West Visayas State University

(Formerly Iloilo Normal School)

HIMAMAYLAN CITY CAMPUS
Brgy. Caradio-an, Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental,6108
* Tel.No. (034)-388-3300
*Official Page: https://www.facebook.com/westhimamaylan/
Email Address: [email protected]

FINAL

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 FINAL TERM PRIMER
Term Outcomes:
 Exhibit mastery on current knowledge in other branches of Social Sciences and connect these
with the study of Ethics
 Describe moral dimension in relation to human action and freedom of conscience and will
towards goodness
 Express higher understanding in classical Philosophy
 Examine Freewill and Hard Determinism
 Investigate social realities within the chosen community and develops intervention in the lens of
social ethics.

Course Guide:

Sessions 17 to 18 Module 5 - The Prisoner’s Dilemma Critique Paper on the

Oct. 25-29, 2021 Prisoner’s Dilemma

Sessions 19 to 20 Module 6 - Behavioral Diversity and Holland’s Self

Nov. 1-5, 2021 Organizational Leadership Assessment Test

Sessions 21 to 22 Module 7 - Legal Issues and Ethics of Human Case Analysis

Nov. 8-12, 2021 Actions

Sessions 23 to 24 Module 8 - Legal Issues and Ethics in the Family Case Analysis
Nov. 15-19, 2021

Sessions 25 to 28 Module 9 - Legal Issues and Ethics in the Case Analysis

Nov. 22-Dec. 4, Workplace
2021

Sessions 29 to 30 Module 10 - Ethical issues in the Academe Personal Interview

Dec. 6-10, 2021 (Group Reporting) Transcript with a
practicing educator
(Recommended)
Sessions 31 to 32 Module 11 - Environmental and Bioethics Appraisal. Weighing
Dec. 13-17, 2021 (Group Reporting) the costs and benefits
of economic
development towards
the ecosystem.
(Recommended)
Sessions 33 to 35 Module 12 - Theories on the Ultimate Good One-year
Jan. 3-7, 2022 (Group Reporting) Self-development Plan
(Recommended)
Sessions 36 Final Examination: Topics 6 to 11 Test Paper/Test
Jan. 10-12, 2022 To be conducted at WVSU-HCC. Booklet

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 MODULE 5
THE PRISONER’S DILEMMA

I. MOST ESSENTIAL LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this module, the learners are expected to:

 Utilize the previous knowledge in understanding the prisoner’s dilemma
 Discuss the four principles of the prisoner’s dilemma
 Investigate the arguments that attempt to refute the prisoner’s dilemma

II. INTRODUCTION

A popular modern example of social philosophy is called the “prisoner’s dilemma,” and it was
developed in the 1950s not by ethicists but by mathematicians Merrill Flood, Melvin Dresher, and Albert
Tucker at the famous and powerful RAND Corporation.
What do you think is the significance having mathematicians as developers of modern philosophy?
What can they contribute to this diverse body of knowledge?

III. LESSON INPUTS

The RAND Corporation’s Role in this Ethical Exercise

Not only are ethics intrinsically involved in this dilemma, but so are math and probability. RAND was
tasked with trying to predict how various nuclear standoff scenarios could resolve, based on game
theory. The prisoner’s dilemma helped sort out all the ways a potentially deadly Cold War showdown
might go, based on who acted first and who backed down, and so on.

Here’s the scenario:

Two members of a criminal gang, Tommy and Frank, have been arrested for robbing a
bank. The police and prosecutors are certain that Tommy and Frank robbed the bank (hence
their arrests), but they lack enough evidence to convict both of them on the main charge.
Wanting to send them each to prison for a year or so on a lesser charge, prosecutors offer both
Tommy and Frank some deals. This leaves Tommy and Frank with two essential choices:

• Option #1: Betray their compatriot, and pin the crime entirely on the other guy.
• Option #2: Continue to be silent, admit to nothing, and not sell the other one out.

Decisions, Decisions
What is the best choice? It depends on the possible outcome, and there are a lot more than two
outcomes:
• If Tommy and Frank both finger the other one, they’ll both serve two years in prison.
• If Tommy rats out Frank, but Frank stays silent, Tommy goes free. Frank serves three years
in prison on the main charge.
• Similarly, if Frank rats out Tommy, but Tommy stays silent, it’s Frank who goes free and
Tommy is left to serve the full three years for the robbery.
• If neither man confesses nor pins the blame on the other guy, they’ll both serve a year in
prison (and on the lesser charge).

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When honesty isn’t the best policy
A few caveats are needed to eliminate any other influencing factors: There is no other reward or
punishment for Tommy or Frank, as they’ll serve their time in separate prisons, if need be. Nor can they
collude to find the best option for all involved. Both Tommy and Frank are being held separately in
solitary confinement and they have no way to communicate with the outside world, or with each other.
So, what should they do?
They betray each other. A rational prisoner with his self-interest in mind would betray the other
person. And since both are rational human beings, and neither man wants to go to jail, each would
consider only his own well-being and happiness because the consequences of considering otherwise
(like jail) are not good.
But it’s an ethical quandary. Both men pursuing the individual reward leads both prisoners to
betrayal, but if both stay silent they’d each get a better reward (on the whole). However, if both confess,
the outcome for each man would be worse than if they had both remained silent.

The Prisoner’s Dilemma in Real Life

Is taking steroids in sports ethical? That’s a big question, with many thoughts on the matter on both
sides and in between, but it’s an especially interesting conundrum with regard to the mentioned
prisoner’s dilemma. Performance-enhancing drugs increase an athlete’s abilities, but using those drugs
causes some potentially dangerous side effects. All pro athletes of a given sport have relatively similar
skill levels, and the drugs work generally the same on each of those athletes. It’s to all of the athletes’

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advantages if nobody takes those drugs—because if everybody used them, then no one athlete would
have an edge, and all the athletes would be subject to the side effects of taking the drugs. But if just one
or two athletes take the drugs, then those athletes would gain an advantage, but the disadvantageous
side effects would become a problem for them.
In the context of global climate change, the prisoner’s dilemma has become more relevant than
ever. It helps us understand why nations across the world have postponed actions to limit further
temperature rise for such a long time, despite scientists’ warnings of the risks ahead.
Climate change is a global problem, which requires individual action by many people, companies
and countries around the world. The costs are global and result from the world’s collective actions. They
will also affect future generations far more than today’s. Because the actions required are disruptive,
most people will choose to let others take the strain, leaving the global problem unaddressed.
Over the recent past, however, the payoffs associated with each player’s action have started to change.
The costs of taking action have fallen and the benefits of addressing climate risks have become clearer.
That has prompted an increasing proportion of the global population to forego self-interest and choose
collaboration.
One prominent manifestation of this is the rise in public protests drawing attention to climate
change on a global scale. The Fridays-for-Future movement initiated by Swedish teenager Greta
Thunberg resulted in over 2000 protests in 125 countries in a single day, demonstrating the increasing
demand for solutions among younger people.
The recent Extinction Rebellion protests in several European cities are another example of people’s
choice to collaborate instead of putting self-interest first. The 10-day protest was a forceful call for
political action and collaboration on an unprecedented scale.
Time will tell, but we believe a tipping point may be approaching. In game theory, the solution to
the prisoner’s dilemma framework changes when time and repetition are considered. As costs and
benefits change, collaboration becomes the optimal solution for rational actors. The sight of school
children and older generations on the streets, demanding action, may prove the start of a snap back
from the world’s political apparatus.

IV. SUMMARY

a. The prisoner's dilemma is a paradox in decision analysis in which two individuals acting in their
own self-interests do not produce the optimal outcome.
b. The typical prisoner's dilemma is set up in such a way that both parties choose to protect
themselves at the expense of the other participant.
c. The prisoner's dilemma is a standard example of a game analyzed in game theory that shows
why two completely rational individuals might not cooperate, even if it appears that it is in their
best interests to do so.
d. It was originally framed by Merrill Flood and Melvin Dresher while working at RAND in 1950.

V. SELF-ASSESSMENT

Ponder on the following statements and make a personal reflection. This will be your critique paper
in the Prisoner’s Dilemma.

1. In what particular circumstances can the prisoner’s dilemma be applied best?

2. Is the application of prisoner’s dilemma in a person’s worldview a manifestation of

self-centeredness? Why or why not?

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 MODULE 6
BEHAVIORAL DIVERSITY AND ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP
I. MOST ESSENTIAL LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this module, the learners are expected to:

 Craft their own conceptual map on attitude and its negative and positive phases
 Apply concepts of work attitudes in their future workplaces
 Restructure present attitude into an ideal one

II. INTRODUCTION

Though a person might not realize it, groups have a very powerful and dramatic effect on human
behavior. Everyone acts differently when they are around people versus than when they are alone.
Groups play an incredibly important role in everyday life and dramatically impact the decisions we
make. A group can be anything from a meeting of coworkers responsible for making important financial
decisions to a group of friends deciding on where they would like to eat their next meal. The mere
presence of other people has a remarkable effect on our behavior. A group can occur from nothing,
make some perform better, make others choose not to perform, and create roles and norms that group
members follow.

III. LESSON INPUTS

Basic Theories on Groups

Social Facilitation
The most basic theory regarding social psychology is that when a person is alone, he or she is
more relaxed and not concerned about the appearance of their behavior. By adding just one other
person to the equation, behaviors begin to change and people become more aware of what is going on
around them. As a result, studies have shown that a person will be able to perform tasks that are simple
or well-learned with a greater performance level. However, when attempting to do something that is new
or difficult around another person, performance level will decrease. This is known as social facilitation:
due to the presence of other people, we try harder and our performance level actually declines in new or
difficult tasks.
Take basketball as an example. If you are just beginning to learn basketball, you will feel more
relaxed practicing alone than practicing around other people, because the presence of others will make
you feel self-conscious and you will make more mistakes. If you are a professional basketball player,
however, you are already skilled in the task, and the presence of other people will make you better as
you strive to demonstrate your ability.

When Groups Make Decisions

When groups make decisions, one of two things generally happens: “groupthink” or “group
polarization.”
Groupthink
When a group agrees on most issues, there is a tendency to stifle any dissent. The
group anticipates harmony. If everyone agrees and iscontent, they do not appreciate
hearing opposing arguments. Groupthink can be disastrous because it leads to a failure to
listen to or identify all sides of an argument and can result in impulsive decisions.

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 Examples of groupthink gone wrong include mass riots and lynch mobs. To combat
groupthink, authentic dissent should be nurtured.
Group Polarization
This takes root when a group begins to create extreme positions that are fueled by the
group and would not have occurred if any of the individuals were alone. For example, at
the beginning of a decision- making process, perhaps members of the group were only
slightly opposed to something. By the end of the discussion together, however, the entire
group is now dramatically opposed to the issue and has taken this opposition to an
extreme level. To reduce group polarization, homogeneity should be avoided.

Bystander Effect
The bystander effect is perhaps the most tragic phenomenon to occur within groups. It has been
found that as a group gets larger, the internal drive to help other people in need actually decreases.
Though this is similar to social loafing, the bystander effect occurs because people become followers
and will only help someone if they see another individual helping in the first place. Note: this is strictly a
group phenomenon. If there is no one else present but one individual and the victim, that individual will
usually help the victim.

One of the Most Famous Examples of the Bystander Effect

On March 13th, 1964, at 3:20 A.M., twenty-eight-year-old Catherine “Kitty” Genovese was
coming home from work and was approached by a man in her apartment entrance. The man
attacked and stabbed Genovese. Genovese repeatedly called for help, but not a single one of the
close to forty eyewitnesses who had heard her cries for help and watched the events unfold called
the police. Instead, they all believed that someone else was doing it. It wasn’t until 3:50 A.M.that the
police were finally contacted.

Rules of Groups
No matter what type of group it is, whether it be a band, a group of friends, a work meeting, a sports
team, or something else, all groups share similar psychological processes and follow certain rules.
1. Groups can come from nearly nothing: Groups contribute to our sense of ourselves;
because of this, it is in our nature to want to form and build groups.
2. There usually is some form of initiation rite: If someone is joining an already existing
group, there is usually some form of initiation rite. This could be intellectual, monetary, physical,
or based on similar experiences. Groups want to test individuals entering, and they want the
membership to the group to be valued.
3. Groups create conformity: Groups have certain norms that members follow and these
norms can bend an individual’s behavior, making them go against their better judgment (for
one of the greatest examples, see Asch’s Conformity Study).
4. You must learn the norms of the group: If you break the rules established by the group,
the other members of the group will be sure to let you know.
5. People take on roles within groups: While there are rules that apply to everyone within a
group, individuals will also begin taking on specific roles and follow a set of rules associated
with those roles.
6. Most of the time, leaders emerge from the group slowly: Though leaders can be
appointed and imposed upon, most of the time leaders emerge by first conforming to the group;
and then after gaining trust, they become more confident and eventually others will follow them.
7. Groups create improved performance: The presence of other people can make an
individual perform better. This is more likely when the task at hand is separate from other
people’s tasks and the individual can be judged on his or her own merits.8. There will be
rumors and, most of the time, they will be true: In 1985, a study took place in a work
environment and found that people talked of rumors and gossip 80 percent of the time, and that

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 an astounding 80 percent of this information was true. Other studies have shown very similar
results.
9. Groups create competition: People in groups can become suspicious and wary of the
people in rivaling groups. This creates an “us vs. them” type of situation, and even if an
individual from a rival group is thought of as cooperative, the group as a whole is deemed
untrustworthy or bad.

Leadership Skills
Leadership skills are the tools, behaviors, and capabilities that a person needs in order to be
successful at motivating and directing others. Yet true leadership skills involve something more; the
ability to help people grow in their own abilities. It can be said that the most successful leaders are those
that drive others to achieve their own success.
You’ve certainly heard the phrase. Who do you think of when you hear it? Martin Luther King, Jr.,
Mahatma Ghandi, or other world-famous leaders in history? Or perhaps there are leaders in your own
life that have had a positive impact on you. What skills did all of these people have that made them
effective leaders? Here are a few, but there are certainly others:
 Is Committed to a Vision or Mission
 Understands His or Her Role
 Demonstrates Integrity
 Sets an Example
 Understands How to Motivate the Behavior of Others
 Communicates Effectively
 Is Willing to Take Risks
 Is Adept at Problem-Solving
Whereas many leaders may be so committed to a vision that they naturally find ways to pull
others along with them, most of us cannot claim to have been born with that level of leadership ability.
We certainly may have grown over time and learned many effective skills by experience. Yet if you are
reading this module, you know that there are areas of your leadership abilities that you would like to
enhance or improve. There is good news for anyone who doesn’t consider themselves a born leader or
who has specific areas of leadership skills that need work; leadership skills can be learned. All that is
required is an open mind, patience with yourself as you learn these skills, and the commitment to put
what you learn into action.
Without exception, there are three traits that every leader must have in order to be successful. You can
attempt to lead without them, but at least one of four things will eventually happen if you do:
 You will be so miserable that you will burnout
 Your team will fail in completing their work
 Your team members will leave
 Your team will lose respect for you
So what are these three required traits? First is the desire to lead. Without it, you will never be
comfortable in the leader role. You will struggle every day with the basics, and your team members will
sense it in everything you do. If you don’t burn out first, you’ll find that work suffers and your team is
frustrated because they can’t do their work without you doing yours. They may eventually leave – if you
don’t first.
The second trait of successful leaders is commitment to the mission and vision of the
organization where they work. Imagine trying to convince others to give their best in order to
accomplish something they don’t believe in. That’s difficult. But trying to convert them to believing in the
mission and vision of an organization when you don’t believe it yourself? That’s simply impossible.
The final trait that every successful leader must have is integrity. Integrity in this sense has a
simple meaning; doing what you say you will do and behaving the way that you expect your team to

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behave. At first glance, that may sound simple enough. But if you can truly master integrity, you will find
that it changes whole teams and even whole organizations for the better.

The Desire to Lead

As with any job, resisting the work of leading will make it difficult to be effective – and impossible
to find fulfillment or enjoyment in what you do. Without the desire to lead, you will not be willing to do the
work that it takes to become the leader of the team. You won’t put in the effort to acquire the skills you
need to motivate others or to handle conflict. Instead, you’ll stick with the comfortable patterns of
behavior you’ve already developed, regardless of whether or not it helps you to lead.
Are you sure that you want to be a leader? If you are, then you are already a step ahead. But if
you aren’t certain that you want to be someone who is followed rather than someone who follows, you
need to consider whether or not a leadership role is right for you.
There are a number of characteristics and feelings that can help you determine your level of
desire to lead. Listed below is a series of statements which describe the characteristics which generally
indicate your motivation to be a leader. Don’t worry if you don’t meet all of these criteria. Just use them
to gauge where you are now in your leadership development.
 I don’t mind asking team members challenging questions when working on a project.
 I like supporting others on my team and can do so in both good and bad times.
 I am comfortable putting the team interest before my own interest.
 When I am working with a group, I facilitate a strong team spirit.
 I am comfortable letting others take my ideas and put them into action.
 I like playing the role of coach to help others improve their skills.
 I prefer to resolve personal conflicts on a team rather than let them continue.
 I look for opportunities to celebrate other people’s success.
 I can have a productive discussion even when others don’t agree with me.
 When the team has a problem, I consider it my problem too.
 I like to generate ideas and share them with the group.
It is possible to have these and similar statements apply to you in some companies and not with
others. If you don’t like the work that you do, chances are that you are not going to be inspired to lead
others to do it either. In that case, you won’t reach your potential as a leader until you are working for an
organization that you can believe in. This brings us to the second trait that successful leaders all
possess.

Commitment to the Mission and Vision of the Organization

The first leaders of any organization were those that first created it. They had a mission and a
vision about what the company would do, who it would serve, and what changes it would make to the
industry or sector they were entering. Those leaders had to take risks like borrowing money or leaving
the job they were in at the time in order to start the business. There were likely personal sacrifices, long
nights and weeks of work, and times of significant stress before the company could be considered a
success.
Those first leaders then had to hire others who could share the vision and believe in the mission
of the company. The leaders would coach these new hires, helping them learn how to make decisions
which would move the team or organization towards the company’s goals. This trend would hopefully
continue as each layer of administration was added to the organization. In an ideal world, every
employee would perform as if fulfilling the mission and vision of the organization were his or her
personal goal.
Of course, we don’t live in an ideal world. The more layers of administration or bureaucracy
there are between the visionaries at the head of an organization and the front-line employees who
deliver the actual services or product, the more difficult it is to see the mission and vision translated to
the employees.

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 At this point, there is one question you need to ask yourself. Do you know what the mission and
vision of your organization are? If you responded by naming what you do, that’s not the same thing. For
example, a telecommunications company employee might answer, ‘we sell telecommunication
products.’ But is that the mission of the organization? The mission could be something like ‘we help
people stay connected by providing the highest quality communication products and the best customer
service in the industry.’ Can you see the difference? One is what you do. The other is how you do it. If
you know what you do, but not the way you are expected to do it, you cannot effectively lead others to
assist in accomplishing the company’s goals.

What’s the Difference between a Mission Statement

and a Vision Statement?

A Mission Statement states the main purpose and objectives of an organization. The
mission statement is written for internal customers such as the stockholders and the
company’s leadership team. It defines those key actions and measures that can be used
to determine whether or not an organization is a success.
A Vision Statement also addresses the purpose of an organization, but denotes the
values of the organization as well. Whereas a mission statement defines what a
company does, a vision statement helps to delineate how that work should be done. The
audience for a vision statement can be the employees, who glean from it information on
how they should behave. Or it can inform customers, who can use it in part to determine
whether or not they want to give their business to that organization.

Integrity
The third trait that every leader must have in order to be successful is integrity. Integrity can be
defined simply as being true to your word, being authentic in your actions and speech, and
demonstrating the kind of behavior that you would like to see your employees have. Integrity, like
leadership skills, is something that you have to practice. It takes effort to honor your word every time
and to be the example you want from your employees even when you are under stress or simply have a
personality conflict. But the benefits you can gain from developing integrity are enormous when
compared to the damage you can do in the workplace if you lack it.
Think for a moment about characteristics of bosses you have had that you didn’t like. What,
specifically, were the attitudes, behaviors, or traits of that person that has you still thinking of them in a
negative light? Probably you would list things like favoring certain employees, not coming through on
promises he or she made, gossiping, taking credit for your work, or treating you disrespectfully. All of
these issues can be traced to a lack of integrity.
What was the workplace environment like when you worked for someone who lacked integrity?
Did you enjoy going to work? Did you feel inspired to take ownership of your projects and put forth the
best effort that you could? Did you feel loyal to the company or believe that there were significant
chances for your own personal growth and development? It’s a safe bet that your answer to these
questions is no. And it’s just as safe a bet that as a leader, you could be creating the same kind of
environment that you hated if you aren’t practicing integrity in the workplace.
So how do you practice integrity? There are three key areas that you can concentrate on
developing. As you read each description, ask yourself how you would feel if a leader you worked for did
not possess these key characteristics.

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 Sincerity
Also called authenticity, leaders with this facet of integrity:
 Do not put up a false front
 Accept responsibility for their commitments and strive to meet them
 Are honest about their own limitations
 Accept responsibility for their mistakes
 Tell the truth
Consistency
Leaders demonstrate this facet of integrity by:
 Treating employees equally as much as possible
 Following through on promises
 Working as hard or harder than their employees
 Having the same expectations or rules for themselves as for their employees
Substance
It refers to integrity becoming a part of who you are being in all your work relationships by:
 Keeping private employee information private
 Not gossiping or complaining about team members to other team members
 Doing what’s best for the team and not just yourself
 Giving credit where credit is due
 Caring about the development of your employees
 Making it a priority to maintain clear communication and resolve any conflicts

If you have read this information and realized that you have not always acted with integrity in the
workplace, you are certainly not alone. But going forward, you can now recognize that integrity can be
built one action at a time. As you get more practiced at it, you will find that it becomes a habit. And once
you start seeing the results that come from practicing integrity, you will want to keep going.

Understanding the Leader’s Role: Managing vs Leading

Management and leadership skills sets are both important in guiding the development and success
of any organization. Yet we often confuse the two. Managers may fail to lead and then wonder why they
are having difficulty getting people to work at their best ability. Or leaders may fail to manage and then
not understand why they can’t seem to get jobs done on schedule or on budget. In many cases your
role requires both skill sets in equal frequency. In others, you might concentrate on one skill set and only
need to adapt the other in specific circumstances. You can learn to discern the two different types of
skills, as well as when to put them into use in order to perform at your best. Some of the questions that
will be answered in this chapter are:
 What is the difference between being a manager and being a leader?
 How do I know what role I have, no matter what my job title says?
 How can I determine what skills are appropriate in my role and for the task at hand?
What do you think of when you hear the terms ‘management skills’ as opposed to ‘leadership
skills’? Undoubtedly you have at least a general notion of each term. Yet when it comes to articulating
the difference, it can be difficult to separate specific skills into one set or the other. Don’t the two have
aspects in common? Certainly. However, to develop into the best leader you can be, you need to
understand how they are different as well. Here’s one way to differentiate between the two skill sets:
Management skills - the skills required to manage resources in order to deliver a task,
product, or service.
Leadership skills – the skills required to engage with, motivate, and persuade people
to buy-In to a vision, objective, or goal.

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 Within your own organization, can you name the managers? What about the leaders? How can you
tell the difference? In some cases, the answer is obvious because it’s in the person’s job title. Marketing
Manager, Communications Administrator, Assistant Sales Director. Titles such as these imply a level of
authority. But what can they tell you about the actual leadership of the organization?
A common way that we try to communicate who leads an organization is through an
organizational chart. If you have one of your own organization, take it out and look at it the next time you
have a chance. A sample organizational chart for a small manufacturing company has been provided
for you below to use as you read the paragraphs that follow.
Before you read the titles of anyone in the organizational chart, look at the overall shape. What
does it say about the organization’s management and leadership structure? Are there more positions
across (horizontally) than there are down (vertically)? This indicates a flat organizational structure. It is
communicating to us that the authority in the organization is dispersed across many different units or
divisions. Each of these units or divisions then has its own employees, but, as in the figure, they may all
report back to one central decision maker or final authority.
What if there are more layers of employees vertically than there are horizontally? What impact
does it have on the ‘top rung’ employees’ ability to lead when they may be dozens of ‘layers’ away from
those employees that are interacting directly with their customers or clients?
Now look at the positions to see if you can identify all of the managers on the organizational
chart in the figure. Who would you choose? Do you have enough information to tell? Chances are that
you will have to make your choices based on two things; job titles and whether or not the person
supervises other people.
Now see if you can identify the leaders in the organizational chart. You may be inclined to pick
the same people as you chose for managers – it’s our usual habit to think of those at the top levels as
leaders. But the truth is, you cannot tell from the organizational chart who all of the leaders are. How do
we know that there aren’t true leaders among the drivers who demonstrate to their fellow drivers how to
perform their jobs safely and efficiently? How do we know that one of the customer service agents

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hasn’t influenced the way that marketing runs their campaigns or the training staff holds their classes
because of a new sales technique that the agent has come up with on the job.

As a leader yourself, it’s important to remember that leaders don’t always hold a job title or wear
a suit and tie. Our culture tends to look to those who bear the distinctive titles or make the high salaries
or make sweeping, successful changes as the leaders in our organizations. But this view is too narrow
and it limits your team’s potential.
Leaders can be the man picking up the garbage who is always conscientious about cleaning up
anything that hits the ground instead of leaving it there, or the administrative assistant who treats every
call like it’s the most important one she’s had all day. They can be the co-worker who sets the example
for the rest of the team by always being on time, doing their best work, and keeping a positive attitude.
Or they can be the person who takes the initiative to organize the group’s help when a coworker’s family
has experienced a tragedy.
If you simply take the time to look around you, you’ll see that leaders can come in all different
types. Being aware of our cultural perceptions about where leaders can be found helps to take the
‘blinders’ off – it opens up the possibility that anyone in your organization could have hidden leadership
abilities that are just waiting to be coached to the surface.
Types and Styles of Leadership
Leaders are prime movers in the day-to-day activities of organizations in attaining their goals and
objectives. They are the role models for their followers, subordinates and fellow workers to look upon
and imitate. Through the years, there emerged different types or styles of leaders. What are the types
and styles of leaders we need today?
The following basic criteria and typologies of leaders have been cited by various authors:

1. On the basis of their authority or position

a) Formal leader - he/she officially occupies a position of leadership in an organization
b) Informal leader - he/she may not have a specific position but is being followed by the people on
the basis of his/her character and contribution to the well-being of the organization

13
2. On the basis of his relationship to his subordinates and fellow workers
a) Autocrat - he/she puts emphasis on the nature and objectives of tasks but has little or no
concern for the workers
b) Benevolent - he/she has the strongest sympathy for subordinates and their circumstances
c) Compromiser - the company objectives and workers’ welfare are of equal considerations for
him/her
3. According to manner of participation
a) Autocratic - he/she has the control on the employee’s behavior. There is practically no
participation of the group in decision making.
b) Participatory - his/her authority is decetralized. SUbordinates or groups are involved in decision
making.
c) Free rein/Laissez-faire - he/she depends upon the subordinates or groups for decision-making.
4. According to democratic practices
a) Authoritarian - the decision-making process is in the hand of one person
b) Democratic - the decision-making is in the hands of the group. The group itself is
self-governing.

Seven General Moral Principles for Managers

1. Dignity of Human Life - The lives of people are to be respected.
2. Autonomy - All persons are intrinsically valuable and have their right to self-determination.
3. Honesty - The truth should be told to those who have the right to know it.
4. Loyalty - Promises, contracts, and commitments should be honored.
5. Fairness - People should be trated justly.
6. Humanness - There are two parts: (1) Our actions ought to accomplish good and (2) we should avoid
doing evil.
7. The Common Good - Actions should accomplish the “greatest good for the greatest number” of
people.

IV. SUMMARY

a. Behaviors begin to change and people become more aware of what is going on around them.
b. When groups make decisions, one of two things generally happens: “groupthink” or “group
polarization.”
c. It has been found that as a group gets larger, the internal drive to help other people in need
actually decreases.
d. Groups play an incredibly important role in everyday life and dramatically impact the decisions
we make.

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V. SELF-ASSESSMENT

Holland’s Self-Assessment Test

What type of personality do you have? This is a sample self-assessment to help you determine
your Work Type. Answer yes or no to the following questions and check out below what your answers
mean. It is important that you answer each item as honestly and truthfully as possible.

No. YES NO
1. I like long-term projects.
2. I like to build or repair things.
3. I like to do things in order.
4. I enjoy doing things that produce results.
5. I like to organize activities.
6. I’d like to deal with people all day.
7. I need clear and precise instructions.
8. I’m interested in operating machinery.
9. I like math.
10. I'd like to be in control of others
11. I like helping people
12. I read books and watch TV to learn new things
13. I like to discover something new
14. I like to get people to do things
15. I like to ask people their opinions

1, 3, 7 You are an organizer. You turn chaos into order. You likely to become a statistician, ac
countant, lawyer, and office clerk
2, 8, 12 You tend to become technical/mechanical. You may like to become an electrician, mec
hanic, air traffic controller, and optometrist.
4, 9, 13 You are an innovator. You always come up to new ideas. You can be an architect, writ
er, planner, engineer, and programmer.
5, 10, 14 You are a leader. You form a team to do something. Positions include editor, chef, dire
ctor, sales manager, and advertising excecutive.
6, 11, 15 You are outgoing. You like working with people. This may include counselor, dentist,
flight attendant, tour guide, sales person, and teacher.

Personal Reflection:
Write a one paragraph personal reflection regarding the result of your Holland’s self-assessment
test. What have you realized after knowing the result?

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 MODULE 7
LEGAL ISSUES AND ETHICS OF HUMAN ACTIONS

I. MOST ESSENTIAL LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this module, the learners are expected to:

 Discuss the legal concepts that can be used to recognize legal liability
 Explain the circumstances that affect criminal liability
 Discuss acts in the workplace that may constitute a criminal offense

II. INTRODUCTION

In a world full of fierce and intense competition, unethical activities in the “free” world of
professionals go beyond the capability of common law and statutes to curtail. No amount of law can
prevent a determined professional from cheating his company or clients or from employing unfair
methods of competition against his co-professionals. In the end, they themselves are those who suffer
from these dubious practices. The self-centered attitude of some professionals and their hesitation to
conform to the socially-accepted code of conduct has greatly contributed to their negative image and
adversely affected the image of their work and caused by miseducation and misinformation on legal
bounds of their respective professions.

III. LESSON INPUTS

The Nature of Law

Law is a system of principles and processes promulgates and strictly enforced by the State to
regulate the conduct of its citizens as a means of resolving conflicting interests.
There are three general sources of law:
 Constitution - the fundamental law of the land (1987 Philippine Constitution)
 Legislation or Statutory Laws - laws enacted by the law-giving body of the State
(Congress). Any statutory law should observe the provisions of the Constitution,
otherwise, it is unconstitutional and hence loses the comanding and binding power of
the law.
 Common Law/Judicial Opinions - the body of principles that evolves from court
decisions
Drawn from Black’s Law Dictionary, Diaz (2003) spelled out the kinds of laws or statutes and the
gist made their distinctions into:
 General - a law that affects the entire people of the state.
 Special - a law that is prescribed to a specific group or community on specific subject,
purpose, and operation different from others.
 Local - a law that operates on specific purpose and locality or jurisdiction and authority.
 Public - a law of general nature and applicable to all whether local, national or international
involving the relationship between people and states, involving rights, duties,
responsibilities, and accountabilities.
 Private - this focuses on the definition, regulations, enforcement and administrations of
measures governing the relationship among individuals, associations and corporations.
 Remedial - this law prescribes the ways and means through which the grievances are
remedied, issues are heard and adjucated, and wrongdoings are punished.
 Penal - defines criminal offenses and imposes fines and punishments or imprisonment
thereof.
 Substantive - sets rights and duties of every person.

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Characteristics of Criminal Law
Reyes (2001) pointed out the following characteristics of criminal law:
General. The law is binding on all persons who live or sojourn in Philippine territory.

Territorial. The law undertakes to punish crimes committed within Philippine territory hence it
is enforceable only within its territory.
Exceptions:
An offense while on a Philippine ship or airship
Forge or counterfeit any coin or currency note of the Philippines or obligation and
securities issued by the Philippine government, and the acts connected with the introduction
into the Philippines of the same.
Public officers or employees committing an offense in the excercise of their functions
Crimes against national security and the law of nations

Prospective. The law cannot make an act punishable in a manner in which it was not
punishable when committed, hence, punishes only the offense under the law in force at the time of
commission.

The Nature of Crime

The Revised Penal Code (Act. No. 3815) of the Philippines provides the following features:

Crime. A crime is committed by any person for anys and omissions punishable by law (felonies
or “delitos”) not only by means of deceit (dolo) but also by means of fault (culpa) against persons or
property.
Deceit and Fault. There is deceit (dolo) when the act is performed with deliberate intent; and
there is fault (culpa) when the wrongful act results from imprudence, negligence, lack of foresight or
lack of skill.
Penalty for crimes. A commission of any crime carries a penalty of imprisonment and civil
liability for and in consideration of the degree of malice and injury caused.
Requisites of Malice. To qualify a claim of malice, it must meet the presence of 1) freedom, 2)
intelligence, and 3) intent.
Classification. The crime are classified into these 14 titles: against national security and the law
of nations, against the fundamental law of the state, against public order, against public interest;
relative to opium and other prohibited drugs, against public morals, committed by public officers,
against persons, against personal liberty and security, against property, against chastity, against
civil status of persons, against honor, and quasi-offenses.

Degree of Crime Commission, Participation, and Liability

Degree of Commission. A crime may be committed in degrees of consumates, frustrated, and
attempted. Art. 6 of the Revised Penal Code provides:
i. Consummated - when all the elements necessary for its execution and accomplishment
are present;
ii. Frustrated - when the offender performs all the acts of execution which would produce the
felony as a consequence but which, nevertheless, do not produce it by reason of causes
independent of the will of the perpetrator.
iii. Attempted - when the offender commences the commission of a felony directly or over acts,
and does not perform all the acts of execution which should produce the felony by reason
of some cause or accident other than this own spontaneous desistance.

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Degree of Participation
The degree of criminal participation is classified into:
A. Principals. — The following are considered principals:
i. Those who take a direct part in the execution of the act;
ii. Those who directly force or induce others to commit it;
iii. Those who cooperate in the commission of the offense by another act without
which it would not have been accomplished.
B. Accomplices. — Accomplices are those persons who, not being included in (as principals)
Art. 17, cooperate in the execution of the offense by previous or simultaneous acts.
C. Accessories. — Accessories are those who, having knowledge of the commission of the
crime, and without having participated therein, either as principals or accomplices, take
part subsequent to its commission in any of the following manners:
i. By profiting themselves or assisting the offender to profit by the effects of the
crime.
ii. By concealing or destroying the body of the crime, or the effects or instruments
thereof, in order to prevent its discovery.
iii. By harboring, concealing, or assisting in the escape of the principals of the crime,
provided the accessory acts with abuse of his public functions or whenever the
author of the crime is guilty of treason, parricide, murder, or an attempt to take the
life of the Chief Executive, or is known to be habitually guilty of some other crime.

Classification of Criminals
A. Recidivist - is one who, at the time of his trial for one crime, shall have been previously
convicted by final judgement of another crime embraced in the same title of the RPC
B. Quasi-recidivist - is one who commits another crime after having been convicted by final
judgement of a crime falling under either the RPC of Special Law, before beginning to serve
such sentence or while serving the same
C. Habitual Delinquent - is one who, within a period of 10 years from the date of his release or last
conviction of the crimes of serious or less serious physical injuries, robbery, estafa, or
falsification, is found guilty of any of the said crimes for the third time or oftener

Circumstances Affecting Criminal Liability

A. Justifying circumstances. — The following do not incur any criminal liability:

1. in defense of his person or rights
2. in defense of the person or rights of members of the family
3. in defense of the person or rights of a stranger not induced by revenge
4. to avoid a greater evil or injury
5. in the fulfillment of a duty or in the lawful exercise of a right or office.
6. in obedience to an order issued by a superior for some lawful purpose.

B. Exempting Circumstances. — the following are exempt from criminal liability:

1. An imbecile or an insane person
2. A person under nine years of age.
3. A person over nine years of age and under fifteen
4. Any person who, while performing a lawful act with due care
5. Any person who act under the compulsion of irresistible force.
6. Any person who acts under the impulse of an uncontrollable fear of an equal or greater injury.
7. Any person who fails to perform an act required by law, when prevented by some lawful
insuperable cause.

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C. Mitigating circumstances. — The following are mitigating circumstances;
1. when all the requisites necessary to justify or to exempt from criminal liability in the respective
cases are not attendant.
2. the offender is under eighteen year of age or over seventy years
3. the offender had no intention to commit so grave a wrong as that committed.
4. sufficient provocation or threat on the part of the offended party immediately preceded the act.
5. the act was committed in the immediate vindication of a grave offense to the one committing the
felony (delito), his spouse, ascendants, or relatives by affinity within the same degrees.
6. that of having acted upon an impulse so powerful as naturally to have produced passion or
obfuscation.
7. the offender had voluntarily surrendered himself to a person in authority or his agents or prosecution
8. the offender is deaf and dumb, blind or otherwise suffering some physical defect which thus restricts
his means of action, defense, or communications with his fellow beings.
9.illness of the offender as would diminish the exercise of the will-power of the offender without however
depriving him of the consciousness of his acts.
10. any other circumstances of a similar nature and analogous to those above mentioned.

D. Aggravating circumstances. — The following are aggravating circumstances:

1. advantage be taken by the offender of his public position.
2. the crime be committed in contempt or with insult to the public authorities.
3. the act be committed with insult or in disregard of the respect due the offended party
4. the act be committed with abuse of confidence or obvious ungratefulness.
5. the crime be committed in the palace of the Chief Executive or in his presence
6. the crime be committed in the night time, or in an uninhabited place, or by a band, whenever such
circumstances may facilitate the commission of the offense.
7. the crime be committed on the occasion of a conflagration, shipwreck, earthquake, epidemic or
other calamity or misfortune.
8. the crime be committed with the aid of armed men or persons who insure or afford impunity.
9. the accused is a recidivist.
10. the offender has been previously punished by an offense to which the law attaches an equal or
greater penalty or for two or more crimes to which it attaches a lighter penalty.
11. the crime be committed in consideration of a price, reward, or promise.
12. the crime be committed by means of inundation, fire, poison, explosion, stranding of a vessel or
international damage thereto, derailment of a locomotive, or by the use of any other artifice involving
great waste and ruin.
13. the act be committed with evident premeditation.
14. the craft, fraud or disguise be employed.
15. advantage be taken of superior strength, or means be employed to weaken the defense.
16. the act be committed with treachery (alevosia).
18. the crime be committed after an unlawful entry.
20. the crime be committed with the aid of persons under fifteen years of age
21. the wrong done in the commission of the crime be deliberately augmented by causing other wrong
not necessary for its commissions.

E. Alternative circumstances - are those which must be taken into consideration as aggravating or
mitigating according to the nature and effects of the crime and the other conditions attending its
commission. They are the relationship, intoxication and the degree of instruction and education of the
offender.
The alternative circumstance of relationship shall be taken into consideration when the offended
party in the spouse, ascendant, descendant, legitimate, natural, or adopted brother or sister, or relative
by affinity in the same degrees of the offender.

19
 The intoxication of the offender shall be taken into consideration as a mitigating circumstances
when the offender has committed a felony in a state of intoxication, if the same is not habitual or
subsequent to the plan to commit said felony but when the intoxication is habitual or intentional, it shall
be considered as an aggravating circumstance.

Table 1. Classification and Duration of Penalty

Classification Penalty Duration
Afflictive Reclusion Perpetua 20 yrs and 1 day to 40 yrs

Reclusion Temporal 12 yrs and 1 day to 20 yrs

Prision Mayor or Temporary Disqualification 6 yrs and 1 day to 12 yrs

Correctional Prision Menor Correccional, suspension and 6 months and 1 day to 6

destierro yrs
Arresto Mayor 1 month and 1 day to 6
months
Light Arresto Menor 1 day to 30 days
Common Bond to Keep the Peace At the court’s discretion

IV. SUMMARY

 Law is a system of principles and processes promulgates and strictly enforced by the State to
regulate the conduct of its citizens as a means of resolving conflicting interests.
 The law is binding on all persons who live or sojourn in Philippine territory. It undertakes to punish
crimes committed within Philippine territory hence it is enforceable only within its territory and it
cannot make an act punishable in a manner in which it was not punishable when committed.
 There are various factors affecting criminal liability (participation and classification) as well as
criminal penalty (aggravating, mitigating, exempting, justifying, and alternative).

V. SELF-ASSESSMENT

CASE ANALYSIS

1. Yves threw muriatic acid on the face of Rey. The injuries would have resulted in deformity were it not
for timely plastic surgery. After the surgery, Rey became more handsome. What crime is committed? Is
it attempted, frustrated or consummated? Explain.

2. Jonathan, a policeman, while waiting for his wife to go home, was suddenly stabbed at the back by
Glenn, a hoodlum, who mistook him for someone else. When Jonathan saw Glenn, he drew his revolver
and went after Glenn. After firing a shot in the air, Glenn did not stop so Jonathan shot Glenn who was
hit at a vital part of the body. Glenn died. Is the act of Jonathan justified?

3. May a crime be committed without criminal intent?

20
 MODULE 8
LEGAL ISSUES AND ETHICS OF FAMILY RELATIONS

I. MOST ESSENTIAL LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this module, the learners are expected to:

 Legally define family and its corresponding types
 Discuss the family as an institution
 Explain other legal grounds related to the familial institution in the practice of the medical
profession.

II. INTRODUCTION

Civil Law concentrates on the rights of every individual involving regulatory measures of his
personal and family relations, his proprietary and successional rights, determination of authority and
obedience, protection of private interest and the the effects of his obligations and contracts (Paras,
2002). This law is derived from the term civility, where it focuses on the behavioral formation of every
individual away from becoming barbarian or savagery. This law forms the Civil Code, thus, the latter is
an aggregate of civil laws.

III. LESSON INPUTS

Persons and Personality

A person is every physical or moral, real or juridical and legal being susceptible of rights and
obligations or being the subject of legal relations (Rabuya, 2006).
Persons v. Things
A person is the subject of legal relations
A thing is the object of legal relations
Personality is the aptitude to be the subject, active or passive, of juridical relations. One is a person,
while one has personality (Rabuya, 2006).
Kinds of persons
1. Natural – Human beings and have physical existence
2. Juridical – Artificial persons and product of legal fiction
Article 40 of the Civil Code provides that human personality is not established at birth but begins
during conception and is known as persumptive personality, for all purposes favorable to it, provided it
be born later under the following conditions in Article 41, only for civil purposes.
1. The fetus is considered born is alive when completely delivered
2. The fetus is not deemed born is it had an intra-uterine life of less than seven months and
dies within 24 hours after completely delivered.
Civil personality is extinguished by death and is determined by law, by contract and by will. The
estate of the deceased person continues the personality of such person for settling priori obligations.

The Capacity to Act

The capacity to act, as part of judicial capacity, consists in the ability to have rights and obligations,
it allows various entities, physical persons and juridical persons, to have the quality of civil law subjects.

Restrictions on Capacity to Act

1. Minority - State of a person who is under the age of legal majority which is eighteen years of age;

21
 2. Insanity – State of a person whose mental faculties are diseased;
3. Deaf-mute – Lacking sense of hearing and the inability to speak;
NOTE: Only deaf-mutes who do not know how to write are declared by law incapable of giving consent.
4. Imbecility – State of a person who while advanced in age has the mental capacity comparable to
that of a child between two and seven years of age;
5. Prodigality – A spendthrift or squanderer;
NOTE: Prodigality per se doesn’t automatically modify or restrict a person’s capacity to act. There must be a
declaration thereof and be placed under guardianship under the Rules on Special Proceeding.
6. Civil Interdiction – An accessory penalty imposed upon an accused who is sentenced to a
principal penalty not lower than reclusion temporal.
NOTE: The following are the effects of civil interdiction:
1. Deprivation of parental or marital authority;
2. Deprivation of the right to be the guardian of the person and property of a ward;
3. Deprivation of his property by act inter vivos; and
4. Deprivation of the right to manage one's properties (Art. 34, RPC).
They do not exempt the incapacitated person from certain obligations.

The Family as an Institution

Article 149 of the Family Code emphasize that, “The Family, being the foundation of the nation is a
basic social institution which public policy cherishes and protects. Consequently, family relations are
governed by law and no customs, practice or agreement destructive of the family shall be recognized or
given effect.”. This is based from Section 1 of Article XV of the 1987 Constitution which recognizes the
Filipino family as the foundation of the nation and the state, shall “recognize the sanctity of family life
and shall protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution.”.
Thus, family relations shall be governed by law and no recognition is given to any custom, practice,
or agreement that is destructive of the family.
The close family ties that bind our people and adherence by a great number of Filipinos to Christian
tenets justify the above constitutional and statutory rules.
While the Family Code discourages legal separation and generally prohibits absolute divorce, it
provides for more grounds for legal separation and provides that marriage of a psychologically
incapacitated person shall be null and void. A limited provision on divorce is now provided in Article 26,
second paragraph, supra. Are these not indications of liberalizing provisions on separation of spouses,
thereby leading to the way of weakening family relations? Why is the family referred to as a basic
autonomous social institution? It just simply means that the family is an independent unit of society that
enjoys freedom from undue interference. Regulatory provisions on the family are designed to solve
conflicts and to bring about peace and harmony.
The Family Code, Art. 150. Family relations include those:
 Between husband and wife;
 Between parents and children;
 Among other accendants and descendants; and
 Among brother and sisters, whether of the full or half-blood.

The above provisions sets forth the composition of the family for the purposes of support, suit
between members of the family, family home, parental authority, and substitute parental authority, etc.
Whenever the word “family” is mentioned elsewhere in this module, it must necessarily refer to the
above article.

The Family Home

The family home, constituted jointly by the husband and the wife or by an unmarried head of a
family, is the dwelling house where they and their family reside, and the land on which it is situated (Art.
152, The Family Code).

22
 There have been drastic changes on family home. The family home is constituted by the Family
Code itself, thereby deleting constitution thereof either judicially or extra-judicially as provided in Article
224 of the Civil Code. Moreover, the maximum actual value of the family home has been increased in
keeping with the present monetary situation in our country.
The main purpose of the articles on family home is to place it beyond the claim of ordinary creditors
and thus, encourage the building of the family home which is the seat and symbol of family affections.
The family home refers to the house (including the land on which it is situated) where the members of
the family reside. It is constituted jointly by the husband and the wife who shall both manage the
household or by the unmarried head of the family.
The family home is composed of the spouses or unmarried head of the family and the dependents
(spouses’ parents, ascendants, descendants, brothers, and sisters, whether legitimate or illegitimate,
who are living in the family home and who depend upon the head of the family for legal support).

Legitimate Children

Article 164 of the Family Code asserts that “Children conceived or born during the marriage of parents
are legitimate. Children conceived as a result of artificial insemination of the wife with the sperm of the
husband or that of a donor or both are likewise legitimate children of the husband and his wife, provided,
that both of them authorized or ratified such insemination in a written instrument executed and signed
by them before the birth of the child. The instrument shall be recorded in the civil registry together with
the birth certificate of the child.”
This article introduced a revolutionary concept of recognizing as legitimate a
(1) child conceived during marriage of parents and
(2) those who are conceived as a result of artificial insemination under certain conditions.
The sperm that may be introduced into the woman may be that of the husband or that of the donor,
or both. Why or the husband? It is possible that the sperm count of the husband by one ejaculation is
insufficient but if done by joining the first discharge with subsequent discharges under scientific
combination, the sperm count attains normalcy and only by artificial insemination may this combined
sperm be introduced into the woman’s body. Or the husband’s semen may be mixed with that of a third
party.
To legitimize a child who is a result of artificial insemination, the following are the conditions:
 Both the spouses authorized or ratified such insemination;
 This authority is made in a written instrument executed and signed by them before the birth
of the child; and
 This instrument shall be recorded in the civil registry together with the birth certificate of the
child.

Artificial insemination may be classified, according to the semen as follows:

 Artificial Insemination Homologous - when sperm comes from the husband
 Artificial Insemination Heterologous - when sperm comes from the donor other than the
husband
 Polled Donor Semen - when the semen comes from the husband and a third party

The following are the obligations imposed on a physician in the selection of donors:
 Proper screening must be made of the donor including chromosomes for genetic defects;
 The donor must have the racial characteristic and physical proportion as those of the
husband and wife and the blood type must be compatible with ABO and Rh genotype of
the wife;
 The physician must ensure that the identity of the donor is not known to the parents and
vice versa

23
  Complete physical examination with standard test for syphilis and gonorrhea is obtained
not more that one week before the seminal fluid is collected.

Art. 165. Children conceived and born outside a valid marriage are illegitimate, unless otherwise
provided in this Code.
The basic rule above is that children born outside a valid marriage are illegitimate. The exceptions
are those provided for in Article 54 of this code which provides: “Children conceived or born before the
judgement of annulment or absolute nullity of marriage under Article 35 has become final and executory
shall be considered legitimate. Children conceived or born of the subsequent marriage under Article 53
shall likewise be legitimate.” Natural children, not legitimated, are illegitimate children.

Art. 166. Legitimacy of a child may be impugned (attacked) on the following grounds:
a) That it was physically impossible for the husband to have sexual intercourse with his wife within
the first 120 days of the 300 days which immediately preceded the birth of the child because of:
b) The physical incapacity of the husband to have sexual intercourse with this wife;
c) The fact that the husband and wife were living separately in such a way that sexual intercourse
was not possible; or
d) Serious illness of the husband, which absolutely prevented sexual intercourse;
e) That it is proved that for biological and other scientific reasons, the child could not have been
that of the husband , except in the instance provided in Article 154; or
f) That in case of children conceived through artificial insemination, the written authorization or
ratification of either parent was obtained through mistake, fraud, violence, intimidation, or
undue influence.
The above article lays down the grounds under which the legitimacy of a child may be impugned
(attacked).
In no. 1, the ground is physical impossibility for the husband to have sexual intercourse with his wife
within the first 120 days of the 300 days that preceded the birth of the child and the causes for this
physical impossibility are set forth by law (above) to wit: (a) Physical incapacity of the husband to have
sexual intercourse as when the husband is concededly impotent (not merely sterile); (b) the fact that the
husband and the wife are both living separately in such a way that they could not have sexual contact
as when the husband lives abroad; or (c) serious illness of the husband in such a way that the illness
prevents the husband from having sexual intercourse with the wife.

IV. SUMMARY

 A person is every physical or moral, real or juridical and legal being susceptible of rights and
obligations or being the subject of legal relations
 Family relations shall be governed by law and no recognition is given to any custom, practice,
or agreement that is destructive of the family.
 Legitimacy of a child is affected by the nature of marriage of his/her parents being valid, void, or
voidable.

V. SELF-ASSESSMENT

Read the case, Chi Ming Tsoi vs. Court of Appeals (G.R. No. 119190 January 16, 1997), using this link
or QR code. Prepare for oral recitation during the scheduled class:

https://lawphil.net/judjuris/juri1997/jan1997/gr_119190_1997.html

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 MODULE 9
LEGAL ISSUES AND ETHICS IN THE WORKPLACE

I. MOST ESSENTIAL LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this module, the learners are expected to:

 Utilize the previous knowledge in understanding public officers law and damages
 Exhibit mastery on ethical practices on government workplaces
 Elucidate legal foundations of ethics in public office

II. INTRODUCTION

Public officers are any person who, by direct provision of the law, popular election or appointment
by competent authority, shall take part in the performance of public functions in the Government of the
Philippine Islands, of shall perform in said Government or in any of its branches public duties as an
employee, agent or subordinate official, of any rank or class, shall be deemed to be a public officer.
“Damages” in legal terms is the sum of money which the law awards or imposes as a pecuniary
compensation, a recompense or satisfaction for an injury done or wrong sustained as a consequence
either of a breach of a contractual obligation or a tortious act.

III. LESSON INPUTS

Unlawful Practices in Public Office. The Anti Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019) provides
various types of unlawful practices in Public Offices. For the sake of this discussion, we will be
highlighting the most essential and prevalent practices.

 Persuading, inducing or influencing another public officer to perform an act constituting a

violation of rules and regulations duly promulgated by competent authority or an offense in
connection with the official duties of the latter, or allowing himself to be persuaded, induced, or
influenced to commit such violation or offense.
 Directly or indirectly requesting or receiving any gift, present, share, percentage, or benefit, for
himself or for any other person, in connection with any contract or transaction between the
Government and any other part, wherein the public officer in his official capacity has to
intervene under the law.
 Directly or indirectly requesting or receiving any gift, present or other pecuniary or material
benefit, for himself or for another, from any person for whom the public officer, in any manner or
capacity, has secured or obtained, or will secure or obtain, any Government permit or license,
in consideration for the help given or to be given, without prejudice to Section thirteen of this
Act.
 Accepting or having any member of his family accept employment in a private enterprise which
has pending official business with him during the pendency thereof or within one year after its
termination.
 Causing any undue injury to any party, including the Government, or giving any private party
any unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference in the discharge of his official
administrative or judicial functions through manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross
inexcusable negligence. This provision shall apply to officers and employees of offices or
government corporations charged with the grant of licenses or permits or other concessions.
 Neglecting or refusing, after due demand or request, without sufficient justification, to act within
a reasonable time on any matter pending before him for the purpose of obtaining, directly or
indirectly, from any person interested in the matter some pecuniary or material benefit or

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 advantage, or for the purpose of favoring his own interest or giving undue advantage in favor of
or discriminating against any other interested party.
 Entering, on behalf of the Government, into any contract or transaction manifestly and grossly
disadvantageous to the same, whether or not the public officer profited or will profit thereby.
 Director or indirectly having financing or pecuniary interest in any business, contract or
transaction in connection with which he intervenes or takes part in his official capacity, or in
which he is prohibited by the Constitution or by any law from having any interest.
 Directly or indirectly becoming interested, for personal gain, or having a material interest in any
transaction or act requiring the approval of a board, panel or group of which he is a member,
and which exercises discretion in such approval, even if he votes against the same or does not
participate in the action of the board, committee, panel or group. Interest for personal gain shall
be presumed against those public officers responsible for the approval of manifestly unlawful,
inequitable, or irregular transaction or acts by the board, panel or group to which they belong.
 Knowingly approving or granting any license, permit, privilege or benefit in favor of any person
not qualified for or not legally entitled to such license, permit, privilege or advantage, or of a
mere representative or dummy of one who is not so qualified or entitled.
 Divulging valuable information of a confidential character, acquired by his office or by him on
account of his official position to unauthorized persons, or releasing such information in
advance of its authorized release date.

Suspension and Right to Salary

1. Suspension is the administrative penalty of now allowing any public officer to perform his or her
official functions for offenses punishable by removal or suspension. This may be classified into
preventive and pending appeal.

Preventive Suspension - is where the public officer is prohibited from performing his or her
official duties for a period of no more than 90 days or as fixed by law pending investigation of the
case filed against him or her. The Supreme Court ruled in GSIS vs Velasco & Molina and explained
the rationale on preventive suspension:

Preventive Suspension pending investigation is not a penalty. It is a measure

intended to enable the disciplining authority to investigate charges against respondent
by preventing the latter from intimidating or in any way influencing witnesses against
him. If the investigation is not finished and a decision is not rendered within that period,
the suspension will be lifted and the respondent will automatically be reinstated.

Pending Appeal - is where the public officer, upon resolution by a competent court or
disciplining authority, is prohibited from performing his or her official duties at a fixed period allowed
by law pending resolution on the appeal raised by the said officer to higher court.

2. Right to Salary. After review by the competent court, and where the appealed penalty imposed
by the disciplining authority is suspension or dismissal, the public officer or employee is entitled for
reinstatement or back salaries or both for the entire preventive suspension period pending appeal.

Damages
The word “damage” is from the Latin word “damnum” or “demo” which means to take away.
Damages therefore refer to the harm done and what may be recovered. “Damages” is the measure of
recovery. Conversely, injury is the illegal invasion of a legal right; damage is the loss, hurt, or harm
which results from the injury; damages are the compensation awarded for the damage suffered.
There can be damage without injury in those instances in which the loss or harm was not the result
of a violation of a legal duty. Example: damnum absque injuria (Custodio v. CA).

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 Fundamentally, a person injured by a breach of contract or by a wrongful act or omission shall have
a fair and just compensation, commensurate with the loss sustained as a consequence of the
defendant’s act. The damages awarded should be equal to, and precisely commensurate with the injury
sustained. However, Aquino (1990) pointed out that a person who exercises his legal rights does no
injury (Que jure sou utitur nullm damnum facit). If damages results from a person’s exercise of his legal
rights, it is damnum absque injuria.

Kinds of Damages (MENTAL)

 Moral - awarded only to enable the injured party to obtain means, diversion or amusement that
will alleviate the moral suffering he has undergone, by reason of defendants’ culpable action
(Philippine Airlines v. CA, 1993).
 Exemplary or corrective - intended to serve as a deterrent to serious wrong doings, and as a
vindication of undue sufferings and wanton invasion of the rights of an injured party or a
punishment for those guilty of outrageous conduct (People v. Orilla, 2004).
 Nominal - vindicating or recognizing the injured party’s right to a property that has been violated
or invaded (Tan v. Bantegui, 2005).
 Temperate or moderate - Temperate damages may be recovered when the court finds that
some pecuniary loss has been suffered but its amount cannot, from the nature of the case, be
proved with certainty.
 Actual or compensatory - Actual or compensatory damages simply make good or replace the
loss caused by the wrong.
 Liquidated - Liquidated damages are frequently agreed upon by the parties, either by way of
penalty or in order to avoid controversy on the amount of damages.

Moral Damages
Moral damages includes physical suffering, mental anguish, fright, serious anxiety, besmirched
reputation, wounded feelings, moral shock, social humiliation, and similar injury (NCC, Art. 2217).
It is awarded to enable the injured party to obtain means, diversions or amusement that will serve to
alleviate the moral suffering he has undergone by reason of the defendant’s culpable action. Moral
damages apply both to natural and juridical persons. It is only when a juridical person has good
reputation that is debased, resulting in social humiliation, that moral damages may be awarded. Thus, a
corporation can be an offended party in an action for defamation, and can recover moral damages.
Moral damages must be understood to be in the concept of grants, not punitive or corrective in
nature, calculated to compensate the claimant for the injury suffered. Act or omission must be with bad
faith. The rule is settled that moral damages cannot be awarded in the absence of a wrongful act or
omission or fraud or bad faith. These are the elements required prior to the recovery of moral damages:
1. An injury clearly sustained by the claimant;
2. A culpable act or omission factually established;
3. The act or omission must be the proximate result of the physical suffering, mental anguish,
fright, serious anxiety, besmirched reputation, wounded feelings, moral shock, social
humiliation and similar injury; and wrongful act or omission of the defendant as the
proximate cause of the injury sustained by the claimant;
4. The award of damages predicated on any of the cases stated in Art. 2219 (Amado v.
Salvador, 2007).
Trial courts are given discretion to determine moral damages and the Court of Appeals can only
modify or change the amount awarded when they are palpably and scandalously excessive “so as to
indicate that it was the result of passion, prejudice or corruption on the part of the trial court”. Thus,
there is no hard and fast rule in the determination of what would be a fair amount of moral damages,
since each case must be governed by its own peculiar circumstances.
An award for the death of a person does not cover the case of an unborn foetus that is not endowed
with personality. The damages recoverable by the parents of an unborn child are limited to moral

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damages for the illegal arrest of the normal development of the foetus on account of distress and
anguish attendant to its loss.
To recover moral damages, the plaintiff must allege and prove:
1. The factual basis for moral damages and
2. The causal relation to the defendant’s act
Finally, by declaring petitioner as psychologically incapacitated, the possibility of awarding moral
damages is negated, which is proved by specific evidence that it was done deliberately. Thus, if the
grant of moral damages is not proper, it follows that the grant of exemplary damages cannot stand since
the Civil Code provides that exemplary damages are imposed in addition to moral, temperate, liquidated
or compensatory damages (Buenaventura v. CA, 2005).

IV. SUMMARY

 Public officers are any person who performs in the Government or in any of its branches a
public duty as an employee, agent or subordinate official, of any rank or class.
 “Damages” is the sum of money which the law awards or imposes as a pecuniary
compensation, a recompense or satisfaction for an injury done or wrong sustained as a
consequence either of a breach of a contractual obligation or a tortious act.
 Moral damages may be awarded in appropriate cases referred to in the chapter on human
relations of the Civil Code (Articles 19 to 36), without need of proof that the wrongful act
complained of had caused any physical injury upon the complainant.

V. SELF-ASSESSMENT

Read the case, Ventanilla vs. Centeno (G.R. No. 119190 January 16, 1997), using this link or QR code.

https://lawphil.net/judjuris/juri1961/jan1961/gr_l-14333_1961.html

Summarize the case, determining the following:

1. Facts - essential facts that propelled the case to prosper
2. Issue - what legal matter is being talked about?
3. Ruling - what is the decision of the court?

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 EXAMINATION REVIEW
Answer the following questions on the basis of your learning this term. Answer key is provided at the
next page. This is not recorded and for self-study only.

1. Who among the following accused is entitled to a privilege of mitigating circumstance that would lower the
imposable penalty by one degree?
a) A minor above 15 years old and below 18 years old who acted with discernment.
b) One who, in fulfillment of his duty to carry out the warrant of arrest of a fugitive, shot the fugitive to death
without ascertaining his identity.
c) One who defended himself against an unlawful aggression but used unreasonable means and gave
provocation.
d) All of the above.
2. Complete the statement: The death of the accused extinguishes his criminal liability but civil liability is not
extinguished____________.
a) when the death of the accused occurred before conviction
b) when the death of the accused occurred after conviction and after he has perfected his appeal from
conviction
c) when the death of the accused occurred during the pendency of his appeal
d) when the death of the accused occurred after final judgment
3. Out of spite and simply intending to put Gina to shame for breaking off with him, Ritchie emptied a gallon of
motor oil on the school's stairway where Gina usually passed. Gina, unaware of what Ritchie did, used the slippery
stairway and slipped, hitting her head on the stairs. Gina died from brain hemorrhage. What crime did Ritchie
commit?
a) Murder c) Homicide
b) Reckless imprudence resulting to homicide d) None of the above
4. When the offender performs all the acts of execution which would produce the felony as a consequence but
which, nevertheless, do not produce it by reason or causes independent to the will of the perpetrator, what degree
of crime participation takes place?
a) Attempted c) Frustrated
b) Consummated d) None of the above
5. X and Y who are first cousins were married through a ceremony officiated by their grandfather who is not
authorized to officiate marriage. Years later, they have not produced any biological offspring and went legally
separated. They have a legally adopted child who is a son of their cousin. What would be the relationship of A and
B to the father of their legally adopted child’s mother?
a) Grandfather c) Cousin
b) Brother-in-Law d) Uncle
6. Which of the following is the closest relative to a deceased millionaire?
a) Granddaughter c) Wife’s illegitimate child
b) Brother-in-Law d) Mother
7. This basic law cover the legal bounds of marriage and family relations in the Philippines.
a) Revised Penal Code c) Civil Code
b) Local Government Code d) Family Code
8. This court have the jurisdiction over offenses committed by public officers.
a) Supreme Court c) Court of Appeals
b) Trial Court d) Sandiganbayan
9. An unborn fetus with no endowed personality do not have a capacity of acquiring moral damages.
a) Absolutely True
b) Absolutely False
c) Neither True nor False
d) None of the above
10. Public officers are persons with vested authority from any of the following except:
a) Direct provision of the law c) Appointment
b) Popular election d) None of the above

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 ETHICS
MIDTERM

References and Resources:

Articulo & Florendo. Values and Work Ethics. Trinitas Publishing, Inc., 2003
Cruz, Corazon L. Contemporary Ethics, National Book Store, 1993.
Fromm, Erick. Escape from Freedom, 1941
Holy Bible. The Gideons International.
Montemayor, Felix M. Introduction to Philosophy, National Book Store, 1995.
Palispis, E. S. Introduction to Values Education. Rex Bookstore, 1995.
Ramirez & Beltran (2004), “Man, Values, and Work Ethics”
Zulueta, F. M., Human Behaviour in Organizations. National Bookstore, 2002.

Prepared and Designed By:

ALVIN KRIS B. ALIC

Course Facilitator
e-mail ad: [email protected]; Messenger Acct. Name: Alvin Alic

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