Administrative Law, Public Officers, and Election Law

Final Examination
Name: ____________________________________
Directions: Answer fully but concisely. Cite your sources
I.
Professor Matipuno who holds a plantilla or regular item in the University of the
Philippines (UP) is appointed as an Executive Assistant in the Sumpreme Court (SC).
The professor is considered only on leave of absence in UP while he reports for work at
the SC which shall pay him the salary of the Executive Assistant. The appointment to the
SC position was questioned, but Professor Matipuno countered that he will not collect the
salary for both positions; hence he did not violate Article IX-B, Section 8 of the 1987
Constitution.
A. Explain the prohibition on dual employment. (5 points)
B. Explain the prohibition dual compensation. (5 points)
C. In the problem above, is the contention Professor Matipuno tenable?
Explain (5 points)
II.1
Article X, Section 10 of the 1987 Constitution provides that the creation, division,
merger, or abolition of local government units must be pursuant to the Local Government
Code to be passed by Congress.
In 1991, Congress enacted the Local Government Code prescribing uniform criteria for
the creation of cities. In 2001, Congress enacted RA 9009 amending Section 450 of the
Local Government Code to increase the income requirement from P20 million to P100
million for the creation of a city. This took effect on 30 June 2001. RA 9009, does not
contain any exemption from this income requirement
At the time when Congress passed RA 9009, 16 cityhood bills were pending in Congress.
These cityhood bills were passed into law and the new cities were created, albeit none of
16 new cities fulfilled the P100 million income requirement. New officials were likewise
elected, new employees were hired, supplies were bought, and permits and licenses were
issued.
The constitutionality of the creation of these new cities was eventually questioned.
A. Explain the Operative Act Doctrine. (5 points)

1

See League of Cities vs. COMELEC, G.R. No. 176951, August 24, 2010.

B. Assuming that the cityhood laws were eventually declared unconstitutional, does
the Operative Act Doctrine apply? Explain. (10 points)
III.2
Mario, an employee of the Pasay City Government, bought a car on loan from Banco
de Oro. He did not declare the car in his Sworn Statement of Assets and Liabilities
(SSAL) on the ground that he has not fully paid the car and that the certificate of
registration is not yet under his name.
A. What is the purpose for the requirement to file the SSAL (5 points)?
B. Is Mario required to declared the car in his SSAL? (5 points)

IV.
Can the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission investigate a presidential appointee on the
basis of anonymous complaint even if there were no supporting documents attached to
the complaint? (5 points)
V.
Pedro was proclaimed as the winning candidate for the position of Representative in the
House of Representatives three (3) days after the elections in May. He then immediately
took his oath of office. However, there was a pending disqualification case against him,
which case was eventually decided by the COMELEC against him 10 days after the
election. Since he has already been proclaimed, he ignored that decision and did not
bother appealing it. The COMELEC then declared in the first week of June that its
decision holding that Pedro was not validly elected had become final. Pedro then went to
the Supreme Court questioning the jurisdiction of the COMELEC claiming that since he
had already been proclaimed and had taken his oath of office, such election body had no
more right to come up with a decision that the jurisdiction had already been transferred
to the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal. How defensible is the argument of
Pedro? (10 points)
VI.3
Margie has been in the judiciary for a long time, starting from the lowest court. Twenty
(20) years from her first year in the judiciary, she was nominated as a Justice in the Court
of Appeals. Margie also happens to be a first-degree cousin of the President. The Judicial
and Bar Council included her in the short-list submitted to the President whose term of
office was about to end it was a month before the next presidential elections.

2
3

Read: Hon. Walden Q. Flores v. Atty. Antonio F. Montemayor, G.R. No. 170146, August 25, 2010.
Arturo M. De Castro v. Judicial and Bar Council, G.R. No. 191002, March 17, 2010.

A. Can the President still make appointments to the judiciary during the so-called
midnight appointment ban period? (5 points)
B. Assuming that he can still make appointments, could he appoint Margie, his
cousin? (5 points)
VII.
While Congress was in session, the President appointed eight acting Secretaries. A group
of Senators from the minority bloc questioned the validity of the appointments in a
petition before the Supreme Court on the ground that while Congress is in session, no
appointment that requires confirmation by the Commission on Appointments, can be
made without the latter's consent, and that an undersecretary should instead be designated
as Acting Secretary.
A. Who are the officials subject to the confirmation of the Commission on
Appointments? (5 points)
B. Decide whether or not the petition should be granted. (5 points)
VIII.
A. Who are the officials subject to the disciplinary authority of the Ombudsman? (5
points)
B. What is the extent of the power of the Ombudsman to preventively suspend
officials under its jurisdiction (5 points)
IX.4
A. What is the rationale for the rule on automatic resignation of appointed officials
who have filed certificates of candidacy? (5 points)
B. Does the prohibition on partisan political activity under Section 2(4), Article IX-B
of the 1987 Constitution apply to elected public officials? Why or Why not? (5
points)
X.
Does the Vice President enjoy immunity from suit? Why or why not? (5 points)
GOOD LUCK!

Quinto v. Comelec, G.R. No. 189698, February 22, 2010.