LAW SCHOOL MYTHS

LAW STUDENTS ARE FORBIDDEN TO HAVE A LOVE LIFE

My classmate who recently broke up with her boyfriend wrote this Facebook note. Personally, I am committed to Mary Grace Catelo, my girlfriend for more than two years now.

I am thankful that my girlfriend is very understanding. I think that open-communication is the main factor for the longevity of our relationship. We text a lot and we see to it that we see each other weekly. In addition, I bring my girlfriend with me in almost all of my gimiks with my Law School block-mates. Its like hitting two birds with one stone, I get to spend sometime with my girlfriend and have a bonding time with my classmates.

Our teacher in SEM1 (SBC Requirement) an equivalent of Theology, suggested that we should not be involved in any romantic relationship while in Law School because this will take some valuable time that could be spend studying. In my case, during our disagreements, I see to it that we talk while our heads are cool enough to listen. Sometimes, the problem with other couples is that they tend to voice out everything during the heat of the moment. It is a settled rule that don't make any judgement while at the height of your emotions. 

Approximately, at least 10 in our class including me, are in a relationship and I think all of us are in a  long relationship.

Sure there are a lot of hot boys and girls in law school, the temptation might be too strong to resist but remember that trust is so hard to earn but way too easy to lose.

LAW STUDENTS DO NOT HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR

During our orientation, one resource speaker said, if you are still able to afford to smile even after being humiliated in front of the class, then congratulations.

Thank God that I haven't lost all my sense of humor. I can still afford to smile, crack a joke amidst all the stress and hassle that Law School brings.

I am also thankful that I made friends who also have sense of humor, it maybe about joking about someone's physical appearance, a green joke or worst, make fun of our teachers. This stuff may be categorized as "high-schoolish" but still, we take whatever relieves us from the stress from reading 200 pages daily.


LAW STUDENTS DO NOT HAVE TIME TO PARTY

I think the advantage of having night classes is that we could afford to get drunk at night then hit the books later in the morning till afternoon.

My group of friends started hanging out right after our last midterm exams since then, we get to hang-out after a very stressful night. i.e we went to Dapitan to have a videoke party after a bloody SEM1 exam. and almost the whole class went to Taft to have some good time when our Professor announced that we won't be having a Saturday class.

Limjoco vs. Estate of Fragrante

G.R. No. L-770
April 27, 1948


FACTS:

On May 21, 1946, the Public Service Commission issued a certificate of public convenience to the Intestate Estate of the deceased Pedro Fragante, authorizing the said intestate estate through its Special or Judicial Administrator, appointed by the proper court of competent jurisdiction, to maintain and operate an ice plant with a daily productive capacity of two and one-half (2-1/2) tons in the Municipality of San Juan and to sell the ice produced from the said plant in the Municipalities of San Juan, Mandaluyong, Rizal, and Quezon City; that Fragante’s intestate estate is financially capable of maintaining the proposed service.

Petioner argues that allowing the substitution of the legal representative of the estate of Fragante for the latter as party applicant and afterwards granting the certificate applied for is a contravention of the law.

ISSUE:

Whether the estate of Fragante be extended an artificial judicial personality.

HELD:

The estate of Fragrante must be extended an artificial judicial personality. If Fragrante had lived, in view of the evidence of record, would have obtained from the commission the certificate for which he was applying. The situation has not changed except for his death, and the economic ability of his estate to appropriately and adequately operate and maintain the service of an ice plant was the same that it received from the decedent himself.

It has been the constant doctrine that the estate or the mass of property, rights and assets left by the decedent, directly becomes vested and charged with his rights and obligations which survive after his demise. The reason for this legal fiction, that the estate of the deceased person is considered a "person", as deemed to include artificial or juridical persons, is the avoidance of injustice or prejudice resulting from the impossibility of exercising such legal rights and fulfilling such legal obligations of the decedent as survived after his death unless the fiction is indulged.

The estate of Fragrante should be considered an artificial or juridical person for the purposes of the settlement and distribution of his estate which, include the exercise during the judicial administration of those rights and the fulfillment of those obligations of his estate which survived after his death.

The decedent's rights which by their nature are not extinguished by death go to make up a part and parcel of the assets of his estate for the benefit of the creditors, devisees or legatees, if any, and the heirs of the decedent. It includes those rights and fulfillment of obligation of Fragante which survived after his death like his pending application at the commission.

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PE vs. PE

G.R. No. L-17396

May 30, 1962

FACTS:

Plaintiffs are the parents, brothers and sisters of one Lolita Pe. At the time of her disappearance on April 14, 1957, Lolita was 24 years old and unmarried. Defendant is a married man and works as agent of the La Perla Cigar and Cigarette Factory. Defendant was an adopted son of a Chinaman named Pe Beco, a collateral relative of Lolita's father. Because of such fact and the similarity in their family name, defendant became close to the plaintiffs who regarded him as a member of their family. Sometime in 1952, defendant frequented the house of Lolita on the pretext that he wanted her to teach him how to pray the rosary. The two eventually fell in love with each other and conducted clandestine trysts and exchanged love notes The rumors about their love affairs reached Lolita's parents sometime, in 1955, and since then defendant was forbidden from going to their house and from further seeing Lolita. The plaintiffs even filed deportation proceedings against defendant. The affair between defendant and Lolita continued nonetheless.On April 14, 1957, Lolita disappeared from their house but her brothers and sisters found a note written by the defendant.

ISSUE:

Whether the defendant is liable according to Article 21 of the Civil Code

HELD:

Because of the frequency of his visits to the Lolita’s family who was allowed free access because he was a collateral relative and was considered as a member of her family, the two eventually fell in love with each other and conducted clandestine love affairs. Even when the defendant is prohibited to see Lolita, the defendant continued his love affairs with her until she disappeared from the parental home. The wrong he has caused her and her family is indeed immeasurable considering the fact that he is a married man. Verily, he has committed an injury as contemplated in Article 21 of the New Civil Code.Defendant is sentenced to pay the plaintiffs the sum of P5,000.00 as damages and P2,000.00 as attorney's fees and expenses of litigations

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BELLIS vs. BELLIS

G.R. No. L-23678
June 6, 1967

FACTS:

AMOS G. BELLIS was a citizen and resident of Texas at the time of his death. He executed a will in the Philippines, in which he directed that after all taxes, obligations, and expenses of administration are paid for, his distributable estate should be divided, in trust, in the following order and manner

a) $240,000.00 to his first wife MARY E. MALLEN

b) $120,000.00 to his three illegitimate childrenAMOS BELLIS, JR., MARIA CRISTINA BELLIS, MIRIAM PALMA BELLIS,or $40,000.00 each, and

c) After foregoing the two items have been satisfied, the remainder shall go to his seven surviving children by his first and second wives EDWARD A. BELLIS, HENRY A. BELLIS, ALEXANDER BELLIS, and ANNA BELLIS-ALLSMAN, EDWARD G. BELLIS, WA LTER S. BELLIS, and DOROTHY E. BELLIS in equal shares.

MARIA CRISTINA BELLIS and MIRIAM PALMA BELLIS filed their respective oppositions to the project of partition on the ground that they were deprived of their legitimes as illegitimate children and, therefore, compulsory heirs of the deceased.

The LOWER COURT issued an order overruling the oppositions and approving the executor’s final account, report and administration, and project of partition. Relying upon Article 16 of the Civil Code, it applied the national law of the decedent, which in this case is which did not provide for legitimes

ISSUE:

Which law must apply in executing the will of the deceased – Texas Law or Philippine Law?

HELD:

The said illegitimate children are not entitled to their legitimes under the Texas Law(which is the national law of the deceased), here are no legitimes. The renvoi doctrinecannot be applied. Said doctrine is usually pertinent where the decedent is a national of one country ad a domiciliary of another. In the said case, it is not disputed that the deceased was both a national of Texas and a domicile thereof at the time of his death.

Article 16, Paragraph 2 of Civil code render applicable the national law of the decedent, in intestate and testamentary successions, with regard to four items: (a) the order of succession, (b) the amount of successional rights, (c) the intrinsic validity of provisions of will, and (d) the capacity to succeed.

They provide that

ART.16 Real property as well as personal property is subject to the law of the country to where it is situated.However, intestate and testamentary successions, both with respect to the order of successions and to the amount of successional rights and to the intrinsic validity of testamentary provisions, shall be regulated by the national law of the person whose succession is under consideration, whatever may be the nature of the property and regardless of the country wherein said property may be found.

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BACK2BACK CHAMPS...

Animo San Beda.... Beat Baste!!

The Smart Araneta Coliseum was filled with fans and supporters of the Red Lions. I was there with my friends and my significant other in order to personally cheer for the Lions. It was my first time to cheer for my school in the Basketball Finals.

Back in my undergrad years, the UP Fighting Maroons are consistently the bottom-dwellers so it goes without saying that I never get a chance to see my own school in the final leg of a basketball tournament.

Going back, the Final series was a nail-biter. Game 1 was filled with cheap shots from Abueva all game long. However, the Lions pulled a 75-63 win over the Stags with Villahermosa igniting a 4th quarter run.|

Game 2 was slightly different, the Stags were more aggressive right from the get go. Coach Topex of Baste used a different strategy, he did not start NCAA MVP Abueva but it worked wonders for him giving the Stags an early 8 point lead with Pascual leading the charge.

However, when the 2nd half started, it was a David Semerad show, he was hitting jump shot after jump shot after jump shot. He was attacking the lanes even with Abueva guarding him. The Bedan Community breathed a sigh of relief when sharpshooter Ronald Pascual missed a wide open three in the dying seconds of the 4th quarter leaving the Final Score 55-53 giving Coach Frankie Lim his fourth championship in five seasons as a coach of the Lions.

It was a great feeling cheering for the your school, though I only knew a few cheers and yells. It was fun to taunt your rivals in the game knowing you got thousands of other supporters behind your back.

Dave Marcelo was hailed Finals MVP with the average of close to 9 ppg and 14 rpg.

One thing that I noticed from the Baste Community is the lack of crowd support because only a few Stags supporters went to Araneta Coliseum to cheer for them compared in the social networking site Twitter wherein they were all saying that they will give an all-out support for their team. Their attendance in the 2 games were an indication that they failed to give their all-out support.

To conclude, the 87th season was not as stellar like the 86th season but it produced the same result,
No SAM, No SU, No Problem...

#GoSanBedaFight

THE BIG 3...

This post is not about the Big 3 of the Celtics and Miami Heat. This post is about the Top 3 Law Schools in the Philippines...


Before starting my first semester as a Law student, my first choice is to enroll at the UP College of Law then my second choice is to enroll at the Saint Louis University (SLU) College of Law. Unfortunately, I did not pass the UP Law Aptitude Exam (UPLAE). Then, as I was conditioning myself to study in the Summer Capital of the Philippines, my uncle who is residing in Baguio advised me to study in Manila because the degree of learning is better and for the reason that SLU has not yet produced a Supreme Court Justice. He also added that studying in Manila will help me get better connections in the legal profession in the future.


So Lo and Behold, I took an entrance exam in San  Beda College of Law, I am not aware that it is one of the top performing Law Schools in the Philippines. I am just a fan of the Red Lions who happens to have a dream to become a lawyer.

To cut the story short, I passed the exam then I enrolled at the SBC COL and I'm currently enjoying my semestral break.

Now, to those who has plans to take up law in the near future.

The so-called Big 3 amongst all the Law Schools in the Phillipines in no particular order are

San Beda College of Law

UP College of Law

Ateneo School of Law

All these schools have entrance exams. However, I can say that the UPLAE is the toughest among the three while the Entrance Exam in the San Beda is the easiest. The selection process in UPLAE is so stringent that it only has at most 200 slots for first year students. WOW! compared to San Beda wherein, it is easy to get in but even easier to get out. (if you don't prepare for the daily grind of law school, this will happen to you)

Graduating from a UP System myself, I can attest that it is hard to enter UP but even harder to get out (LOL)

Kidding aside, I think all the three Law Schools have a very strict curriculum, not to mention, each school have their fair share of  terror professors, super long reading assignments among others.

Both UP and Ateneo offer Juris Doctor Degree while SBC is offering Bachelor of Law Degree. The difference between the two is that the J.D program has thesis and I think that you will get a prefix of Dr. when you graduate. *cool stuff*

To sum it up, it is not important where you will you end up studying Law, what is important is to hurdle the final leg after graduation and that is the BAR exams.



***Click label Law School Life to see how I adjusted in Law School

FUTURE LAWYER TO BE...

This is not a grammatical error...
I intended it that way because I want to share to the world that I want to become a lawyer someday and I would also like to give an impression that I have a "wacky" attitude towards academic learning.

The name of my blog may sound "funny" but it is really a multitude of all my perspectives in life.
In short, I am serious in what I am doing in a non-serious way...

Hopefully, 5 years from now...

I will change the name of this blog...

#crossingfingers

FIRST DAY FUNK...

After a grueling first semester in Law School, I am now enjoying my first "sembreak" as a bonafide Law student...


First and foremost, the ORIENTATION...

This is where all the freshman Law students are gathered in the Abbot Lopez Hall in order be formally welcomed by the Faculty and the higher/older batches of Law Students (primarily the Law Student Government)

Some of the faculty members gave us tips on how to survive law school while some of them just intimidated us for their delight...One quote stuck to my mind...

"If you love reading books, you haven't read anything yet unless you enroll in Law School..."
-Vice Dean

Anyway, after the orientation program proper, we were served with a sumptuous dinner and a photo booth was set-up to capture the moments... we were all smiles, unknowing or unmindful of the challenges and hardships we are about to endure for the rest of the semester...

Second is the CLASS PROPER (recitations!!!)

This is where the law professors will test if you really understood all the codal provisions, annotations and cases they assigned.

This is stressful specially if your prof is an impatient one. The one who only gives his/her students 3 seconds to answer his/her questions.

Note: When the prof shuffles the class cards, your heart beat skips a little.

There is a term in law school called "shotgun" wherein the the prof would call almost the entire class because someone could not answer the question or has not read the case. This is really frightening specially if you are grade conscious. One failing recitation grade can spell the difference between passing and failing the subject.

Third is the EXAMS....

One of our professors said that "exams are the greatest equalizers"

Unlike during the recitations wherein one student would be luck enough to be asked fairly simple questions or he/she is asked on the part wherein he/she has read, the exams will ask all the students the same set of questions. The professor will now grade it according to the merits of their answer. This will test how well the students has understood the subject.

NOTE: Not all questions in the exams are found in the textbooks or memory aid. Some professors have a knack of making the life of the law students miserable haha...

Fourth is the BONDING TIME with blocmates

Foster friendship with your blocmates.

This will go a long way because studying will not be much of burden if you have a study buddies to help you understand the difficult provisions and they will also help you by narrating the cases in order for you to easily understand them.

Bonding time is not limited to 'inuman sessions' but I really love it when my law school friends take a break from studying and grab a cold beer.

NOTE: Ideally, inuman sessions should be taken after the exams. In law school, your goal is to be lawyer and not to be party animal.