to ensure that he is better off after having attended your school." --- Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno

'Do not tell me that we are not accountable for the lives of these people,' Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno tells law schools

28/07/2016

filing of Petition to take Bar Examination has been extended until August 15, 2016

Bulletin # 4 (July 28, 2016):

♦ The deadline for filing of Petitions to Take the Bar Examinations has been extended until 15 August 2016.

♦ Said extension applies to all applicants regardless of whether their respective law schools followed the usual (June to March) or the modified (August to June) academic calendar.

♦ The cut-off date of jurisprudence to be included in the coverage of the 2016 Bar Examinations shall be May 2015.

19/07/2016

attending Seminar on Anti-Money Laundering Law at BSP Legazpi Branch

11/07/2016

Important updates about the Law Curriculum Review from Dean Ralph A. Sarmiento - University of St. La Salle

An earthshaking development in the study of law is about to happen if and when the Legal Education Board (LEB) approves the REVISED LAW CURRICULA that we have been working at in the last four months, and the Supreme Court approves our proposal to reduce the number of Bar exam subjects to four.

The proposed revised law curricula for the Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) and the Juris Doctor (J.D.) programs will dramatically change the landscape of legal education and the Bar examinations, and I am really honored to be part of the committee of law deans convened by the LEB to work on this project.

Here are the SALIENT POINTS of the proposed Revised Law Curricula:

1. The proposed revised LL.B. and J.D. curricula will be law practice-oriented, not Bar-oriented;

2. The LL.B. curriculum will have a total of 120 units, while the J.D. curriculum will have a total of 126 units;

3. The revised LL.B. and J.D. curricula will have 60 units of core law subjects, and perspective and skills courses;

4. The study of Legal Ethics will be integrated into all the said courses. In particular, the study of ethical dilemmas concerning each law subject shall be included in the course syllabus of each subject;

5. The study of Legal Forms will also be integrated into each subject where the forms are material. For example, in Criminal Procedure, when the filing of a criminal complaint or information is discussed, the preparation and writing of a Complaint-Affidavit and Information should also be taught immediately.

6. Both LL.B. and J.D. curricula shall have 4 units of Legal Apprenticeship Program (LAP), 2 units of Law Practice Simulation (LPS). However, the J.D. curriculum will have an additional 6 units of Thesis Writing;

7. Both curricula shall have 54 units of Elective courses. Taxation, Labor, and Commercial Law subjects will not be incorporated into other subjects like Civil Law or Business Organizations. Instead, they will become electives, and law schools will have the option to offer them or not depending on the tracks they choose to specialize on. For example, if a law school will offer a business track, then it can offer Taxation, Labor & Commercial law subjects as electives;

8. The prescribed workload for law students will only be 15 contact hours per week, excluding the 240 hours required for LAP, and the hours required for Thesis Proposal and Defense in the J.D. Program. The reduced number of units and classroom hours will promote better assimilation of legal knowledge. The goal is to provide law students not only broad legal knowledge but also a deeper understanding of legal concepts and principles;

9. In the third and fourth years of the programs, law schools shall be granted the flexibility to design tracks for their curriculum, and to offer electives that will respond to both global and local needs. For example, in regions where there are indigenous people, law schools may offer electives such as Indigenous Peoples and the Law and Human Rights Law;

10. Based on the above, the Committee will propose that the Bar Examination subjects be limited to the following:

a) Political & International Law (20%)
b) Civil Law and Business Organizations (30%)
c) Criminal Law (20%)
d) Remedial Law (30%)

- with ethics and practical exercises questions in ALL the subjects, and with the exams to be conducted in only 2 consecutive Sundays.

The LEB Working Committee for the Revision of the Law Curricula will soon release its final proposed revised curricula, and it hopes to receive the support of all law students, law professors, law deans, law schools, the IBP, and all law practitioners to campaign for its final approval by the LEB Review Committee, the LEB, and the Supreme Court.

The LEB Working Committee for the Revision of the Law Curricula is composed of the following:

Chairperson:
Dean Joan S. Largo - University of San Carlos

Members:
Dean Maria Soledad Deriquito-Mawis - Lyceum University & PALS President
Dean Jason R. Barlis - Saint Louis University
Dean Emerito I. Enginco - De La Salle Lipa
Dean Mihail Lee L. Maxino - Silliman University
Dean Manuel P. Quibod - Ateneo de Davao University
Dean Ralph A. Sarmiento - University of St. La Salle
Dean Josefe C. Sorrera-Ty - Father Saturnino Urios University
Dean Melencio S. Sta. Maria - Far Eastern University
Prof. Tanya Karina A. Lat - PALS Executive Director
Rodrigo C. Sagum - Committee Secretary

11/07/2016

Negligence has been defined as the failure to observe for the protection of the interests of another person that degree of care, precaution, and vigilance which the circumstances justly demand, whe…

04/08/2015

Verba artis ex arte: If technical terms are employed in a contract, they are to be taken in a technical sense.

04/08/2015

How to Check Land Titles in the Philippines and Spot Fake Ones in 30 Seconds

Despite all the regulations put in place to fight scammers and con men in the Philippine real estate industry, there are still a lot of cases being reported where unsuspecting victims fall for fake land titles. For example, just recently (March 22, 2015), Inquirer reported on a land scam syndicate which already has a number of victims who lost their money by buying properties with fake titles.

To avoid getting yourself into a similar problem, your first line of defense is a short and quick check of the land title that is presented to you. There are very specific characteristics of authentic Philippine land titles. If one or more of these are missing on the title that is presented to you, then you know right away that you’re dealing with scammers.

Ms. Ruby Valdez, one of the land registration examiners from the Land Registration Authority of the Philippines, shares with us these items which you can check for in 30 seconds or less.

PHYSICAL QUALITIES

The papers used for authentic land titles in the Philippines are supplied by the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas. These papers are physically unique from all other kinds of papers that you can buy from stores. Here are the things you should look for:
The texture is similar to that of a bank check
It has a faint watermark that says “LRA“
If it’s an old title (before the newer e-Titles being used today), the color of the paper is light yellow.
If it’s an e-Title, the color should be pale straw.
Tiny fibers and dots should be noticeable
And if you could use a UV light, these fibers should fluoresce or shine slightly when subjected to UV light.
CONTENT
Below are the items you should look for in the contents of the title you are checking:
If it’s an Original Certificate of Title (OCT), it should indicate “Judicial Form No. 108-D” at the top.
If it’s a Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT), it should indicate “Judicial Form No. 109-D“
The serial number label (SN No.) should be in red color, while the digits should be in black for the owner’s duplicate.
The last two digits of the page number in the upper right hand side should correspond to the last two digits of the TCT number.
The red/blue border should be slightly embossed and not flatly printed.
For e-Titles, all entries should be computer encoded and printed, unlike the old versions which were manually type-written
The seal on the lower left hand side should be dark red and does not blot when a litle water check is done.
Signatures:
for Judicial OCT, it should have 2 signatures present – the Administrator and the Registrar; while for TCT, only the signature of the Registrar is present.
For Administrative Titles: one signature from a PENRO or CENRO officer and another from the registrar.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
When it comes to transactions involving any kind of real estate, the money involved is usually considerable, if not a serious amount. So you’ll have to be careful, especially when you’re dealing with strangers. Keep in mind the above items and look for them in a land title that is presented to you. If the title does not pass this simple test, then you have saved yourself a lot of trouble, time and money; You don’t have to do further verification anymore since you already know it’s fake.
However, please also note that even if the title passes this first and immediate test, you still can’t be 100% sure that it is authentic, until you verify it with the LRA, the Registry of Deeds and the concerned local offices of the Municipality where the property is located.

To avoid getting scammed with fake land titles, your first line of defense is a quick check of the title that is shown to you. Here's how to spot fake ones.

04/08/2015

J Jardeleza: First rule in const'l interpretation is verba legis. Another rule is verba artis ex arte

09/07/2015

Regular Holiday on the 17th of July 2015