Philippine Law Journal

19/08/2025

[CALL FOR PAPERS AND SPECIAL ISSUE TOPICS]

The Philippine Law Journal is still accepting submissions of scholarly works, e.g., legal articles, book reviews, student notes, and comments on recent jurisprudence and legislation, for Issues 2 to 4 of Volume 99. 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁-𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱, 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁-𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝘄 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄, 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗟𝗝 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

Issue 4 will be a special issue with the theme “Public and Private Accountability." The PLJ is accepting submissions for this issue until February 28, 2026. There is no minimum word count required, but authors are encouraged to keep submissions under 20,000 words. Please email your submissions in .doc or .docx format, with your curriculum vitae/resume to [email protected]. You may include a brief preemption memo (without any identifying information) in .doc or .docx format to aid the Board in evaluating your submission.

For inquiries, you may contact Mr. Josemaria J. Sebastian (Chair) at [email protected] or visit www.philippinelawjournal.org.

18/08/2025

[LEGAL ACADEMIC WRITING SEMINAR]

The Philippine Law Journal will conduct the annual Legal Academic Writing Seminar (LAWS) at the 2F Conference Room, Bocobo Hall, on August 30, 2025, from 8:00 AM to 12:15 PM.

Consistent with its mandate to promote legal scholarship, the Journal has organized LAWS to guide law students in honing their academic legal writing and research skills.

LAWS is open to the public. UP Law students who are preparing to write their supervised legal research (SLR) are highly encouraged to attend.

Interested participants may register via bit.ly/pljlaws2025.
—
LAWS is organized by the Philippine Law Journal with the support of Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia.

In partnership with:
Order of the Purple Feather
UP Law Student Government - UP LSG

16/08/2025

[LAST CALL FOR INTERNS]

The deadline for the Philippine Law Journal (PLJ) Volume 99 Internship Program is on August 22, 2025 (Friday).

The PLJ Internship Program aims to hone skills in legal research and editing, as well as expose students of the College to the editorial process of the Journal. Those interested in taking the PLJ Student Editorial Board Examinations for A.Y. 2026-2027 are highly encouraged to apply.

Applicants must submit their letter of intent, curriculum vitae, and sample work via bit.ly/PLJVol99InternshipProgramApplicationForm or via the QR Code below.

For inquiries, please contact Joshua Exequiel S. Cabrera at [email protected].

04/08/2025

𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗠𝗘 𝟵𝟴, 𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗨𝗘 𝟯 𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘

The third issue of the 98th Volume of the Philippine Law Journal is now accessible on the relaunched PLJ Website. Issue 3 contains two Articles, three Notes, one Essay, and two Features.

The Issue begins with Paolo S. Tamase’s Emerging Issues in Philippine Impeachment and the Accountability Constitution, the inaugural piece of the Philippine Law Journal Forum, which synthesizes jurisprudential analysis, constitutional history, and insights from the 2025 impeachment forum to propose an accountability-based framework for interpreting impeachment under the Constitution.

In Expulsion in the Philippine Congress, Juan Paolo M. Artiaga, Christine Faith M. Tango, and Franz Vincent F. Legazpi explore the concept and extent of the power of expulsion granted to members of Congress as defined under Article VI, Section 16(3) of the 1987 Constitution, using the expulsion of Arnolfo Teves Jr. as the Philippines’ first proper case of expulsion.

Noemi M. Mejia’s Persona Ex Machina: The Legal Personhood of Artificially-Intelligent Machines explores the concept of granting legal personhood to AI and discusses possible frameworks for its liability, contending that traditional frameworks may be insufficient since AI are not now considered “persons” in the eyes of the law.

Jerlan S. Casilan’s Note proposes that DNR orders should be treated as revocable unilateral acts under civil law, grounded in succession and agency principles, to uphold patient autonomy without requiring major legislative reform.

In this Note, Macario B. Duguiang, Jr. proposes expanding facial challenges to cover statutes infringing other constitutional rights and advocates applying the substantiality test in overbreadth and vagueness analysis.

Julian Ray E. Rentoy’s Essay examines the doctrinal basis for recognizing credit denial transparency as an enforceable obligation and a judicially cognizable duty grounded in existing legal norms, filling a gap without expanding the law.

In the Feature on Recent Developments in Commercial and Taxation Law, Florian Kim P. Dayag surveys key legislation on digital transactions, financial fraud, and economic sabotage, alongside VAT amendments to the NIRC and recent Supreme Court rulings in corporate, financial, and commercial law.

The issue is concluded by Niel Anthony S. Borja’s Recent Developments in Criminal Law: Unveiling Pre-existing S*x and Gender Disparities in the Crimes of Adultery and Concubinage, a Feature critically examining the historical, jurisprudential, and legislative evolution of adultery and concubinage laws amid shifting socio-cultural and political contexts in the Philippines.

The Issue may be accessed at https://philippinelawjournal.org/volume/post/volume-98-issue-3/.

27/07/2025

[CALL FOR INTERNS]

The Philippine Law Journal Volume 99 Student Editorial Board is now accepting applications for Interns.

The PLJ Internship Program aims to hone skills in legal research and editing, as well as expose students of the College to the editorial process of the Journal. Those interested in taking the PLJ Student Editorial Board Examinations for A.Y. 2026-2027 are highly encouraged to apply.

Applicants must submit their letter of intent, curriculum vitae, and sample work via bit.ly/PLJVol99InternshipProgramApplicationForm or via the QR Code below. The deadline for applications is on August 22, 2025 (Friday).

For inquiries, please contact Joshua Exequiel S. Cabrera at [email protected].

21/07/2025

𝗜𝗡 𝗥𝗘𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧: 𝗧𝗲𝗻 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝘁

On the tenth anniversary of the enactment of the Philippine Competition Act (“PCA”), the Philippine Law Journal, in collaboration with the UP Competition Law and Policy Program of the UP Law Center, reviews the scholarship on Philippine competition law—including its promises, gaps, and prospects.

Anchored on Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) Founding Commissioner El Cid Butuyan’s “Taming Oligopolies Through Competition Law" (91 Phil. L.J. 494), this installment of In Retrospect traces the development of the literature on antitrust law and ponders on the field's potential to enable Philippine society to “enjoy the fruits of representative democracy.”

Read the full In Retrospect here: https://philippinelawjournal.org/forum/post/ten-years-of-the-philippine-competition-act/

16/07/2025

In Hagedorn v. House of Representatives, the Supreme Court cites Juan Paolo M. Artiaga and Katrina Crista M. Artiaga’s Note, Unconstitutional House Caretaking, 94 Phil. L.J. 892 (2021), in ruling that Republic Act No. 7166 prevails over Republic Act No. 6645. This allows the COMELEC to hold special elections for congressional vacancies without a further law or resolution from the relevant chamber.

Read the full article on the PLJ Website:

Volume 94 | Issue 4

13/07/2025

The Philippine Law Journal proudly congratulates the following members of the University of the Philippines College of Law Class of 2025. Alongside the College’s rigorous academic instruction, these graduates distinguished themselves as members of the Philippine Law Journal Editorial Board.

We also extend our congratulations for their academic achievements and for receiving prestigious awards for legal research and writing—upholding the Journal’s legacy of critical, progressive, and excellent legal writing.

Thank you for your invaluable service to the Journal and your contributions to Philippine legal scholarship.

07/07/2025

[VOLUME 99 CALL FOR PAPERS]

Volume 99 of the Journal is now accepting submissions of scholarly works, e.g., legal articles, book reviews, student notes, and comments on recent jurisprudence and legislation. Students are highly encouraged to submit their work. All submissions will undergo blind deliberations by the Student Editorial Board.

There is no minimum word count required, but authors are encouraged to keep submissions under 20,000 words. Please email your submissions in .doc or .docx format, with your curriculum vitae/resume to [email protected]. You may include a brief preemption memo (without any identifying information) in .doc or .docx format to aid the Board in evaluating your submission.

For inquiries, you may contact Mr. Josemaria Jose Sebastian (Chair) at [email protected].

02/07/2025

PHILIPPINE LAW JOURNAL
FACULTY EXAMINATION COMMITTEE

ANNOUNCEMENT
June 30, 2025

Editorial Board
Volume 99 (A.Y. 2025-2026)

The Faculty Examination Committee is pleased to announce the students who attained the ten (10) highest scores in the qualifying legal writing and editing examinations of the Philippine Law Journal (Volume 99, A.Y. 2025-2026).

Under the rules of the Committee, the qualified examinees who obtained the ten (10) highest scores shall constitute the Editorial Board, with any ties broken on the basis of their application materials. The examinee who obtained the highest score shall be the Chair and the examinee who obtained the second highest score shall be the Vice-Chair of the Editorial Board unless either examinee is an outgoing first-year student.

02/06/2025

𝗣𝗟𝗝 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝘂𝗺: 𝗘𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

In the inaugural full-length piece of the Philippine Law Journal Forum, Paolo Tamase writes about five emerging issues in impeachment—May the Senate proceed with Vice-President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial during its recess? May the proceedings cross over from the 19th to the 20th Congress? Would her resignation preclude the Senate from trying her for graft and corruption, bribery, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes? If trial pushes through, what standard of evidence should the Senate apply? And what is the extent of the power of the Supreme Court to resolve these issues?

The piece documents views of impeachment veterans in a forum organized by the College of Law, the Malcolm Foundation, and the Journal in February 2025, contextualized by research in Philippine impeachment practice, constitutional deliberations, and U.S. analogs. It ends with a proposed framework for using accountability as an ethos and canon for constitutional interpretation and applies it to the open questions on impeachment.

Read the full article at: https://philippinelawjournal.org/forum/post/emerging-issues-in-philippine-impeachment/

The PLJ Forum is the online platform of the Philippine Law Journal where academics, law practitioners, and students may submit timely, novel shorter-form works of general scholarly interest.

30/05/2025

𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗠𝗘 𝟵𝟴, 𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗨𝗘 𝟮 𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘

Issue 2 of the 98th Volume of the Philippine Law Journal is now accessible on the PLJ Website. The Issue contains three Articles, two Comments, and one Feature.

Dante B. Gatmaytan's Creating Political Questions under the 1987 Constitution addresses how the Supreme Court's frequent acquiescence to the discretion of other branches of government under the political question doctrine has resulted in a reduction of checks and balances, and a disproportionately powerful Chief Executive.

Michiko Lokin's Imperceptible Sleights: The Rise of Political Deepfakes and Challenges in the Regulation of Election Propaganda explores how deepfake content used by disinformation networks has emerged as a major threat to electoral integrity, and proposes prospective regulations to combat it.

Tina Andrea V. Amador-Robles' Opening Foreign Investment and Floodgates: A Critical Analysis of Removing Barriers to Full Foreign Investment in the Philippine Renewable Energy Industry critiques the DOE Circular lifting foreign-ownership restrictions on renewable energy projects, noting the contradictions that underlie such policy change.

La Verne V. Jallorina I's Comment dissects the Supreme Court's recent ruling in Nisperos v. People, and argues, contrary to the Court's guidelines, for the necessity of the presence of witnesses in the marking stage of illegal narcotics cases.

Kent Almadro Alonzo's Comment looks to reconcile the seemingly incongruent interpretations of the term "all or substantially all assets" of the Revised Corporation Code, by synthesizing existing statutory and regulatory definitions.

Finally, National Labor Relations Commissioner Cecilio Alejandro C. Villanueva and Efren II R. Resurreccion’s Feature examines developments in Philippine Work Law covering the period July 2023 to December 2024, touching on topics such as quitclaims, illegal dismissal, check-off provisions, and emerging worker rights. The Feature also touches on the codification of seafarers’ rights and obligations—currently a subject of constitutional inquiry. This Feature is part of a new series published by the Journal, providing a survey of recent developments in statutes, rules, and jurisprudence across different fields of the law, written by a member of the UP College of Law Faculty with the assistance of PLJ editors and their interns.

The Issue may be accessed at https://philippinelawjournal.org/volume/post/volume-98-issue-2.