[CASE DIGEST] Van Dorn v. Romillo (G.R. No. L-68470 )

October 8, 1985 | G.R. No. L-68470

Alice Reyes Van Dorn, petitioner
Hon. Manuel V. Romillo Jr., as Presiding Judge  of Branch CX, RTC of Pasay City, and Richard Upton, respondents

FACTS:

Alice Reyes, a Filipino, and Richard Upton, an American, married in Hong Kong in 1972. Following their marriage, they moved to the Philippines where they had two children. In 1982, the spouses were divorced in Nevada, US. Subsequently, Alice remarried to Theodore Van Dorn.

In 1983, Richard filed a case against Alice before RTC Pasay, claiming that Alice's business in Ermita, Manila (the Galleon Shop), is conjugal property of the parties. In other words, he wanted the RTC to declare that he has a right to manage the conjugal property.

Alice filed a Motion to Dismiss, contending that Richard's cause of action is barred by previous judgment in the divorce proceedings in Nevada, where Richard acknowledged that he and Alice had "no community property" as of 1982.

RTC Pasay: Denied the Motion to Dismiss on the ground that the property involved  (Galeon Shop) is located in the Philippines so that the Divorce Decree has no bearing in the case.

Hence, the instant petition.

ISSUE:

Whether a divorce decree validly issued by a competent court overseas is also valid in the Philippines? -- YES.

HELD:

Bar Exams 2020-2021: Finally, Justice Leonen puts an end to the cruel and useless Top 10 culture in Philippine Bar Exams

This blog, Law School Noob, has been very vocal in its call for the Supreme Court of the Philippines to end the Top 10 madness at the conclusion of the Bar Exams, where the Court routinely releases the list of the 10 Bar passers who earned the highest scores.

A thorough discussion of why this "topnotcher" syndrome is parochial, backward, and stupid, is found in this blog post from 2020:

READ: Here's why the Supreme Court of the Philippines should do away with the Top 10 Bar passers list

So it is with a huge sigh of relief that Justice Marvic Leonen, this year's Bar Chair, has taken the moral high road and deided to axe this useless culture once and for all.

In Bar Matter No. 3860, re: Grading System for the 2020/21 Bar Examinations, the Supreme Court will no longer release a Top 10 list of the highest scorers. Instead, it will release a list of the names of Bar passers who obtained a score of 85% or higher. The names will be arranged alphabetically and the scores will not be released.

FULL TEXT: Bar Matter No. 3860

In addition, the Supreme Court will release data on the Bar performance of schools in order to determine the kind of interventions needed insofar as the study of law in the Philippines is conducted.

It appears, however, that the rationale for these reforms is anchored on compassion more than logic. The Supreme Court said there will no longer be Top 10 because:

• There is asymmetry in the time graduates of 2020 have as opposed to those who graduated from 2021, who have shorter time to review; and
  
  
• Law graduates of 2021 are coming from a very crazy period marked by the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
  

These reasonings clearly do not preclude the re-introduction of the practice of releasing the list of topnotchers.

In any event, these are certainly welcome developments. It is the hope that these reforms will spill over to other government-mandated professional exams, so that cruel and needless Top 10 lists are done away with for good.

[CASE DIGEST] Sulpicio Lines v. Curso (G.R. No. 157009)

FACTS:

In October 1988, Dr. Cenon E. Curso boarded MV Dona Marilyn of Sulpicio Lines, Inc., bound for Tacloban City. Due to Typhoon Unsang, the ship sank. Dr. Curso's body, along with hundreds others, was not recovered.

At the time of the ship's sinking, Dr. Curso was 48 years old, and was a resident physician at the Naval District Hospital in Naval, Biliran with a basic monthly salary of P3,940.00, and would have retired from government service by December 20, 2004 at the age of 65.

The surviving brothers and sisters of Dr. Curso filed an action for damages against Sulpicio Lines based on breach of contract of carriage by sea. They also prayed for compensatory damages of P1,924,809.00, moral damages of P100,000.00, exemplary damages in the amount deemed proper and just, expenses of litigation of at least P50,000.00, attorney's fees of P50,000.00, and costs of suit.

RTC dismissed the complaint and said there was no basis for the award of damages because the ship had sunk due to force majeure. The RTC also held that the crew and officers acted with diligence and that there was no basis to find the ship not seaworthy since the Special Board of Marine Inquiry absolved Sulpicio Lines of any liability.

CA reversed RTC's findings, saying there was inadequate proof to show Sulpicio Inc., as well as its officers and crew, exercised diligence

ISSUE:

Whether there was basis for the award of moral damages to the brothers and sisters of Dr Curso. -- NO.

HELD:

[CASE DIGEST] Yulo v. Chan Pe (G.R. No. 156448)

FACTS:

Alfredo Yulo had leased Chan Pe door No. 11 as well as another room of the Commercial Building at Bonifacio Street, Bacolod City for a period of five (5) years. Their lease agreement contained a stipulation that upon default, the contract will be deemed automatically cancelled and the advance payment of the lessee shall also be confiscated.

Pe had failed to pay the rentals from May to October for a total sum of Php 3,900. As such, Yulo filed a case against Pe. The Court of First Instance sentenced Pe to pay Yulo the sum of Php 3,900 as rent arrears, which shall be deducted from Php 5,700 (balance of advance payment of Php 6,000 deducted by the discount of 100 per month of February to April), after which Yulo will pay (or give back) Pe the sum of Php 1,800, representing the balance of the advance payment (Php 5,700 minus Php 3,900).

ISSUE:

Whether the CFI's ruling is correct. -- NO.

HELD:

[CASE DIGEST] Antamok Goldfields Mining Company v. Court of Industrial Relations and National Labor Union, Inc.

June 28, 1940 | G.R. No. 46892

Antamok Goldfields Mining Company, petitioner
Court of Industrial Relations and National Labor Union, Inc., respondents

FACTS: 

Workers of Antamok Goldfield Mining Company went on strike after their demands  for higher wage and better working conditions, which were coursed through the National Labor Union. were not granted in full. Because of their participation in a stoning incident during the strike, 45 workers were dismissed.

The dispute was referred to the Court of Industrial Relations, which then ordered the reinstatement of the 45 workers. The CIR ruled that the discharges and indefinite suspensions were made by Antamok without first securing the consent of the CIR in violation of a previous order enjoining them from discharging any laborer involved in the dispute without just cause and without previous authority of the Court.

Antamok Goldfields Mining Company questioned the constitutionality of Commonwealth Act No. 103, which created the CIR, on the ground that said law deprives them of liberty and property without due process of law.

ISSUE:

Whether Commonwealth Act No 103 is constitutional. - YES.

HELD:

[CASE DIGEST] Intellectual Property Association of the Philippines (IPAP) v. Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, et al

July 19, 2016 | G.R. No. 204605

Intellectual Property Association of the Philippines, petitioner
Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, DFA Secretary Albert del Rosario, IPOPHL Director General Ricardo Blancaflor, respondents

FACTS:

The Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks (Madrid System), which is the centralized system providing a one-stop solution for registering and managing marks worldwide, allows the trademark owner to file one application in one language, and to pay one set of fees to protect his mark in the territories of up to 97 member-states. The Madrid System is governed by the Madrid Agreement, concluded in 1891, and the Madrid Protocol, concluded in 1989.

The Madrid Protocol, which was adopted in order to remove the challenges deterring some countries from acceding to the Madrid Agreement, has two objectives, namely: (1) to facilitate securing protection for marks; and (2) to make the management of the registered marks easier in different countries.

In 2011, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) recommended to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) the country's accession to the Madrid Protocol. The DFA then endorsed the Madrid Protocol to President Benigno Aquino III, who eventually signed it on March 27, 2012. The DFA treated the Madrid Protocol as an executive agreement, not a treaty, and therefore did not require the concurrence of at least 2/3 of all members of the Senators following its ratification. The Madrid Protocol entered into force in the Philippines on July 25, 2012.

Subsequently, the Intellectual Property Association of the Philippines (IPAP), an association of more than 100 law firms and individual practitioners in intellectual property law, challenged the constitutionality of the entry into force of the Madrid Protocol. IPAP argued that the Madrid Protocol was a treaty that required Presidential ratification and Senate concurrence before its entry into force in the Philippines. Because the Madrid Protocol did not have Senate's concurrence, IPAP argued that its entry into force was unconstitutional. 

Hence, the instant petition.

ISSUE:

1. Is the Madrid Protocol an executive agreement or a treaty?

HELD:

ASEAN medal tally at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 / 2021 | #Tokyo2020

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a 10-nation bloc composed of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam.

Here's how the ASEAN nations are doing so far in the Tokyo Olympics 2020 / 2021 in Japan:

Updated as of August 8, 2021 (3:05 p.m., Singapore time): 

🇵🇭 Philippines | Rank: 50 | Medal Tally: 1 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze

• Hidilyn Diaz (Weightlifting, Women's 55kg) GOLD
• Nesthy Petecio (Boxing, Women's Feather) SILVER
• Carlo Paalam (Boxing, Men's Flyweight) SILVER
  
• Eumir Marcial (Boxing, Men's Middleweight) BRONZE

🇮🇩 Indonesia | Rank: 55 | Medal Tally: 1 Gold, 1 Silver, 3 Bronze 

• Greysia Polii / Apriyani Rahayu (Badminton, Women's Doubles) GOLD
• Eko Yuli Irawan (Weightlifting, Men's 61kg) SILVER
• Rahmat Erwin Abdullah (Weightlifting, Men's 73kg) BRONZE
• Windy Cantika Aisah (Weightlifting, Women's 49kg) BRONZE
• Anthony Ginting (Badminton, Men's Singles) BRONZE
  

🇹🇭 Thailand | Rank: 59 | Medal Tally: 1 Gold, 1 Bronze

• Panipak Wongpattanakit (Taekwondo, Women's 49kg) GOLD
• Sudaporn Seesondee (Women's Lightweight) BRONZE
  

🇲🇾 Malaysia | Rank: 74 | Medal Tally: 1 Silver, 1 Bronze

• Azizulhasni Awang (Men's Keirin, Track Cycling) SILVER
  
• Aaron Chia / Soh Wooi Yik (Badminton, Men's Doubles) BRONZE

The Tokyo 2020 / 2021 Olympics ended on August 8, 2021.