Legal Technique and Logic Moot Court Problem Note: name your .doc/.docx and PDF files in the following manner: [Group number], Moot Court Problem, [Petitioner/Respondent] The Philippine Congress1 passed the Sambansa Organic Law (SOL) creating the Sambansa political entity, with its own territory covering the islands of Cebu, Biliran, Palawan, and Mindanao. Sambansa has a parliamentary form of government, with the Sambansa Parliament exercising legislative power that is concurrently or exclusively delegated by the Philippine Congress. The Parliament exercises its executive power through the Chief Minister. There will be a Pinuno that serves as a ceremonial and titular head. Special courts with jurisdiction over personal, family, property, and criminal jurisdiction are also created. The Sambansa Parliament is vested with the power to, among others, create, divide, merge, abolish or substantially alter boundaries of provinces, cities, municipalities or barangays within the Sambansa territory in accordance with a law enacted by the said Parliament, and subject to the plebiscite requirement. The Sambansa Commissions on Elections, Civil Service, and Audit will likewise carry out the functions of their counterpart constitutional commissions within the Sambansa jurisdiction. Franklin Chabby, alleging that he is a lawyer, resident of Palawan, taxpayer, and that the case he now files is of transcendental importance, lodges before the Supreme Court a petition for certiorari and prohibition claiming that the SOL violates various parts of the Constitution, including its Article X. The Republic of the Philippines, as represented by the Office of the Solicitor General, counters that the SOL is constitutionally valid in its entirety and that Chabbys petition should be dismissed on procedural and substantive grounds. The Supreme Court directed the parties to submit their respective Memoranda by May 26, 2015, 11:59PM PST. Schedule of the oral arguments on the petition will be announced on a later date.

1 The whole story is the product of the authors imagination. Any resemblance to that of any person or story, real or imaginary, is purely coincidental and does not in any way establish a connection between said person or story and those in this exercise.