Case Digest (G.R. No. 89572)
Facts:
Department of Education, Culture and Sports and Director of Center for Educational Measurement v. Roberto Rey C. San Diego and Judge Teresita Dizon-Capulong, G.R. No. 89572, December 21, 1989, the Supreme Court En Banc, Cruz, J., writing for the Court.The petitioners, DECS and the Director of the Center for Educational Measurement, administer the National Medical Admission Test (NMAT) pursuant to MECS Order No. 12, Series of 1972, which contains the rule that "A student shall be allowed only three (3) chances to take the NMAT. After three (3) successive failures, a student shall not be allowed to take the NMAT for the fourth time." The private respondent, Roberto Rey C. San Diego, is a University of the East graduate (B.S. Zoology) who sought to take the NMAT again after multiple failures.
When the petitioners denied his application to take the NMAT again on the basis of the three-chance rule, San Diego filed an original petition for mandamus in the Regional Trial Court of Valenzuela (Branch 172) to compel his admission. He initially invoked constitutional guarantees of academic freedom and quality education; by agreement he was allowed to take the NMAT scheduled April 16, 1989, subject to the petition's outcome. With leave of court he later amended his petition to directly challenge the constitutionality of MECS Order No. 12 on grounds including due process and equal protection.
The respondent judge, Judge Teresita Dizon-Capulong, rendered judgment (reported in the rollo) declaring the challenged order invalid and granting the petition; the decision is ...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Whether MECS Order No. 12's three-chances rule for the NMAT is a valid exercise of the State's police power and therefore constitutional insofar as it limits further attempts after three successive failures.
- Whether the three-chances rule violates the constitutional guarantee ...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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