STUDY GUIDE FOR THE BAR

by:

Dr. Arturo M. De Castro

(LL.B., LL.M., S.J.D.)

Bar Review Director, PCU College of Law

Law Professor, Ateneo Law School, University of Manila College of Law

INTRODUCTION

Preparation for the Bar entails a great deal of work and dedication that requires management of your mood, attitude and stress, perseverance. It requires all the time and efforts one can give, paced day-by-day, until the Bar examination week. This is accomplished by doing ones personal best beyond the limit of human endurance made possible by the inspiring drive of the anticipated improved status of becoming a member of the most noble profession, with all the honors, privileges and prestige appertaining thereto, and guided and inspired by faith in the Almighty God.

There are techniques to guide the Bar Reviewers to minimize anxiety and stress and improve their ability to pass the Bar.

1. Discipline Good Health and Clean Living

Have a balanced diet. Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits and fish. Avoid too much meat and fatty foods. Do not drink alcohol and do not smoke. Exercise regularly to improve delivery of oxygen by the blood to the brain. At whatever age, the brain cells continue to grow through physical exercise and mental endeavors. Physical exercise drives away depression and engenders a cheerful mode.

Avoid getting sick during the Bar Review. Avoid going to crowded places like the movie house, the cockpit and hospitals.

1.1. The Wonderful Gift of Diabetes

Take good care of your health. If you have known illness, like heart condition, hypertension or diabetes, do not neglect them.

I consider diabetes as a gift responsible for long, healthy and wonderful life. Ever since I was diagnosed of having diabetes in the year 2000, I gave up alcohol and smoking and followed a strict program of diet, exercise and medication, to which I owe the healthy and wonderful life I enjoy at present.

Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits. Avoid salty and fatty foods. Do not consume more calories that are more than what your body can burn in physical exercise. Eat food with lesser calories, like corn, vegetables and fruits.

There are herbs and vegetables that reduce sugar level in the blood like Ashitaba (eat 4 leaves raw every day), okra (cut 5 pieces into 4 pieces and let the slimy juice mix with a big glass of water overnight and drink this in the morning), malunggay (let the leaves dry at room temperature and eat them. The seeds covered with black coating may be eaten raw after removing the black coating, and drink water after chewing, and the bitter taste becomes sweet, saluyot (the seeds are eaten raw).

When you run out of diabetic medicine in a far place where there is no drugstore or other source, the bile of fish, like bangus or the bile of chicken is a good substitute for diabetic medicine for Type Two Diabetes. For type I Diabetes dependent on Insulin injection, diabetic management is much more complicated and greater care is needed.

I consider diabetes as a gift to me because many of my contemporaries who did not have diabetes are now gone due to excessive drinking, smoking, gluttony and unhealthy lifestyle.

1.2. Meditation and Faith in God

Meditation and belief in a Supreme Being are a great help in reveiwing for the Bar, as in life in general.

Faith in God and the fundamental rule of right and wrong, that good faith is rewarded, bad faith is punished, on which the legal system is generally based is a great help in the difficult task of reviewing for the Bar, as in the business of living.

If we have faith in the Almighty, we have nothing to fear, because we believe He will take care of us, and nothing is impossible because if we ask He shall give it to us if we live a life of grace according to His tenets of fairness, justice and equity.

To be at peace with one-self and ones neighbor is to be at peace with the world, particularly with the persons you love.

Feelings are neither right nor wrong. If you hurt a person, wittingly or unwittingly, it takes courage and a compassionate heart to say you are sorry, which is usually what is needed to alleviate or lift the hurt feelings of the person concerned.

It is better not to harbor ill-feelings or hatred. Hatred is a heavy burden to the one who hates more than to the object of the hatred. According to Emerson, the solution is to forget and not to waste time on the person who has done you wrong.

There is the healing effect of time. To forgive is a compassion encouraged in the Lords Prayer, which brings peace to the heart of the forgiver. Sometimes, being hurt and deeply offended is a matter of interpretation and choice. It is possible that the offender has no intention to cause you pain but only beset with more serious problems than you have. In any event, forgetting or diverting attention in the meantime that you cannot yet forget prevents you from torments of being hurt and hurting.

Prayers and meditations are a process that improves memorization. Faith in God and peace with our fellowmen are strong driving inspiration for us to succeed. Promise to God that you would be a good Christian lawyer, and you would pass the Bar.

2. Time is the most Important Element in the Study of the Law

How much time should you devote each day to prepare for the Bar? You need the productive time you can give every day.

However, all work and no play makes John a dull boy.

If you feel you are no longer productive in your review, relax, rest and re-charge with recreational activities then go back to your review with greater vigor and aggression, and greater drive and vengeance.

3. Budget your Time by Planning the Schedule for Review

Plan and schedule your review to enable you to have adequate knowledge of the law in all subjects. Those enrolled in Bar Review Centers may follow the pace, but it is better to have your own schedule and stick to it because most of the Review Centers have chopsuey schedule, jumping from one subject to another due to the difficulty in scheduling continuous review for a subject because most of the Best Reviewers are busy in their own schedules.

The more times review is done, the better the chance for mastery of the principles of the law used in answering Bar questions. Make sure that you have adequately studied each subject by making your own outline in a separate notebook for each subject. The second and subsequent review of the same subject may be done much faster than the previous review, which is to check only what you may not have firmly committed to your memory. In the subsequently review, you spend more time only on the principles you have not completely mastered.

The technique for speed reading in the subsequent chapter will help you in your review and re-review.

4. Learn to Memorize

a.) Man is a Creature of Intelligent Habits

The main business of a study or review for the bar is memorization. This is not a problem if you know the technique. Man is a creature of intelligent habits. We memorize thru repetitions and association.

Learn to integrate and correlate related important principles in the different branches of law and repeat as many times your study of the law as you can until you gain mastery thereof. Repetition and association are the key to memorization.

The technique to enhance power memory in the subsequent chapter will help the Bar Reviewers improve their memory skills.

4.1. Speed Reading

In subsequent chapter, the Bar Reviewees are given the technique to improve reading speed and comprehension, by at least 3 times. With the voluminous materials to be read, speed reading and comprehension would be a big help.

4.2. Listening and taking down notes

The same elements in speed reading and comprehension, and memory skills are involved in acquiring the ability to be a good listener, which is very helpful in taking down notes, as discussed in the subsequent chapter.

5. Identify and Concentrate on the Most Important Doctrines and Principles in Each Subject

Go through each Bar subject and have a quick overview of the subject coverage. Identify the important principles in each subject. If you find this task difficult, go through the previous Bar questions, and you will notice the frequently recurring subjects of the Bar Questions, in varying forms, particularly the topics covered by problems with big percentage points. You will also notice the recurring topics for objective type questions, in the form of multiple choice involving basic legal principles or essay questions or legal memorandum writing which are now the types of Bar Examination. In the subsequent chapter, the MCQs given in the 2011 Bar with indicated answers as published by the Supreme Court are reproduced together with the Opinion Writing and Legal Memorandum problems given in the 2011 Bar examinations, with the suggested answers of the author.

6. Watch out for the Precedent-Setting Decisions and the Burning Issues of the Day and Significant Recent Legislations

We may anticipate probable questions in the Bar based on recent precedent-setting or controversial decisions of the Supreme Court, such as the nullification of the Bansang Moro Memorandum of Agreement, constitutionality of the Base Line Law, the Dual Citizenship Law, eligibility of the candidate who garnered the next highest votes to be proclaimed winner if the disqualification of the winner was declared before the election but finally resolved after he won the election, the Aboitiz case reversing the Monark case modifying the doctrine of the real and hypothecary nature of maritime commerce, in the light of the tragedies of the MV Princess of the Star two (2) years ago and repeated tragedies recently in the sinking of MV Joselle. Recent important legislations are also fertile source of Bar questions such as the domestic adoption by Congress of the Philippines, and ratification by the President Benigno Aquino III, of the Rome Statute creating the International Criminal Court and providing for Universal Jurisdiction for war crimes, genocide and other crimes against humanity also cognizable by Philippine Courts and providing for extra-territorial jurisdiction of Philippine Courts in addition to the provision of Article 2 of the Revised Penal Code. Also significant are the Anti-Terror Law, as well as the Rules of Procedures promulgated by the Supreme Court under its constitutional rule-making power such as the Writ of Amparo, The Writ of Habeas Data and The Special Rules of Court implementing the ADR Law of 2004 outlawing the issuance of anti-arbitration injunction by Philippine Courts.

In mercantile law, the raging issue in various levels of the Court including the Supreme Court is whether the merger and consolidation involves sale or assignment of credit from the absorbed corporation to the surviving corporation, and whether the assignment or transfer of credit while the debtor is under rehabilitation proceeding is a sale of credit under litigation under Article 1634 of the Civil Code granting the equitable right of redemption to the borrower by paying only the acquisition price or value of the transfer for the surviving corporation. So also, the Financial Rehabilitation and Insolvency Act (FRIA) of 2010 repeals the Insolvency law and introduces many changes in the law of rehabilitation and insolvency, both substantially and procedurally.

In Political Law and Public International Law, the focus of the public eye in the Spratly and Scarborough Shoal disputes with China raises questions under the provision of the Constitution on our Territory as an Archipelago based principally on the Treaty of Paris of 1898 which has been modified by the United National Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Baseline law.

Under the UNCLOS, the Scarborough Shoal is within the 200 nautical miles limit of our Economic Zone and if the Scarborough Shoal is taken by China, our Economic Zone is reduced to 124 nautical miles from our territorial sea measured 12 nautical miles from our baseline.

The Rome Statute, as adopted by Congress in RA No. 9851 An act defining and penalizing crimes against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide and other crimes against humanity, organizing jurisdiction, designating special courts, and for related purposes, adopts superior responsibility and command responsibility which have the effect of sidelining the defense under the Arias doctrine previously available to heads of office who relied on the recommendation of the subordinate. Superior responsibility of public officers requiring exercise of due diligence free from any fault or negligence negates the Arias doctrine as a defense for head of office in anti-graft charges.

7. How to Answer Bar Questions

The purpose of Bar Review is to acquire adequate knowledge of the law.

Whether the questions are Multiple Choice, Essay Type or Performance Test, the answer is based on the applicable law, whether the general principle, or the exception, or even the exception to the exception is applicable.

MCQs

The Multiple Choice Question may be answered correctly, in whatever form it is framed, whether to test your knowledge of the law or to test your ability to analyze the problem.

The MCQs may be in the form of a question answerable by yes or no with choices accompanied by legal reason, the correct answer among which has the correct re-statement of the law.

The MCQs may be in the form of a restatement of the law, with the first part or stem stated and the complete statement of the law is given among the four choices.

The MCQs may also be in the form of a problem, stating the facts, and the solution is one of the four choices.

In whatever form, focus and adequate knowledge of the law are imperative in answering MCQs. One tip or technique I learn from experts on teaching MCQs abroad is to read first the choices before reading the stem or the problems. This way the time speed in the process of analyzing the correct answer is reduced by one-half. The human mind works better than a computer, and the search for the correct answer is shortened by reading first the choices.

IISPEED READING COMPREHENSION,POWER MEMORYANDTHE ART OF LISTENING AND TAKING NOTES

Speed reading and comprehension have 2 aspects in tandem, Physical and Intellectual.

Physical Aspect

Read in group of words, not word for word, or group of letters in a long word, at each eye fixation before you transfer to another eye fixation as you go on reading. The trick is to expand the eye span at a glance. This can be achieved by practicing panoramic view like looking at a picture which the eyes see the whole picture at one glance.

Panoramic eye span may be gained by practice. When riding a car, look at the bill boards and try to see the entire picture and try to read the words at a glance in one fixation of the eyes.Applied to reading, try to see as many words in one eye fixation before transferring the eye fixation to another group of words. This way, the eyes do not get tired easily than in word for word reading. When you can finish each line in just 2 or 3 eye fixations, you must have increased your reading speed by at least 3 times.As your panoramic view expands and you can see in one eye fixation more words in a group of words in a line or the entire line itself, you increase your reading speed considerably.

The human eyes are like a camera or search lights that focus on the printed words in search of ideas. Concentrate on the key words and digest the idea before transferring to the next eye fixation. The purpose of reading is to obtain the information or message imparted by the printed words.

What is more important is to comprehend the ideas involved before proceeding to the next group of words as you proceed to read. Speed reading without comprehension serves no purpose. Read with your mind through your eyes to get the ideas in much the same way that you listen for the ideas, not for the words uttered when listening in lectures.Correct practice makes perfect. Now you can read more materials with lesser time and lesser eye fatigue. The more you read the better you achieve panoramic eye span and the more speedy your reading comprehension becomes.

ON VARIOUS KIND OF THINKING Reading is essentially thinking and comprehension. The focus and degree of concentration depends on the kind of thinking and concentration required. For newspapers and novels not much thinking and comprehension are required because the purpose is only to be informed and entertained. Look only for the key words in each line. Newspapers have narrow columns that may be read downwards since you can see the line in one glance or eye fixation. For newspapers and novels and other light materials, light thinking as in reverie, as the mind wanders freely, is involved. According to FRANCIS BACON some words are to be tasted, others to be chewed and digested. Reading materials for Bar review must be chewed and digested. More time is spend to understand and commit to memory the important information of what, when, where, how, and why of things are required.POWER MEMORY

Speed reading and comprehension and power memory have common ingredients. The idea is obtained in reading, and it is better retained in the memory if it is fully understood. Memorization techniques consist of repetition and association. Repetition may be visual or audio or kinestatic. By repetitive reading (visual method) legal principles are committed to memory. The retentive memory is aided by hearing the principles in a lecture or from a classmate (audio method). Retentive memory is further enhanced if you outline and write them down in your own words (kinestatic). The more times you memorize by outlining legal principles in your own words, the better they are itched in the power memory.When I was a law student, I memorized important provision of law by reciting them in front of a full length mirror and when I was called upon to recite in class, I deliver the legal provision verbatim like reciting a favorite poem. Until now I can recite from memory the provisions I memorized when I was a student in the U.P college of law, where Professors like Maria Clara Lopez Campus, Justice Serafin Cuevas, Judge Arsenio Solidum, Dean Abad Santos, would require us to recite the first the codal provisions verbatim before we were allowed to recite on the cases and be questioned under the stringent Socratic method of deep legal analysis.Before any Court of law , be it the Supreme Court , the Court Of Appeals , the Sandigangbayan, the RTC or any quan-judicial body, a lawyer with a good memory is impressive. So also is a professor or lecturer who delivers the lecture without reading from the books or notes.ASSOCIATION Power memory is attained by association with another idea which is easier to remember. The lyric of a favorite song comes automatically to mind when you hear the tune associated with it, which has been reinforced by having repeatedly listened to the song and the favorite tune.

Dean Candelaria of the Ateneo law school is amused by my proposal to organize a choir to put tunes to important codal provisions and produce songs out of them to assist students to memorize difficult codal provisions, like the definition of the territory under the constitution. By association with a favorite tune, the provisions are easily remembered.

When you go to a place you wish to remember, you look for a landmark or sign which you will search when you go to back to the place. Students not only in law, but in medicine and other disciplines as well, have resorted to mnemonics as an aid to memorization. I remember my Professor, Sixto TJ de Guzman, in Obligation and Contracts, who gave us the mnemonics for the causes for extinguishment of obligations, which still works for me at my present age (67 years old) in my review classes in Civil Law.NO- novation

COM-composition

ME-merger

RE-rescission

PA-Payment

LO-loss of the thing due

ANN-annulment

RE-remission

REP-resolutory Condition

PRES-prescription

The common element in speed reading is comprehension. One cannot remember what he does not comprehend. Critical analysis and evaluation as applied to particular factual situation strongly reinforce power memory. Be aware of the important contemporary legal history like the Scarborough Shoal, the Spratlys Islands and the Sabah claims, and think of the legal principles involved on sovereignty, territory and modes for pacific settlement of disputes between nations. If your interest is sufficiently excited, the study of law becomes a labor of love, filled with excitement and intellectual satisfaction. At any age, the brain cells continue to grow by physical and mental exercises, to continue to shine in use, not to rust unvarnished according to Alfred Lord Tennyson in his classic poem Ulysses.The law is better understood and remembered by learning the philosophy behind the law, the purpose, goal and objective sought to be served by the law known as the legislative intent.

Even equity, which is a principle of fairness and justice, that provides remedy and relief outside the law, seeks to serve the ends of justice and equity by punishing bad faith and rewarding good faith under the Natural Law of right and wrong developed in common law countries embraced through the Philippine Civil Code as general supplementary principles applicable in cases where there is no applicable law.

The Art of Listening and Taking Down NotesKeep in mind that listening ability is a tool of learning, in the same way that reading is a means of acquiring information and expanding knowledge.Good listening is one of the best ways for improving speaking and language facility. By doing a good job at listening you will improve your oral language facility. This is very important when you go into the practice of law, or in any field of human endeavor where facility of language is definitely a superior advantage.The importance of the ability to be a good listener cannot be exaggerated. A great part of the professional life is spent in listening. A poor listener in a trial cannot be a good lawyer. If he misses the issue, his discussions and presentation of evidence would be irrelevant and immaterial, a sure formula for defeat.

COMMON ELEMENTS IN SPEED READING AND EXCELLENT LISTENINGIn listening, as in reading, look for the main ideas. While you hear all the words you search with your mind the ideas constructed by the words, which is exactly the same technique in speed reading for better comprehension. You pay more attention on the ideas imparted by the printed words.Through concentration, focus and full attention, you should not miss any preceding ideas, because unlike in reading, you do not have the opportunity to backtrack since the oral presentation is continuous. In a sense, listening requires more concentrated attention than in reading, though in reading the same focus and full attention so as not to back tract are an element of excellent reading.In making an outline and taking down notes from the lectures, do not write down all the words. Listen carefully and take down notes only of the important ideas in summary form. You spend more time listening for the ideas and a small amount of time summarizing them.1. Common elements of speed reading, power memory and taking down notes.

Note:Look for the key words or main idea of legal principles and the rationale/philosophy behind the law for better comprehensive and retentive memory.

A. English Grammar and legal writing.

1. Be brief, concise and straight to the point. Brevity is the soul of sense.

2. Avoid unnecessary words

3. Follow basic rules of grammar agreements on

a) number

b) gender

c) tense

B. Mathematical Approach in solving legal problems.

1. Multiple choice, definitions, distinctions and enumeration call for mechanical application of the knowledge and understanding of the concepts and principles of law and their essential elements. This is analogous to Algebra which requires mastery of the formulas and their application in solving mathematical problems.

2. In solving legal problems with complicated facts, more focus and intense concentration are required to identify the issues and apply the legal principles involved. Deep thinking and concentration are necessary to comprehend and analyze the facts because any misapprehension of facts may spell disaster.

Famous Philosopher Francis Bacon advised students who cannot concentrate to study mathematics. If his mind be wandering, let him study mathematics. Whether you study mathematics or not, you should learn focus and concentration and deep deductive or inductive analysis in solving legal problems. Go over past bar questions with answers prepared by the UP Law Center and consider how the Answers have been formulated by the Panel of Experts commissioned by the law center to answer bar questions. The answers are not treatises on the subject, but are the result of divergent analyses of the best legal minds providing alternative answers to Bar problems as study guide for bar reviewees.If the bar problem presents a borderline issue, you may use the deductive analysis or reasoning, by presenting first your grounds or reasons or arguments and then making your conclusion at the end. On the other hand, if the issue is a settled one under a Supreme Court decision or a clearly applicable codal provision, use the inductive method by giving a categorical answer then supporting it with reasons. A problem assigned with big percentage point calls for several reasons, whether under deductive or inductive analysis approach.The key element in the study of mathematics is the ability to focus and concentrate in the analysis of given facts and the applications of the formula. As a student of mathematics progresses to Geometry and Calculus, he learns the reverse process of the derivation of the formula, which is analogous to deducting reasoning in logic and philosophy.Mathematics is cited here to dramatize the need for the ability to focus and concentrate for a better comprehension, enhanced power memory and resulting improved ability to think deeper in solving legal problems.C. Sound Mind in a Sound Body

1. How to stay physically fit

2. Proper diet and exercises

The brain functions better on an empty, not on a full stomach

1) better blood circulation

2) banana for power memory

D. Legible handwriting

Learn to write legibly and very fast.

1) Writing hand should be relaxed writing in poetic motion like dancing the Ballet.

2) Standing wide round words are more legible and easier to read.

3) If your writing hand becomes tense, close open and stretch your fingers and the writing hand to relax your hand and let it flow again as you write in poetic motion like dancing the ballet.

4) Do not take the Bar until you can write legibly and fast. I flunk my students whose handwritings I cannot decipher.

Planning for the Bar Review

A. Consult the Bar coverage for each subject and get codal provisions for the coverage, particularly the recent legislation and amendments.

1. Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 amending Art. 12 (2 & 3) of the Revised Penal Code (See De Castro, Reviewer on Special Penal Laws, 2006 Rex Ed., p. 231)

2. Amendments to the Rules of Criminal Procedure

a) Aggravating circumstance

b) Bail

c) Jurisdiction of the Municipal Trial Court to conduct preliminary Investigation

d) Prejudicial Question

3. Amendments to the Civil Code

a) Change of first name and nickname without judicial action.

b) Use of surname of illegitimate father and change of surname of illegitimate children without judicial action.

B. Budget your time and Prepare Schedule for the Review

Avoid cramming. Study with vigor and vengeance one day at a time in accordance with a well-planned study schedule, with adequate rest period in between.C. Review materials

1. Codal Provisions

2. Textbooks used in the regular course

3. 1st (green) and 2nd (blue) Study Guide for the Bar for updates and outline of different subjects; and Reviewer in Special Penal Law of Prof. Arturo de Castro.

4. Pointers In Criminal Law by Sandiganbayan Justice Edilberto Sandoval, Dean Carlos Ortega Notes on Criminal Law, available in manuscript form compiled by UP & Ateneo reviewees, and soon to be edited updated and published by Dean Ortega himself thru the law center publication.

5. Textbooks on Labor by Prof. Asuzena and Prof. Salvador Poquiz, respectively, and the handouts of Dean Froilan Bacungan and Prof. Domingo Desini, which hopefully shall be published soon by the UP Law Center.

6. Commercial Law Reviewer of Dean Cesar Villanueva of the Ateneo Law School and Notes and Comments on Commercial Laws of Prof. Catindig to be released soon. Justice Vitugs Commercial Law Reviewer (2006 ed.) just released off the press.

7. Outlines of Civil Law of Professors Eduardo Labitag and Danny Concepcion and Carmelo Sison, respectively. (under preparation)

8. Notes and Comments on Insurance by Dean Bartolome Corale.

9. Florence Regalados Criminal Law and Remedial Law Textbooks are excellent reference materials.

D. Identify important principles for emphasis in your review.

1. Have an overview of the subject matter and coverage for each Bar Subject.

2. Study Past Bar Questions and Suggested Answers of the UP Law Center.

3. Keep abreast of current events bearing on controversial local issues such as grounds for Impeachment and international issues on the spratly island, the universal jurisdiction of the [International Criminal Court, under the Rome Statute as adopted by Philippine Domestic Letigation, UN Charter, Security Council (who is the Secretary General), and the composition (permanent membership thereof)].

4. Anticipate Questions that may be asked in each bar subject.

Study Plan and Schedule for Each Subject

A. Follow the schedule. The more productive time you devote each day, the more prepared you will be for the Bar.

B. Outline the important provisions/principles in each subject. You will have only the time to go back to your notes in the pre-week. It is physically impossible to go back to the materials all over again. The more you go back to your notes during the Pre-Bar Review, the better the comprehensive and retention in the memory.

C. Study the subject matter before attending the lecture. The lecturer will highlight the significant principles, and will integrate and correlate related doctrines. Pay particular attention when the lecturer makes the correlation and integration. You will understand and remember better if you see the inter-relations among kindred principles in the various subjects in the Bar.

D. Take down notes by writing down the main ideas in outline form during the lecture. The physical process of writing it down makes it easier for you to remember and at the same time you have the opportunity to practice and learn to write legibly and fast. Legible writing is a skill developed only through practice. The more you write, the better you learn how to write legibly with ease and speed.

Integration of All Subjects

A. Outline in your own style and manner in simplified form the Constitution, from cover to cover in your own key words. The key ideas or phrases you imagine will be indelible in your memory.

B. Classify all the provisions of the Constitution among the 8 subjects, and include them in the separate notebook for each subject.

C. Outline the significant codal provisions in each Bar subject. For an overview and integration for each subject, consult the Pre-Week Reviewers of well-known Bar Reviewers.

Updates on Leading Recent Cases

and Substantive and Procedural Law

1. The Handouts of the UM College of Law on updates in Law and Jurisprudence.

2. Read the Pre-Month and Pre-Week Hand-Outs and Predictions and outlines on each subject for the 2013 Bar to be made available in the Deans Office, UM College of Law.3. Get hand outs from the Bar Ops of your respective law schools.

Diet, Meditation, and Physical Fitness

Sound Mind in a Sound BodyPreparation for the Bar requires optimum physical fitness, which may be maintained by proper diet and physical exercises balanced with steady goal and purpose to live a good life. A. A good life

A man to be good in any chosen filed must first of all be a good man. A public servant to be a good public servant must essentially be good man.A good life is a matter of choice and dedication to the cherished principles and philosophies by which one lives his life:1. Genuine happiness springs from a clear conscience coming from being at peace with the world and humanity.2. Inner peace is the reward for being kind and fair to our fellow men.3. Happiness is also the result of courage and firm character to admit mistakes and rectify a grave error and injustice. It takes courage to apologize for an offense to assuage a hurt feeling and in the process cleanse and purify the heart.4. Deep hurt feelings may be avoided with compassion and kind understanding towards others. Sometimes, being hurt may be spared by assuming that the grave offense is not intended. It has been said that we are hurt most by the people we love, but the pain in the heart is the result of subjective interpretation. With a little more understanding and kindness, the hurt feelings may be spared or minimized.5. Revenge and retaliation are ignoble goals. Hate is a bigger burden in the heart of the hater than its object. According to Everson, it is more noble to forget that to hate people who have done an unpardonable offense to you. This way, heavy burden is relieved.B. A Busy Life

According to Albert Switzer, living a busy life spares one from anxiety and unnecessary fears and worries. Hardly having all the time for the project at hand, one will not have the energy nor the time to worry, to hate or indulge in destructive feelings.C. Prayers and Meditation

The natural order in the Universe and the immutable laws of right and wrong and the established precepts of justice and equity which punish bad faith and malice and reward honesty, fairness and good faith convince me of the existence of a Supreme Being who looks after humanity with infinite wisdom.Having faith in a just and fair Supreme Being is a strong source of courage and confidence. Prayers and meditations not only heal the spirit but also boost the physical well-being.God will answer your prayers, but you keep your part of the bargain. Promise to be just and fair and be a good Christian Lawyer to serve the poor and God will help and guide you through your ordeals in the Bar.Physical Exercises and Diet

As you study for the Bar, you also develop and strengthen your natural anti-bodies against sickness through physical exercises, diet and living a good life.A. Walking is the Best Exercise

Physical exercises, such as basketball, swimming, biking, badminton, thread mill, promote health of mind, body and spirit.Physical exercise is a known cure for depression because as it relaxes our nerves, it also makes us more cheerful. As the blood circulation through the brain improves, the mind becomes more efficient and retentive.Physical exercise burns calories and brings down the level of sugar in the blood which makes for better blood circulation to the vital organs of the body.Of all the physical exercises, walking by far is the best and most recommended. Walk at least 3 times a week for one hour each day. The more exercise you do the better for the body. Climbing the stairs is also a good exercise.Whatever program of exercise you have, do not neglect to do it while reviewing for the Bar. Before you start with new work out, please consult a Doctor.From the book Ancient Secret of the Fountain of Youth, five yoga movements which can be done inside the house in 3 to 5 minutes will make you perspiring profusely.B. DietConsult a doctor before you embark on an exercise program and ask for the Diet regiment suitable for you to bring you to your suitable weight.As a general rule:1. Do not eat more than what your body needs. Anything in excess becomes poison detrimental to your health and well-being. Benjamin Franklin said: Nobody has ever regretted having eaten less.2. Avoid fatty food.3. Reduce intake of protein and increase intake of vegetables and grains (fibrous carbohydrates)4. Avoid soft drinks and sweets. Excessive sugar intake increases sugar level in the blood which hampers circulation to the brain and other vital organs of the body.

Follow the advice of your Doctor or Dietitian on the kinds of food stuffs to eat.C. Health Care During this critical period of reviewing for the Bar, avoid getting sick.1. Be kind to your body, do not smoke and do not drink alcohol.

2. Have complete rest and sleep at night. Avoid nightclubs.

3. Avoid crowded places, like the movie houses and cockpits, and avoid people with colds, coughs and flu.

Eat plenty of vegetables and take vitamins. Prevention is better than cure.

ANNOUNCEMENT

University of Manila College of Law is launching a program called BAR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING to assess the level preparedness of barristers to take the Bar by administering MOCK BAR Exams simulating the actual Bar Examinations. Anticipated question in the coming Bar shall be given under the same time pressure, and the answers will be evaluated and remedial tutorial lectures will be given as may be necessary.

Intensive instructions on speed reading and comprehension, memorization skills, Elementary English Grammar and Composition, and how to answer Bar questions shall be given before the Mock Bar Exams.

Watch for the announcement of the schedules by the Office of the Dean, and invite reviewees from other schools who may be interested in the Bar Diagnostic Testing of the University of Manila College of Law.

Art. 9. No Judge or Court shall decline to render judgment by reason of silence, obscurity or insufficiency of the laws.

BAR PASSERS GUIDE BOOK Preliminary Chapters

Page 15By: Dr. Arturo M. De Castro (LL.B., LL.M., S.J.D.) June 15, 2013