The consensus among the bar examinees, academics, and experts was that the 2026 bar examinations were quite tough and challenging. I agree. To me, the reason for the increased difficulty of the recent bar is the comeback of the issue-spotter question and the multi-issue question. Comeback of the issue-spotter In the 2024 and 2025 bar…
Hearsay is an out-of-court statement which is offered for the truth of the fact asserted therein (see Section 37, Rule 130 of the Rules of Court). Under the hearsay rule, hearsay is not admissible in evidence unless it falls within an exception to the hearsay rule. Basically, there are two ways to overcome a hearsay…
Section 7, Rule 111 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure defines a prejudicial question by providing for its elements: “Section 7. Elements of prejudicial question. – The elements of a prejudicial question are: (a) the previously instituted civil action involves an issue similar or intimately related to the issue raised in the subsequent criminal action,…
The rule is that the filing of the complaint with the prosecutor’s office for investigation already interrupts the running of the prescriptive period for an offense. This is based on Article 91 of the Revised Penal Code as read together with Section 1, Rule 110 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure. Section 1 of Rule…
A purchaser of registered land taking a certificate of title for value and in good faith shall hold the same free from all encumbrances except those noted in said certificate (Sec. 44, Property Registration Decree). In other words, a prospective buyer needs to examine only the four corners of the certificate of title as he…
The rules governing an appeal from a judgment or final order of the Sandiganbayan are found in Section 7 of P.D. No. 1606, Rule XI of the 2018 Revised Internal Rules of the Sandiganbayan (RIRS), and the Rules of Court. Civil Cases An appeal from a judgment or final order of the Sandiganbayan in a…
Before we answer the question, it is best to clarify from the get-go the meaning of the legal terms “immediately executory” and “immediately final and executory” or “final and executory.” A judgment which is “immediately executory” is enforceable after rendition and shall not be stayed by an appeal (Section 4, Rule 39, Rules of Court).…
Section 34, Rule 130 of the Rules of Evidence provides that a confession, that is, “[t]he declaration of an accused acknowledging his or her guilt of the offense charged, or of any offense necessarily included therein, may be given in evidence against him or her.” Section 34 does not refer to a judicial confession but…
Under Section 40, Rule 130 of the Rules of Evidence, the declaration made by a person deceased or unable to testify against the interest of the declarant, if the fact asserted in the declaration was at the time it was made so far contrary to the declarant’s own interest that a reasonable person in his…
In a judgment acquitting an accused, may civil liability arising from a source other than crime be adjudged against him? This question was tackled by the Supreme Court en banc in the case of Llonillo v. People, G.R. No. 246787, 30 January 2024. In Llonillo, the petitioners spouses were charged with the crime of other…