LEGAL CITATIONS

PURPOSES*
• To provide sufficient information about the document or part
thereto which the writer refers to;
• To provide the necessary information about the material used while
maintaining the text to be presentable and uncluttered;
• To show the connection between the referenced material and the
writer’s argument in order to aid the reader/researcher in deciding
whether or not to pursue the reference.

*Introduction to Basic Legal Citation (online ed. 2014) by Peter W. Martin. Available at https://www.law.cornell.edu/citation/index.htm last
visited August 11, 2015.
Structure and Use of Citations
•Citation sentences v Citation clauses

• The first support an entire footnote sentence, the second support

only part of a sentence.

• Location of footnote call number

Structure and Use of Citations
•Introductory Signals

• INDICATE SUPPORT
• No signal, E.g., Accord, See, See also, Cf
• SUGGEST COMPARISON
• Compare…with
• INDICATE CONTRADICTION
• Contra, But see, But cf
• Shreveport Rate Case, 234, U.S. 342 (1914). But see Philippine Communications Satellite Inc. v. Alcuaz,
G.R. 84818, December 18, 1989, 180 SCRA 218 (on when rate-fixing is quasi-judicial for purposes of
determining compliance with due process).
Structure and Use of Citations
•Introductory Signals

• INDICATE BACKGROUND MATERIAL

• See generally
SIGNALS
NO SIGNAL

• Cited authority directly states the proposition

• Source of the cited quotation
• identifies the authority referred in the text
• Opposite: Contra
SIGNALS
e.g.

• “exempli gratia” or “for example”

• The cited authority supports the proposition but there are other
authorities which also support the proposition, but citation to them
would not be helpful or is not nexessary
• May be combined with other signals See, e.g., Concepcion v. Paredes,
42 Phil. 599 (1921).
SIGNALS
1 See, e.g., Concepcion v. Paredes, 42 Phil. 599 (1921).
2See, e.g., H.B. No. 226 (providing that persons who commit medical
malpractice shall suffer imprisonment or fine from a minimum of
P100,000.00 to P250,000.00).
SIGNALS
Accord
• There are two or more sources that support the proposition, but the
text quotes or refer to only one. The other source is introduced by
Accord.
• It means that “I have just cited something that supports my
proposition, and now here’s another thing that supports it too.”
• This may be used to cite that a law in one jurisdiction is in accord to
another jurisdiction
SIGNALS

1United States v. Chavez-Valenzuela, 268 F.3d 719,725 (9th Cir. 2001);

accord United States v. Beck, 140 F.3d 1129, 1139 (8th Cir. 1998).
SIGNALS
See
• Cited authority clearly supports the proposition.
• It is less direct than “No Signal.”
• when the proposition is not directly stated by the cited authority but
obviously follows from it
• Opposite: But see
SIGNALS
1L. B. Goldhirsch, The Warsaw Convention Annotated: A Legal
Handbook 164 (1988 ed.).
2 id. See Santos III v. Northwest Orient Airlines, 210 SCRA 256, 260-261
(1992) (recognizing that the Warsaw Convention has force and effect of
law in the Philippines.).
SIGNALS
See also

• When an authority directly supporting a proposition has already been

used but you want to add more.
• Use of parenthetical explanation explaining its relevance is
encouraged.
SIGNALS

1 See People v. Lupac, G.R. No. 182230, September 19, 2012, 681
SCRA 390, 396; see also People v. Estrada, G.R. No. 178318, January
15, 2010, 610 SCRA 222, 230-235.
SIGNALS
Cf.
• “confer” or “compare”
• Cited authority does not exactly support the proposition but is close
enough or sufficiently analogous to lend support.
• Use of parenthetical explanation explaining its relevance is strongly
recommended.
• Opposite: But cf.
SIGNALS
Compare…with…

• Used to compare two or more authorities that reach different

outcomes as to the stated proposition.
• Use parenthetical explanation after each authority to help the reader
understand the relevance of the comparison
SIGNALS
See generally

• The cited authority is a helpful background to the proposition.

• Use parenthetical explanation is encouraged.
Structure and Use of Citations
•Parenthetical Information
-recommended when the relevance of a cited authority might not otherwise
be clear to the reader

• Explanation
• Quotation
Typefaces for Citations

Ordinary Roman/ Italics LARGE AND SMALL CAPITALS

Plain Text
Case names in full citations Case names in short form Book author and title
citation Periodical/journal name
Article title
Introductory signal
Id
Punctuation that falls
within italicized material
 USING ITALICS*
IN TEXT
• references to titles or case names in the text without full citation
• quoted words that were italicized in the original
• emphasized words

*Introduction to Basic Legal Citation (online ed. 2014) by Peter W. Martin. Available at https://www.law.cornell.edu/citation/index.htm last
visited August 11, 2015.
ITEMS NOT ITALICIZED
• constitutions • names of journals
• statutes • rules
• restatements • regulations
• names of reporters and services • other administrative materials
Short Citation Forms
•id.
- used in citing the immediately preceding authority, but only when the
immediately preceding citation contains only one authority
- For any kind of authority

•supra
- used in citing a preceding authority, unless id is appropriate or supra is
inappropriate
- Not used to refer to cases, statutes, constitutions, legislative materials
(other than hearings) codes, or regulations
Short Citation Forms
•hereinafter
- to establish a specific shortened form to be used
- for the authority that would be cumbersome to cite with the usual supra
form or for which the regular shortened form may confuse the reader
 QUOTING
"Since the corpus delicti is the fact of the commission of the crime,
this Court has ruled that even a single witness' uncorroborated
testimony, if credible, may suffice to prove it and warrant a conviction
therefor. Corpus delicti may even be established by circumstantial
evidence.“1 "In theft, corpus delicti has two elements, namely: (1)
that the property was lost by the owner, and (2) that it was lost by
felonious taking.“2
1 Villarin
v. People, G.R. No. 175289, August 31, 2011, 656 SCRA 500, 520-521; and Rimorin, Jr. v. People, 450 Phil. 465,
474-475 (2003).
2 Gulmatico v. People, G.R. No. 146296, October 15, 2007, 536 SCRA 82, 92; See also Tan v. People, 372 Phil. 93, 105
(1999).
QUOTING
It is axiomatic that “a prosecutor, by the nature of his office, is under
no compulsion to file a particular criminal information where he is
convinced that there is not enough evidence to support its
averments, or that the evidence at hand, to his mind, necessarily
leads to a different conclusion.” 3

3 Ilusorio v. Ilusorio, G.R. No. 171659, December 13, 2007.

QUOTING
The first element requires that the offender has both material and juridical possession
of the personal property received. This was explained in Chua-Burce vs. Court of
Appeals, et. al., to wit:
“When the money, goods, or any other personal property is
received by the offender from the offended party (1) in trust or
(2) on commission or (3) for administration, the offender acquires
both material or physical possession and juridical possession of
the thing received. Juridical possession means a possession which
gives the transferee a right over the thing which the transferee
may set up even against the owner.”4 (Citations omitted)

4 Chua-Burce vs. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 109595. April 27, 2000.
CASES
Ong v. People, G.R. No. 139006, November 27, 2000.
Ong v. People, 346 SCRA 117 (2000).
Ong v. People, 399 Phil. 686, 688 (2002).
Ong v. People, G.R. No. 139006, November 27, 2000, 346 SCRA 117.
Ong v. People, G.R. No. 139006, November 27, 2000 (Paras, J.,
dissenting).
SHORT FORM CITATIONS
CASES
1 Concepcion v. Paredes, 42 Phil. 599 (1921).
2 People v. Ong, 346 SCRA 117, 120 (2000).
3 Id.
4 Id. at 119.
5 Concepcion, 42 Phil at 601.
6 Ong, 346 SCRA at 120.
CONSTITUTION

Const. of 1935, art. VIII, § 1, cl. (3).

Const. of 1973, art. X, § 1.
Const. art. VIII, sec. 1.
SHORT CITATION FORM
CONSTITUTON

1 Const., art. VIII, § 1.

2 id.

2 Const., art VII, § 1.

3 Const., art VII, § 2.
CODES / RULES

New Civil Code art. 297.

Civil Code art. 67 (1889).
Criminal Procedure rule 115, § 1.
SHORT FORM CITATIONS
CODES

1New Civil Code art 165.

2Revised Penal Code art. 8.
3 art. 10.
4 New Civil Code art 18.
STATUTES
Revised Naturalization Law § 2 (1939).
Anti Graft and Corrupt Practices Act § 2 (1960).
Pres. Decree No. 1866 § 3 (1983) (amended 2013).
Pres. Decree No. 1866 § 3 (1983), amended by
Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition
Regulation Act( 2013).
Land Transportation and Traffic Code art. II, § 2(a).
EXECUTIVE / PRESIDENTIAL ISSUANCES
Exec. Order No. 200 (1986).
Proc. No. 1081 (1972).
Adm. Order No. 200 (2005).
Gen. Order No. 1 (1972).
L.O.I. No. 2 (1972).
L.O. Impl. No. (1972).
L.O.A. No. 1 (1972).
ADMINISTRATIVE RULES AND REGULATIONS
Administrative Order No. 1 promulgated by the Department of Energy
on January 5, 2006
- DOE Adm. Order No. 1 (2006).

Supreme Court Administrative Order No. 1 adopted in 2005

- SC Adm. Order No. 1 §8 (2005).
ORDINANCES

City Ordinance No. 1 of the City of Manila approved on June 21, 2004.
Cited as : Manila Ordinance No. 1, June 21, 2004
- Manila Ordinance No. 1, June 21, 2004.
SHORT FORM CITATIONS
STATUTES/REGULATIONS

1 Anti Graft and Corrupt Practices Act § 2 (1960).

2 id.

3§ 6.
4 SC Adm. Order No. 1 §8 (2005).
5 §9.

6 Anti Graft and Corrupt Practices Act § 5.

TREATIES
Treaty of Friendship with India, July 11, 1952, II-2 DFATS 1, 2 PTS 797,
203 UNTS 73.
International Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination, opened for signature December 21, 1965, 660 UNTS
195 (effective January 4, 1969).
Philippines Extradition Treaty with the United States, November 27,
1981, 8 PTS 978.
SHORT FORM CITATIONS
5 Treaty
of Friendship with India, July 11, 1952, II-2 DFATS 1, 2 PTS 797, 203
UNTS 73.
6 InternationalConvention for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination, opened for signature December 21, 1965, 660 UNTS 195
(effective January 4, 1969).
8 Treaty of Friendship with India, supra note 5.
9International Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination, supra note 6, at 200.
10 Treaty of Friendship with India, 2 PTS 780.
Constitutional / Legislative Proceedings

II RECORD, CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSION 24 (June 24, 1986).

II JOURNAL, CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSION 24 (June 24, 1986).
II RECORD, SENATE 6TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION 24 (June 24, 1986).
II JOURNAL, HOUSE 6TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION 24 (June 24, 1986).
ROLLO AND OTHER COURT RECORDS
Rollo, p. 21.
CA rollo, pp. 109-122.
Records, pp. 210-214.
MTC records, p 123.
ROLLO OR OTHER COURT RECORDS

TSN, January 30, 2003, pp. 21-22.

Exhibit “A”, rollo, p. 21.
Exhibit “1”, records, p. 21.
SECONDARY SOURCES
3 AMBROCIO P. PADILLA, THE 1987 CONSTITUTIONS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
779 (1990).
SEDFREY M. CANDELARIA & MARIA CRISTINA T. MUNDIN, A Review of Legal
Education in the Philippines, 55 ATENEO L. J. NO. 3, 567 (2010).
EUGENE F. SCOLES ET AL., CONFLICT OF LAWS 1018 (5th ed. 2010).
CHRISTINE O. AVENDANO, Chief Justice Sereno Releases Her SALN: P18 Million,
PHIL. DAILY INQUIRER, Augut 31, 2012, A20.
SECONDARY SOURCES

Journal – J.
Law Journal – L. J.
Law Review – L. Rev
SHORT FORM CITATIONS
BOOKS AND ARTICLES
13 AMBROCIO P. PADILLA, THE 1987 CONSTITUTIONS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE
PHILIPPINES 779 (1990).
2SEDFREY M. CANDELARIA & MARIA CRISTINA T. MUNDIN, A REVIEW OF LEGAL
EDUCATION IN THE PHILIPPINES, 55 Ateneo L. J. no. 3, 567 (2010).
3 id. at 464.
4 AMBROCIO, supra note 1, at 878; CANDELARIA, supra note 2, at 588.
ELECTRONIC SOURCES
David Waldman, This Week in Congress, DAILY KOS (Jan. 19, 2009, 6:30:04
AM),
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/1/18/235223/489/683/68580
2/.

Stanley Kubrick̶ Biography, YAHOO! MOVIES,

http//movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hc&id=1800011072&cf=blog&intl=us
(last visited Nov. 24, 2009).
SHORT FORM CITATIONS
1David Waldman, This Week in Congress, DAILY KOS (Jan. 19, 2009,
6:30:04 AM),
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/1/18/235223/489/683/68580
2/.
2 Stanley Kubrick̶ Biography, YAHOO! MOVIES,
http//movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hc&id=1800011072&cf=blog&intl=us
(last visited Nov. 24, 2009).
3 id.
4 Waldman, supra note 1.