WRITING REFERENCES

I. PRIMARY AUTHORITIES

A. Constitutions
a. Incumbent Constitutions
Initial Format: Abbreviated state or country, Constitution, pinpoint citation

Illustration: Phil. Const. art. VI, S2

Note: Constitutions must always be cited in full even in subsequent citations. Supra and
Ibid should not be used.

b. Repealed constitution
Format: Year of adoption Abbreviated state/country, constitution, pinpoint citation,
Illustration: 1935 Phil. Const. art. I, S2 (superseded 1973)
1973 Phil. Const. art VI (superseded 1987)

Note: Should always be cited in full even in subsequent citations. Supra or id should
not be used.

c. Records of Constitutional Commissions

Initial Citation: Volume No. (if any written in Arabic numeral) Official Title of the Record or
Journal, Session No. (if any), pinpoint citation, year, Abbreviated State or country)

Illustration: Journal of the Constitutional Convention, No. 91, at 1033 (1986)

Note: There is no need to indicate the country if it is a Philippine Constitutional
Proceeding. Supra should not be used but id. may be used when necessary.

B Codes and Statutes

a. Codes
Initial Citation Format: Full title, Short Title, statute No. pinpoint citation, pinpoint citation if
not published by state officials, year, abbreviated state or country.

Illustration:
An Act to Ordain and Institute the Civil Code of the Philippines (Civil Code), Republic Act
386 art. 1544 (1950)
For subsequent citations, use: Short title and pinpoint citation, as:

Illustration: Civil Code, art. 111

Note: There is no need to indicate the country if it is a Philippine Code

Supra should not be used but id. may be used when necessary.

C. Reported Cases
Initial Citation Format: Case title, (volume no.) (abbreviated name of reporter)
(first page of the report, pinpoint citation
 Illustration: De la Cruz v. Republic, 700 SCRA 2 (2014)
Note:
* Cite only the name of those first listed on the contending side
*If case cited is a consolidation of two or more cases, cite only the first
listed
*For subsequent citations , follow the format:
Abbreviated title, vol. no., abbreviated name of reporter, pinpoint citation.
Illustration: De la Cruz, 700 SCRA 2
Note: Supra should not be used but id. may be used when proper.

D. Unreported Cases
Initial Citation Format: Case title, case/docket number, deciding court or agency, year, unre-
ported
Illustration: Marie Tan v. Lido Mills, Case No. 12345 (2018) (unreported)

E. Cases Available Online under Official Domain Names

Initial Citation Format: Case title, case or docket no., date, pinpoint citation, available at internet
address, last accessed date, abbreviated state or country.

Illustration: Mary Grace Poe-Llamanzares v. Commission on Elections, GR No. 221697, Mar. 8,

2016 at 21, at http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/pdf/web/viewer..html?file=/jurispru-
dence/2016/221697.pdf (last accessed January 13, 2019).

F. Legislative Materials
1. Legislative Bills
Initial Citation Format: Title (if needed) H.B. or S.B. No., pinpoint citation (if any) legislature,
session, year.

Illustration: HB No. 23 S 7 16th Congress, 1st Reg. Sess (2013)

Subsequent citations: H.B. or S.B. No., pinpoint citation

Supra is not used for subsequent citations but id. may be used when proper.

2. Congressional Resolutions
Initial Citation Format: Title of Relevant Bill (if needed), Committee, H or S Rep. No., Legisla-
ture, session, year.

Ilustration:
H.B. No. 1234, Committee on Education, H Rep. No. 2, 16th Cong., 2nd Reg. Sess. (2013)

Subsequent Citations: H or S Rep. No., pinpoint citation

Illustration: H. Rep. No. 21
Supra is not used for subsequent citations but id. may be used when proper

II. SECONDARY AUTHORITIES

 Note: Sources of information which help explain, comment on or analyze the law. These
are not binding statements of law but may be pursuasive.

A. Books and non-periodic Materials

Single Author
Initial Citation Format: Author, year, Title of Book, (Place of Publication: Publisher) Year of
Publication or edition number, page

Illustration:
Hernando B. Perez, 2018, Quizzer and Review on Transportation Laws, (Manila: Central Book
Supply) 14

Note: If the book has:

a. Two authors, use “&” to separate their names.
b. Multiple authors, write the name of the first author followed by et. al.
For subsequent citations, use supra. Id. may also be used when proper.

B. Journal or magazine

1. Journal
Initial CItation Format: Title or article in quotation marks, underline the name of jour-
nal/magazine and comma, Volume number enclosed in parenthesis, month & year pub-
lished comma and page number

Illustration:
Juan de la Cruz, 2016, “Does the President Need Emergency Powers”, Lawyer’s
Review, VI: (2), January 2016.

Note: For subsequent citations, use supra. Id. may also be used when proper.

Magazine Articles
Initial Citation Format: Author, Title, Name of Magazine, date, month, quarter, period or
year, pinpoint citation.

Illustration:
John Snow, The Year of the Dragon, Newsweek, Apr. 1, 2019, at 16-17.

Note: For subsequent citations, use supra. Id. may also be used when proper.

C. Internet Sources
In citing material read on the Internet, it is not sufficient to indicate the website
alone. Information about author, title (if available), and date of the document must also
be cited.

Internet Sources in General

 1. Initial Citation: Author or organization, if any, Title, Description of Material, if neces-
sary, pinpoint citation (if possible), internet address (date last accessed).

Illustration:
Michelle Maiese, Human Rights Violations, available at https://www.beyondintractabil-
ity.org/essay/human_rights_violations%20, (June 10, 2019).

Note: For subsequent citations, use supra. Id. may also be used when proper

2. News Articles Online

Initial CItation: Author, if available, Headline, Abbreviation of Newspaper, date of Publication
or report, internet address, (access date).

Illustration
Frances Mangosing, Recipe for disaster: Intel Official warns versus China backed Telco
in PH, Phil. Daily Inquirer available at https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1165400/recipe-for-disaster-
intel-official-warns-vs-china-backed-telco-in-ph, l(ast accessed Sept. 17, 2019).

Note: For subsequent citations, use supra. Id. may also be used when proper.

3.. Social Media

Author, Username (if available), Description of Content (if any), Date of Posting, Time of
Publication (if available) Social Medium, Internet Address, (date accessed).

Illustration:
Lian Buan, @lianbuan, Sept. 17, 2019, 2:00 pm, Twitter, available at twitter.com.ph, Sep-
tember 17, 2019.

Note: For subsequent citations, use supra. id. may also be used when proper.

D. . Thesis and Unpublished Materials

Intial Format: Author, Title, pinpoint citation, date, type of work, institution which awarded the
degree, physical repository.

Illustration:
Ronaldo M. Corales, Harmonizing the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and Writ of
Kalikasan in Relation to the Application of te Precautionary Principle in GMO Field Testing and
Propagation at 5 (March 15, 2019) unpublished JD Thesis, University of Batangas (on file with
the UB College of Law Library).

Note: For subsequent citations, use supra. Id. may also be used when proper

E. Interviews Conducted by the Author

Initial Citation:
Interviewee, location of interview, medium of interview, date of interview
Illustration:
Interview with Speaker Allan Peter Cayetano, in Batasang Pambansa, June 21, 2019
Interview with Senate President Vicente Sotto III through Skype (June 21, 2019)
Note: For subsequent citations, follow the format: Interviewee, supra note (footnote num-
ber of the intial citation) Id may also be used.
Illustration:
Interview with DOTC Senator Vicente Sotto III, supra note ___.

F. Speeches
Initial CItation Format
Speaker, title and institutional affiliation (if any), Title of Speech (if any), Address/Re-
marks at event or place of address, date of address

Illustration:
Menardo Guevarra, Secretary, Department of Justice, Commencement Address at the Uni-
versity of Batangas 57th Commencement Exercises (July 3, 2019).

Note: For subsequent citations, use supra. Id. may also be used when proper
Illustration: Guevarra, supra note ___.

G. Founding Documents
1. UN Charter and League of Nations Covenant
Initial CItation:
U.N. Charter/League /League of Nations Covenant, pinpoint citation

Illustration
U.N. Charter, art. 45 1
League of Nations Covenant art 10

These two founding documents must always be cited in full. Hence supra should not
be used in subsequent citations. Id. may be used for these documents.

2. Bilateral Treaties
Initial Citation Format
Name of agreement, abbreviated names of parties to agreement, pinpoint citation, if any,
date of signing, treaty compilation.
Illustration
Protocol Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of
Republic of the Philippines Amending and Supplementing the 1982 Air Transport Agreement Be-
tween the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of
the Philippines, Phil-USA, Nov. 20, 1991, 2466 U.N.T.S. 106.

3. World Court Cases Available Online

Initial Citation Format
 Case title, abbreviated names of the parties, matter of decision (if relevant) tyoe of court
document, pinpoint citation, date, internet address (date last accessed)

Illustration
Pulp Mills on the River Uruguay (Arg. v. Uru.) Judgment, 56 (Apr. 20, 2010, available at
www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/13515877.pdf (last accessed Sept. 24, 2011)
Note: The type of court document being cited, e.g. judgments, must always be indicated if
the case was cited online, even if irrelevant to the text referred to by the citation.
For subsequent citations, follow the following format. Supra should not be used, id. may
be used when proper.
Short case title, ICJ type of court document,, pinpoint citation.
Illustration:
Pulp Mills on the River Uruguay, ICJ Judgment 35

SHORT CITATION FORMS

These are used for subsequent citations of previously cited authorities.

1. Id.
Used when citing exactly all the authorities, in exactly the same page numbers or
subdivisions.
a. in the immediately preceeding authority within the same footnote; or,
b. in the immediately preceeding footnote.z
2. Supra
Used to subsequently cite an authority which has been fully cited previously.
Surname of author, supra note__, at _____

Bibliography

The bibliography should be on a separate page. It should list the relevant sources
used in the research for the paper. This list should be arranged alphabetically by the
surname of the author. (Unlike the footnote reference, the surname is shown first, set off
from the rest of the information.) The information required is: author, title, place of pub-
lication, publisher and date of publication.

References:
1. Methods of Research and Thesis Writing by Laurentina Paler-Calmorin and Melchor
Calmorin
2. Ateneo Law Journal, Legal Citation Guide