1L
Reading the Law
“What does this sentence actually forbid?” — Learn to read a provision — its elements, its exceptions, and the difference between what it says and what people assume it says.
Study material, not legal advice. Written and checked by the PhilippineLaws team to the best of our knowledge; not reviewed by a lawyer. Check every provision and case against its full text before you rely on it or cite it.
34units11courses2semesters7lessons ready
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Full lessons — comic, mechanism, problems and a check. About 20 minutes each.
Persons & Family Relationsweek 4Psychological incapacity after Tan-Andal“Ayaw magpatingin sa psychiatrist ng asawa mo. Pwede pa bang ma-annul ang kasal?”Psychological incapacity under Article 36 is a legal concept, not a medical illness. The Supreme Court En Banc in Tan-Andal dismantled the rigid psychiatric requirement of Molina, holding that an enduring personality structure may be proven through ordinary lay testimony. Open lessonCriminal Law Iweek 5Attempted, frustrated, consummated“Binaril niya pero hindi tinamaan. Ano ang kaso?”One act, three possible crimes. The line between them is not how bad the outcome was — it is how far the offender got before something outside his will stopped him. Open lessonConstitutional Law Iweek 5Separation of powers & the pork barrel system“Pinasa na ang General Appropriations Act. Pwede pa bang pumili ang kongresista kung aling kalsada ang popondohan?”The power of the purse belongs to Congress, but only until the budget becomes law. The Supreme Court En Banc in Belgica v. Ochoa ruled that any post-enactment legislative intervention in budget execution usurps executive power and violates the separation of powers. Open lessonCriminal Law Iweek 6The impossible crime“Binaril ang kama, pero walang tao. May krimen ba?”When the victim is already dead, the room is empty, or the poison is sugar: the felony could never succeed, but the law punishes the evil intent and social danger under Article 4(2). Open lessonObligations & Contractsweek 6Fortuitous event and concurring negligence“Nalubog sa baha ang delivery truck dahil sa Bagyong Ondoy. Lusot ba ang kumpanya sa danyos?”Except in cases expressly specified by law, no person shall be responsible for events which could not be foreseen, or which, though foreseen, were inevitable. But an act of God frees a debtor only when human negligence did not co-operate to cause the loss. Open lessonConstitutional Law IIweek 8When an arrest without a warrant holds“Pwede ba nila akong arestuhin nang walang warrant?”Three narrow situations, and one rule students reverse: the arrest justifies the search, never the other way round. Open lessonConstitutional Law IIweek 8Warrantless searches: stop-and-frisk vs. search incident to lawful arrest“Pinatigil sa daan, binuksan ang backpack. Legal ba ang search?”The Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches. When an officer stops you on the street, what can they lawfully do? Confusing a Terry stop-and-frisk with a search incident to a lawful arrest is the single most common trap in criminal procedure. Open lesson
Courses this year
Each course names the text it is built on and the visual that carries it. Courses with a lesson ready are marked; the rest link to a quiz on the Bar subject they feed.
Semester 1
The vocabulary year
- Obligations & Contracts5u1 lessonCivil Code (R.A. 386), Arts. 1156–1304Obligation lifecycle — birth, performance, breach and extinguishment as one running conveyorOpens with: “Verbal utang: pwede bang singilin?”
- Constitutional Law I4u1 lesson1987 Constitution, Arts. VI, VII, VIIIHow a bill becomes law — a pipeline with the veto and override branchesOpens with: “Sino ang boss ng Presidente?”
- Persons & Family Law3uFamily Code (E.O. 209), Arts. 1–54Marriage validity decision tree — the requisites light up, then fail one at a timeOpens with: “Live-in kami ng 7 years, kasal na ba kami?”
- Criminal Law I3u2 lessonsRevised Penal Code Book I (Act No. 3815), Arts. 1–99Stages-of-execution slider — attempted, frustrated, consummated (Art. 6)Opens with: “Self-defense ba 'yan o revenge?”
- Legal Research & Writing2uCitation, sources and the hierarchy of authorityLive archive walk — pull a 1948 Republic Act on screen and cite it correctly
Semester 2
Rights and things
- Constitutional Law II4u2 lessonsBill of Rights, Art. III; Rule 113, Sec. 5Warrantless arrest decision tree, then the exclusionary rule dropping evidence out of the case fileOpens with: “Pwede ba nilang halughugin ang bag ko?”
- Property & Land Law4uCivil Code, Arts. 414–711Builder in good faith (Art. 448) — a house rises on the wrong lot and the options fan outOpens with: “Nakapagtayo ako ng bahay sa maling lote.”
- Criminal Law II3uRevised Penal Code Book II, Arts. 114–367Estafa vs. theft split-screen — the same money, two crimes, divided by when the intent formedOpens with: “Hindi ko binalik ang hiniram: theft ba ito?”
- Statutory Construction2uCanons and maximsAmbiguity resolver — one badly drafted ordinance, five canons, five outcomes
- Legal Writing II2uCase digestingThe five-line digest — a full decision collapsing to Facts, Issue, Ruling, Doctrine, Why it matters
- Legal Profession & Basic Ethics2uCPRA (A.M. No. 22-09-01-SC); notarial rules (A.M. No. 02-8-13-SC)Conflict-of-interest map — two clients, one lawyer, the lines that must not crossOpens with: “Pwede bang abogado ng magkabilang panig?”