2011 Bar Exams MCQs – Remedial Law

Ben testified that Jaime, charged with robbery, has committed bag-snatching three times on the same street in the last six months.  Can the court admit this testimony as evidence against Jaime?

Anna filed a petition for appointment as regular administratrix of her fathers' estate. Her sister Sophia moved to dismiss the petition on the ground that the parties, as members of the same family, have not exerted earnest effort toward a compromise prior to the filing of the petition. Should the petition be dismissed?

The city prosecutor charged Ben with serious physical injuries for stabbing Terence.  He was tried and convicted as charged. A few days later, Terence died due to severe infection of his stab wounds.  Can the prosecution file another information against Ben for homicide?

Alex filed a petition for writ of amparo against Melba relative to his daughter Toni’s involuntary disappearance. Alex said that Melba was Toni’s employer, who, days before Toni disappeared, threatened to get rid of her at all costs. On the other hand, Melba countered that she had nothing to do with Toni’s disappearance and that she took steps to ascertain Toni’s whereabouts.  What is the quantum of evidence required to establish the parties’ respective claims?

Defendant Dante said in his answer: “1. Plaintiff Perla claims that defendant Dante owes her P4,000 on the mobile phone that she sold him; 2. But Perla owes Dante P6,000 for the dent on his car that she borrowed.”  How should the court treat the second statement?

A sued B for ejectment. Pending trial, B died, survived by his son, C. No substitution of party defendant was made. Upon finality of the judgment against B, may the same be enforced against C?

Arvin was caught in flagrante delicto selling drugs for P200,000.00. The police officers confiscated the drugs and the money and brought them to the police station where they prepared the inventory duly signed by police officer Oscar Moreno. They were, however, unable to take pictures of the items.  Will this deficiency destroy the chain of custody rule in the drug case?

Angie was convicted of false testimony and served sentence. Five years later, she was convicted of homicide. On appeal, she applied for bail. May the Court of Appeals deny her application for bail on ground of habitual delinquency?

What is the right correlation between a criminal action and a petition for Writ of Amparo both arising from the same set of facts?

The accused jumps bail and fails to appear on promulgation of judgment where he is found guilty. What is the consequence of his absence?

Bearing in mind the distinction between private and public document, which of the following is admissible in evidence without further proof of due execution or genuineness?

Berto was charged with and convicted of violating a city ordinance against littering in public places punishable by imprisonment of one month or a fine of P1,000.00. But the city mayor pardoned him. A year later, he was charged with violating a city ordinance against jaywalking which carried the same penalty. Need Berto post bail for such offense?

A pending criminal case, dismissed provisionally, shall be deemed permanently dismissed if not revived after 2 years with respect to offenses punishable by imprisonment

To prove payment of a debt, Bong testified that he heard Ambo say, as the latter was handing over money to Tessie, that it was in payment of debt.  Is Bong’s testimony admissible in evidence?

During trial, plaintiff offered evidence that appeared irrelevant at that time but he said he was eventually going to relate to the issue in the case by some future evidence. The defendant objected.  Should the trial court reject the evidence in question on ground of irrelevance?

Arthur, a resident foreigner sold his car to Bren. After being paid but before delivering the car, Arthur replaced its original sound system with an inferior one. Bren discovered the change, rejected the car, and demanded the return of his money. Arthur did not comply.  Meantime, his company reassigned Arthur to Singapore.

Bren filed a civil action against Arthur for contractual fraud and damages. Upon his application, the court issued a writ of preliminary attachment on the grounds that (a) Arthur is a foreigner; (b) he departed from the Philippines; and (c) he was guilty of fraud in contracting with Bren.

Is the writ of preliminary attachment proper?

In a case, the prosecutor asked the medical expert the question, “Assuming that the assailant was behind the deceased before he attacked him, would you say that treachery attended the killing?”  Is this hypothetical question permissible?

Considering the qualifications required of a would-be witness, who among the following is INCOMPETENT to testify?

What is the movant’s remedy if the trial court incorrectly denies his motion to dismiss and related motion for reconsideration?

When may a co-owner NOT demand the partition of the thing owned in common?

The city prosecutor of Manila filed, upon Soledad’s complaint, a criminal action for estafa against her sister, Wella, before the RTC of Manila for selling to Victor a land that she previously sold to Soledad. At the same time Soledad filed a civil action to annul the second sale before the RTC of Quezon City. May the Manila RTC motu proprio suspend the criminal action on ground of prejudicial question?

A sued B in the RTC of Quezon City, joining two causes of action: for partition of real property and breach of contract with damages.  Both parties reside in Quezon City but the real property is in Manila.  May the case be dismissed for improper venue?

Which of the following claims survive the death of the defendant and need not be presented as a claim against the estate?

Which of the following grounds for dismissal invoked by the court will NOT PRECLUDE the plaintiff from refiling his action?

The Metropolitan Trial Court convicted Virgilio and Dina of concubinage. Pending appeal, they applied for bail, claiming they are entitled to it as a matter of right. Is their claim correct?

Ramon witnessed the commission of a crime but he refuses to testify for fear of his life despite a subpoena being served on him. Can the court punish him for contempt?

In which of the following instances is the quantum of evidence ERRONEOUSLY applied?

Gerry sued XYZ Bus Co. and Rico, its bus driver, for injuries Gerry suffered when their bus ran off the road and hit him. Of the two defendants, only XYZ Bus Co. filed an answer, alleging that its bus ran off the road because one of its wheels got caught in an open manhole, causing the bus to swerve without the driver’s fault. Someone had stolen the manhole cover and the road gave no warning of the danger it posed. On Gerry’s motion and over the objection of XYZ Bus Co., the court declared Rico, the bus driver, in default and rendered judgment ordering him to pay P50,000 in damages to Gerry. Did the court act correctly?

Gary who lived in Taguig borrowed P1 million from Rey who lived in Makati under a contract of loan that fixed Makati as the venue of any action arising from the contract.Gary had already paid the loan but Rey kept on sending him letters of demand for some balance. Where is the venue of the action for harassment that Gary wants to file against Rey?

In which of the following situations is the declaration of a deceased person against his interest NOT ADMISSIBLE against him or his successors and against third persons?

Which of the following is a correct statement of the rule on amendment of the information in a criminal proceeding?

Cindy charged her husband, George, with bigamy for a prior subsisting marriage with Teresa.  Cindy presented Ric and Pat, neighbors of George and Teresa in Cebu City, to prove, first, that George and Teresa cohabited there and, second, that they established a reputation as husband and wife.  Can Cindy prove the bigamy by such evidence?

As a rule, the judge shall receive the evidence personally. In which of the following circumstances may the court delegate the reception of evidence to the clerk of court?

What should the court sheriff do if a third party serves on him an affidavit of claim covering the property he had levied?

Apart from the case for the settlement of her parents’ estate, Betty filed an action against her sister, Sigma, for reconveyance of title to a piece of land. Betty claimed that Sigma forged the signatures of their late parents to make it appear that they sold the land to her when they did not, thus prejudicing Betty’s legitime. Sigma moved to dismiss the action on the ground that the dispute should be resolved in the estate proceedings.  Is Sigma correct?

The accused was convicted for estafa thru falsification of public document filed by one of two offended parties.  Can the other offended party charge him again with the same crime?

As a rule, the estate shall not be distributed prior to the payment of all charges to the estate.  What will justify advance distribution as an exception?

In proceedings for the settlement of the estate of deceased persons, the court in which the action is pending may properly

Summons was served on “MCM Theater,” a business entity with no juridical personality, through its office manager at its place of business.  Did the court acquire jurisdiction over MCM Theater’s owners?

Which of the following is NOT REQUIRED of a declaration against interest as an exception to the hearsay rule?

In a civil action involving three separate causes of action, the court rendered summary judgment on the first two causes of action and tried the third. After the period to appeal from the summary judgment expired, the court issued a writ of execution to enforce the same.  Is the writ of execution proper?

Ranger Motors filed a replevin suit against Bart to recover possession of a car that he mortgaged to it.  Bart disputed the claim.  Meantime, the court allowed, with no opposition from the parties, Midway Repair Shop to intervene with its claim against Bart for unpaid repair bills.  On subsequent motion of Ranger Motors and Bart, the court dismissed the complaint as well as Midway Repair Shop’s intervention.  Did the court act correctly?

In a judicial foreclosure proceeding, under which of the following instances is the court NOT ALLOWED to render deficiency judgment for the plaintiff?

The RTC of Malolos, Branch 1, issued a writ of execution against Rene for P20 million. The sheriff levied on a school building that appeared to be owned by Rene.  Marie, however, filed a third party claim with the sheriff, despite which, the latter scheduled the execution sale.  Marie then filed a separate action before the RTC of Malolos, Branch 2, which issued a writ of preliminary injunction enjoining the sheriff from taking possession and proceeding with the sale of the levied property.  Did Branch 2 correctly act in issuing the injunction?

Plaintiff Manny said in his complaint: “3.  On March 1, 2001 defendant Letty borrowed P1 million from plaintiff Manny and made a promise to pay the loan within six months.”

In her answer, Letty alleged: “Defendant Letty specifically denies the allegations in paragraph 3 of the complaint that she borrowed P1 million from plaintiff Manny on March 1, 2001 and made a promise to pay the loan within six months.”  Is Letty’s denial sufficient?

Upon review, the Secretary of Justice ordered the public prosecutor to file a motion to withdraw the information for estafa against Sagun for lack of probable cause. The public prosecutor complied.  Is the trial court bound to grant the withdrawal?

Henry testified that a month after the robbery Asiong, one of the accused, told him that Carlos was one of those who committed the crime with him.  Is Henry’s testimony regarding what Asiong told him admissible in evidence against Carlos?

Angel Kubeta filed a petition to change his first name “Angel.” After the required publication but before any opposition could be received, he filed a notice of dismissal. The court confirmed the dismissal without prejudice.  Five days later, he filed another petition, this time to change his surname “Kubeta.” Again, Angel filed a notice of dismissal after the publication. This time, however, the court issued an order, confirming the dismissal of the case with prejudice. Is the dismissal with prejudice correct?

To prove the identity of the assailant in a crime of homicide, a police officer testified that, Andy, who did not testify in court, pointed a finger at the accused in a police lineup.  Is the police officer’s testimony regarding Andy’s identification of the accused admissible evidence?

Dorothy filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus against her husband, Roy, to get from him custody of their 5 year old son, Jeff. The court granted the petition and required Roy to turn over Jeff to his mother.  Roy sought reconsideration but the court denied it. He filed a notice of appeal five days from receipt of the order denying his motion for reconsideration. Did he file a timely notice of appeal?

The prosecution moved for the discharge of Romy as state witness in a robbery case it filed against Zoilo, Amado, and him.  Romy testified, consistent with the sworn statement that he gave the prosecution. After hearing Romy, the court denied the motion for his discharge.  How will denial affect Romy?

In which of the following cases is the testimony in a case involving a deceased barred by the Survivorship Disqualification Rule or Dead Man Statute?

A surety company, which provided the bail bond for the release of the accused, filed a motion to withdraw as surety on the ground of the accused’s non-payment of the renewal premium.  Can the trial court grant the withdrawal?

Unexplained or unjustified non-joinder in the Complaint of a necessary party despite court order results in

To prove that Susan stabbed her husband Elmer, Rico testified that he heard Leon running down the street, shouting excitedly, “Sinasaksak daw ni Susan ang asawa niya! (I heard that Susan is stabbing her husband!)”  Is Leon’s statement as narrated by Rico admissible?

The information charges PNP Chief Luis Santos, (Salary Grade 28), with “taking advantage of his public position as PNP Head by feloniously shooting JOSE ONA, inflicting on the latter mortal wounds which caused his death.” Based solely on this allegation, which court has jurisdiction over the case?

A party aggrieved by an interlocutory order of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition with the Court of Appeals.  May the Court of Appeals take cognizance of the petition?

X’s action for sum of money against Y amounting to P80,000.00 accrued before the effectivity of the rule providing for shortened procedure in adjudicating claims that do not exceed P100,000.00.  X filed his action after the rule took effect. Will the new rule apply to his case?

Allan was riding a passenger jeepney driven by Ben that collided with a car driven by Cesar, causing Allan injury.  Not knowing who was at fault, what is the best that Allan can do?

When may an information be filed in court without the preliminary investigation required in the particular case being first conducted?

Fraud as a ground for new trial must be extrinsic as distinguished from intrinsic. Which of the following constitutes extrinsic fraud?

The defendant in an action for sum of money filed a motion to dismiss the complaint on the ground of improper venue. After hearing, the court denied the motion. In his answer, the defendant claimed prescription of action as affirmative defense, citing the date alleged in the complaint when the cause of action accrued.  May the court, after hearing, dismiss the action on ground of prescription?