G.R. No. 230642 , September 10, 2019
OSCAR B. PIMENTEL, ET AL., PETITIONERS, VS. LEGAL EDUCATION BOARD, AS REPRESENTED BY ITS CHAIRPERSON, HON. EMERSON B. AQUENDE, AND LEB MEMBER HON. ZENAIDA N. ELEPAÑO, RESPONDENTS; ATTY. ANTHONY D. BENGZON, ET AL., RESPONDENTS-IN-INTERVENTION; APRIL D. CABALLERO, ET AL., PETITIONERS-INTERVENORS; [G.R. No. 242954] FRANCIS JOSE LEAN L. ABAYATA, ET AL., PETITIONERS, VS. HON. SALVADOR MEDIALDEA, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY, AND LEGAL EDUCATION BOARD, HEREIN REPRESENTED BY ITS CHAIRPERSON, EMERSON B. AQUENDE, RESPONDENTS.

FACTS

The consolidated petitions seek to declare Republic Act No. 7662 (Legal Education Reform Act of 1993) unconstitutional, principally targeting Legal Education Board Memorandum Order No. 7, Series of 2016 (LEBMO No. 7), which established the Philippine Law School Admission Test (PhilSAT). Subsequent issuances like LEBMO No. 11 (transitional provisions) and LEBMC No. 18 (eligibility requirements) are also challenged. LEBMO No. 7 mandated a nationwide uniform law school admission test designed to measure academic potential for law study, requiring a minimum score of 55. It imposed a testing fee and restricted law schools from admitting applicants who failed to meet the score or exemption requirements, under penalty of administrative sanctions. Exemptions were provided for honor graduates and those with professional civil service eligibility, subject to conditions.

ISSUE

May the State, under the guise of improving the quality of legal education, forbid its own citizens from pursuing a course in law?

RULING

The Concurring Opinion of Justice A. Reyes, Jr. agrees with the ponencia in declaring LEBMO No. 7 and its adjunct orders unconstitutional. The opinion bases this on the State’s police power and a violation of the academic freedom of institutions and students. It emphasizes the constitutional priority given to education, highlighting the State’s obligation to protect and promote the right to quality education and make it accessible to all. The opinion underscores that academic freedom includes the right of educational institutions to determine who may be admitted to study, and the right of students to freely choose their field of study. It concludes that the PhilSAT, as implemented, unlawfully restricts these rights and constitutes an impermissible barrier to legal education.