Article III

Bill of Rights
Section 4. No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of
expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble
and petition the government for redress of grievances.

When particular conduct is regulated in the interest of

public order and the regulation results in an indirect,
conditional or partial abridgement of speech, the duty of
the courts is to determine which of the 2 conflicting
interests demands the greater protection under the
particular circumstance presented

C. Freedom of Expression and the electoral process

A. Prior restraint
There need not be total suppression.
o
Even restriction of circulation constitutes censorship.
Movie classification not censorship.
A public figures right to privacy is narrower than that of an
ordinary citizen.
OBrien Test

Test of valid government regulation:

1) Within the constitutional power of the government;
2) It furthers an important or substantial government
interest;
3) The governmental interest is unrelated to the
suppression of free expression;
4) The incidental restriction is no greater than is essential
to the furtherance of that interest.

D. Freedom of Expression and the Courts

E. Libel
A privileged communication may be either:
1) Absolutely privileged communication

Those which are not actionable even if the author has

acted in bad faith.

Ex: Parliamentary immunity of legislators.

ARTICLE VI
THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT
Section 11. A Senator or Member of the House of
Representatives shall, in all offenses punishable by not
more than six years imprisonment, be privileged from
arrest while the Congress is in session. No Member shall
be questioned nor be held liable in any other place for any
speech or debate in the Congress or in any committee
thereof.

Overbreadth Doctrine

Prohibits government from achieving its purpose by means

that sweep constitutionally protected and unprotected activity

B. Subsequent punishment
Tests of valid governmental interference:
1 ) Clear and present danger rule
Whether the words are used in such circumstances and
of such nature as to create a clear and present danger
that they will bring about the substantive evils that the
State has the right to prevent.
o Traceable to ideas expressed
o Present

Time element.
o Clear
Causal connection between danger
and the utterance
o Danger

Not only probable but inevitable.

2)

3)

Dangerous tendency rule

Natural tendency and the probable effect of the
utterance were to bring about the substantive evil that
the legislative body seeks to prevent.
Balance of interests test

2)

Qualifiedly privileged communications

Those containing defamatory imputations are not

actionable unless found to have been made without good
intention AND/OR justifiable motive.

To this genre belong "private communications" and "fair

and true report without any comments or remarks."

F. Obscenity and indecency

Miller Test:
1) Whether the average person, applying contemporary standards,
would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient
interest;
2) Whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive
way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable statute;
3) Whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious artistic, political
or scientific value.
G. Assembly and petition

If the assembly is to be held in a public place, a permit for the use

of such place, and not for the assembly, may be validly required.
1

Section 5. No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or

prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of
religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall
forever be allowed. No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or
political rights.

2 Guarantees:
1) Non- establishment
2) Freedom of Religion

A. Non-establishment of religion

The State cannot set up a church nor pass laws which aid one
religion, all or prefer one over another, nor force or influence a
person to go or remain away from church against his will or
force him to profess a belief or disbelief in any religion
B. Free exercise of religion
Aspects of freedom of religious profession and worship:
1) Right to believe

Absolute.
2) Right to act according to ones beliefs

S ubject to regulation
Benevolent neutrality

Recognizes that government must pursue its secular goals and

interests but at the same time strive to uphold religious liberty
to the greatest extent possible within flexible constitutional
limits

Section 6. The liberty of abode and of changing the same within the limits
prescribed by law shall not be impaired except upon lawful order of the court.
Neither shall the right to travel be impaired except in the interest of national
security, public safety, or public health, as may be provided by law.

A. Liberty of abode and of travel

Section 7. The right of the people to information on matters of public concern
shall be recognized. Access to official records, and to documents and papers
pertaining to official acts, transactions, or decisions, as well as to government
research data used as basis for policy development, shall be afforded the
citizen, subject to such limitations as may be provided by law.
A. Right to information
Exceptions - Right does not extend to:
1) Matters recognized as privileged information rooted in separation
of powers;
2) Information on military and diplomatic secrets;
3) Information affecting national security;
4) Information on investigations of crimes;

The right to information not being discretionary, its performance

may be compelled by a writ of mandamus.

Section 8. The right of the people, including those employed in the public and
private sectors, to form unions, associations, or societies for purposes not
contrary to law shall not be abridged.
Scope: The right to form, or join, unions or associations, includes:
1) Right not to join; or
2) If one is already a member, the right to disaffiliate from the
association.

The ability to strike is NOT ESSENTIAL to the right of association.

The right of association is NOT ABSOLUTE.

A. Government employees

B. Public use

Section 9. Private property shall not be taken for public use without just
compensation.

C. Just compensation
D. Judicial review

A. Elements of "taking"
Requisites for exercise of the power of eminent domain:
1. Necessity.
2. Private property.
3. Taking in the constitutional sense.

May include:
a) Trespass without actual eviction of the owner;
b) Material impairment of the value of the
property; or
c) Prevention of the ordinary uses for which the
property was intended.
Requisites for valid taking:
1) Expropriator must enter a private property;
2) Entry must be for more than a momentary period;
3) Entry must be under warrant or color of authority;
4) Property must be devoted to public use or
otherwise informally appropriated or injuriously
affected; and
5) Utilization of the property must be in such a way
as to oust the owner and deprive him of
beneficial enjoyment of the property.
4.
5.

Section 10. No law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be passed.

Impairment

It is anything that diminishes the efficacy of the contract.

Limitations:
1) Police Power
o
Reason: Public welfare is superior to
private rights.
2) Eminent Domain
3) Taxation

Franchises, privileges, licenses, etc., do not come within the

context of Sec. 10.

Public use
Just compensation

Full and fair equivalent of the property taken.

Fair market value of the property.

Market value
o
That sum of money which a person desirous abut
not compelled to buy, and an owner, willing but
not compelled to sell, would agree on as price to
be given and received therefor.
Reckoning point of market value:
a) Date of filing of the complaint for eminent domain; or
b) Date of taking
o
Where the filing occurs after the actual taking of
the property and the owner would be given
undue incremental advantages arising from the
use of which the government devotes the
property expropriated.
= , + .
.

6.

Due process of law.

Fruit of the poisonous tree

Once the primary source is shown to have been unlawfully

obtained, any secondary or derivative evidence derived from it
is also inadmissible.
Section 11. Free access to the courts and quasi-judicial bodies and adequate
legal assistance shall not be denied to any person by reason of poverty.

Section 12.
(1)

(2)

(3)
(4)

Any person under investigation for the commission of an offense shall

have the right to be informed of his right to remain silent and to have
competent and independent counsel preferably of his own choice. If
the person cannot afford the services of counsel, he must be provided
with one. These rights cannot be waived except in writing and in the
presence of counsel.
No torture, force, violence, threat, intimidation, or any other means
which vitiate the free will shall be used against him. Secret detention
places, solitary, incommunicado, or other similar forms of detention
are prohibited.
Any confession or admission obtained in violation of this or Section 17
hereof shall be inadmissible in evidence against him.
The law shall provide for penal and civil sanctions for violations of this
Section as well as compensation to the rehabilitation of victims of
torture or similar practices, and their families.

Exclusionary rule

Confession or admission obtained in violation of Sec. 12 and 17

of Art 3, shall be inadmissible in evidence.
Section 17. No person shall be compelled to be a witness against
himself.

Exception: Failure of the accused to object to the offer in

evidence of the uncounseled confession

Confession

A declaration made voluntarily and without compulsion or

inducement by a person acknowledging that he has committed
or participated in the commission of a crime.

Any allegation of force, duress, undue influence or other

forms of involuntariness in exacting such confession must be
proved by clear, convincing and competent evidence by the
defense.

Res Gestae

D eclaration of the accused acknowledging guilt may be given

in evidence against him by the police officer to whom the
admission was made, as part of res gestae.

A. Rights under Section 12: origins and rationale

First institutionalized in the 1973 Constitution, rights guaranteed

therein are to be given only prospective effect.
B.

When the rights become available

In-custody investigation

Any questioning initiated by law enforcement officers after a

person has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his
freedom of action in any significant way.

Custodial investigation shall include the practice of issuing an

invitation to a person who is investigated in connection with an
offense he is suspected to have committed.

Rule begins to operate at once as soon as the investigation

ceases to be a general inquiry into an unsolved crime, and
direction is then aimed upon a particular suspect who has been
taken into custody and to whom the police would then direct
interrogatory questions which tend to elicit incriminating
statements.

DOES NOT apply to:

1) A spontaneous statement, not elicited through
questioning by the authorities but given in an ordinary
manner whereby the suspect orally admitted having
committed the offense.
2) Admissions or confessions made by a suspect before
he was placed under custodial investigation.
C. Police line -ups: paraffin test: signature

A police line-up is not considered a part of any custodial

inquest.
o
It is conducted before that stage of investigation is
reached.

Out-court identification may be made by:

1) Show-up

Accused is brought face to face with the witnesses for

identification.
2)
Police line-up
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of the accused who can impede, nay obstruct the

progress of the interrogation by simply selecting a
lawyer, who, for one reason or another, is not
available to protect his interest.

S uspect is identified by a witness from a group of

persons gathered for that purpose.
In a police line-up, the process has not yet shifted from
the investigatory to accusatory stage.

The signing of the accused of the booking sheet and arrest report
is not a part of custodial investigation.
o
I t is no more than a record of arrest and a statement on
how the arrest was made.

D. Right to counsel

It is intended to preclude the slightest coercion as would lead the

accused to admit something false

It attaches upon the start of the investigation.

The lawyer, should never prevent an accused from freely and

voluntarily telling the truth.

The right to counsel is not required in a police line-up, neither

may this be invoked when the suspect is given a paraffin test
as he is not yet under custodial investigation.
Before parents, brothers or sisters, spouse, mayor, municipal judge,
district school supervisor, or priest or minister of the gospel can appear,
2 conditions must be met:
1) Counsel of the accused is absent
2) A valid waiver had been executed
In the absence of a valid waiver, none of the abovenamed persons can stand in lieu of counsel.

SC requires that the counsel be independent.

o Thus, he cannot be a special counsel, public or
private prosecutor, counsel of the police, or a
municipal attorney these are those whose interest
is admittedly adverse to the accused
HOWEVER, the mere fact that the lawyer was a retired
member of the Judge Advocates Office does not case any
doubt on his impartiality in assisting the accused.
The phrase preferably of his own choice does not convey
the message that the choice of a lawyer by a person under
investigation is exclusive as to preclude other equally
competent and independent attorneys from handling the
defense. The constitutional requirement is satisfied when a
counsel is engaged by anyone acting in behalf of the person
under investigation, or appointed by the court upon petition
by said person or by someone on his behalf.
o
REASON: To hold otherwise, the tempo of
custodial investigation will be solely in the hands

Confessions/admissions obtained in violation of rights are

inadmissible in evidence.

Two kinds of involuntary or coerced confessions:

1) Coerced confessions

Product of third degree methods.

o i.e. torture, force, etc.
2) Uncounseled statements given without the benefit of the
Miranda warning

Even if the extrajudicial confession was in writing and

signed by counsel, because the accused was not
given the Miranda warnings, the confession was held
to be inadmissible in evidence.

Competent and Independent

It is required for the lawyer to be willing to safeguard the
constitutional rights of the accused, as distinguished from one
who would merely be giving a routine, peremptory and
meaningless recital of the individuals constitutional rights.

A lawyer provided by the investigators is deemed engaged by

the accused when he does not raise any objection against the
counsels appointment during the course of the investigation,
and the accused subscribes to the veracity of the statement
before the swearing officer.

Constitutional procedures on custodial investigation do not

apply to the spontaneous statements NOT ELICITED through
questioning by the authorities, but given in an ordinary manner
whereby the accused orally admitted having committed the
crime.
o
Reason: The bill of rights does not concern itself with
the relationship of private individual and another
individual.

Section 13. All persons, except those charged with offenses punishable
by reclusion perpetua when evidence of guilt is strong, shall, before
conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, or be released on
recognizance as may be provided by law. The right to bail shall not be
impaired even when the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus is
suspended. Excessive bail shall not be required.
Bail

The security given for the release of a person in custody of the

law, furnished by him or a bondsman, conditioned upon his
appearance before any court as may be required.

Basic principle: Right of bail can be availed of only by a person who is in

custody of the law or otherwise deprived of his liberty.

It would be premature, not to say incongruous, to file a petition

for bail for someone whose freedom has yet to be curtailed.

Any person under detention, even if no formal charges have yet

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been filed, can invoke the right to bail.

A. Right to bail or recognizance

Emanates from the right to be presumed innocent.

Bail as a matter of right
1)

Before or after conviction

by the MeTC, MTC, MTCC
and MCTC;

2)

Before conviction by the

RTC of an offense not
punishable
by
death,
Reclusion perpetual or life
imprisonment.

Bail, when discretionary

1)

Upon

conviction

by the

RTC of an offense not

punishable
by
death,
Reclusion perpetua or life
imprisonment.

Whether bail is a matter of right or discretionary, reasonable notice of

hearing is required to be given to the prosecutor, or at least he must be
asked for his recommendation for the fixing of the amount for bail.

Exemptions to the right of bail:

1) When charged with an offense punishable by reclusion perpetua
or higher and evidence of guilt is strong.
2) Traditionally, the right to bail is not available to the military.

Does not violate EPC because there is a substantial

distinction between the military and civilians.

B.

Waiver of the right

Another of the constitutional rights which can be waived.

The failure of the accused to call the attention of the trial court to
the unresolved petition for bail is deemed a waiver of the right to
bail.

C. Excessive bail

When bail is denied: When the accused is charged with a capital

offense, or an offense punishable by reclusion perpetua or higher
and evidence of guilt is strong

If the court imposes a penalty of imprisonment exceeding 6

years but not more than 20 years, the accused shall be denied
bail, or his bail previously granted shall be cancelled, upon a
showing by the prosecution, of the following or other similar
circumstances:
1)
Accused is a recidivist, quasi-recidivist or habitual
delinquent, or has committed the crime aggravated
by the circumstance of reiteracion;
2)
Accused is found to have previously escaped from
legal confinement, evaded sentence or has violated
the conditions of his bail without valid justification;
3)
Accused committed the offense while on probation,
parole, or under conditional pardon;
4)
The circumstances of the accused or his case indicate
the probability of flight if released on bail;
5)
There is undue risk that during the pendency of the
appeal, the accused may commit another crime.

The guidelines in the fixing of bail:

1. Ability of the accused to give bail
2. Nature of the offense
3. Penalty for the offense charged
4. Character and reputation of the accused
5. Health of the accused
6. Character and strength of the evidence
7. Probability of the accused appearing in trial
8. Forfeiture of other bonds
9. Whether the accused was a fugitive from justice when arrested
10. If the accused is under bond for appearance at trial in
other cases

Standards for Fixing Bail:

1) Financial ability of the accused
2) The nature and circumstance of the offense
3) The penalty for the offense charged
4) The character and reputation of the accused
5) His age and health
6) The weight of the evidence against him
7) The probability of his appearing at the trial
8) The forfeiture of other bonds by him
9) The fact that he was a fugitive from justice when arrested
10) Pendency of other cases in which he is under bond
6

Section 14.
(1)
(2)

No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense without

due process of law.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall be presumed
innocent until the contrary is proved, and shall enjoy the right to be
heard by himself and counsel, to be informed of the nature and
cause of the accusation against him, to have a speedy, impartial,
and public trial, to meet the witnesses face to face, and to have
compulsory process to secure the attendance of witnesses and the
production of evidence in his behalf. However, after arraignment,
trial may proceed notwithstanding the absence of the accused:
Provided, that he has been duly notified and his failure to appear is
unjustifiable.

Standards whenever the accused pleads guilty to a capital offense:

1) Trial court must conduct a searching inquiry into the
voluntariness of the plea and the full comprehension of the
consequences thereof;
2) The prosecution shall be required to present evidence to prove
the guilt of the accused and the precise degree of his
culpability;
3) The accused must be asked if he desires to present evidence
on his behalf and allow him to do so if he so desires.

Criminal Due Process (Mejia v. Pamaran):

1) The accused is heard in a court of competent jurisdiction;
2) The accused is proceeded against under the orderly processes
of law;
3) The accused has been given notice and the opportunity to be
heard;
4) The judgment rendered was within the authority of a
constitutional law.

A. Military tribunals
B. Due process

Every circumstance favoring the innocence of the accused must

be taken into account.
Can be invoked ONLY by an individual accused of a criminal
offense, not a corporate entity.
The presumption that official duty was regularly performed
cannot, by itself, prevail over the constitutional presumption of
innocence.

Circumstantial evidence
I n order that circumstantial
evidence may warrant
conviction, the following requisites must concur:
1) There is more than one circumstance;
2) The facts from which the inferences are derived
are proven;
3) The combination of all the circumstances is such
as to produce a conviction beyond reasonable
doubt.
Equipoise rule
A pplies only where the evidence adduced by the parties are
evenly balanced, in which case, the constitutional presumption of
innocence should title the scales in favor of the accused.
D. Right to counsel

D uring trial, it is not subject to waiver

Instances when right to counsel may not be waived:
1) During the trial;
2) No valid waiver of the right to remain silent or to counsel under
custodial investigation without the assistance of counsel.
E. Right to be informed
Rationale:
1) To furnish the accused with such a description of the charge
against him as will enable him to prepare for his defense.
2) To avail himself of his conviction or acquittal from protection
against a further prosecution for the same cause.
3) To inform the Court of the facts alleged, so that it may decide
whether they are sufficient in law to support a conviction.
Requisites:
1) Information must state the name of the accused;
1. The designation given to the offense by statute;
2. A statement of the acts or omission so complained of as constituting
an offense;
3. Name of the offended party;
4. Approximate time and date of the commission of the offense;
5. Place where the offense had been committed;
6. Facts and circumstances that have a bearing on the culpability and
liability of the accused.

C. Presumption of innocence
7

Void for vagueness rule

A ccused is denied the right to be informed and due process
where the statute itself is couched in such indefinite language.
Waiver
T he right to be informed of the nature of the cause of the
accusation against the accused may not be waived, but the
defense may waive the right to enter a plea and let the court
enter a plea of not guilty.
HOWEVER, it is different if the accused himself refused to be
informed of the nature and cause of the accusation by not
reading the information.

F.

Right to speedy trial

A trial free from vexatious, capricious and oppressive

delays.

Accused is entitled to dismissal, equivalent to acquittal, if

trial is unreasonably delayed.
o
What
offends
the
right
are
unjustified
postponements which prolong
trial for an
unreasonable length of time.

The right to a speedy trial does not preclude the peoples

equally important right to public justice.

Interests
1)
2)
3)

protected by the right to speedy trial:

To prevent oppressive pre-trial incarceration;
To minimize anxiety and concern of the accused;
To limit the possibility that the defense will be impaired.

G. Right to impartial trial

T he accused is entitled to the cold neutrality of an impartial
judge.
H.

Right to public trial

Intended to prevent possible abuses which may be committed
against the accused (This right belongs to the accused not the
public)
A public trial aims to ensure that he is fairly dealt with and
would not be unjustly condemned and that his rights are not
compromised in secret conclaves of long ago.
o
Not synonymous with a publicized trial.

Compulsory Process

T o secure the attendance of witnesses and the production

of evidence.
2 kinds of subpoena:
1) Subpoena ad testificandum

Used to compel a person to testify.

2) Subpoena duces tecum
Used to compel the production of books, records, things,
or documents therein specified.
Test when subpoena duces tecum may be issued:
1. The books, documents, or other things requested must
appear prima facie relevant to the issue subject of the
controversy.
o
Test of relevancy.
2. Such books must be reasonably described by the parties
to be readily identified.
o
Test of definiteness
Requisites for compulsory processes:
1) The evidence is really material;
2) The accused is not guilty of neglect in previously obtaining the
production of such evidence;
3) The evidence will be available at the time desired;
4) No similar evidence can be obtained.
J. Trial in absentia; right to be present
Purpose: to speed up the disposition of criminal cases, trial of which could,
in the past, be indefinitely deferred and many times completely
abandoned because of the defendants escape.
Mandatory: Whenever the accused has been arraigned, notified of
date/s of hearing, and his absence is unjustified.

Even after the accused has waived further appearance during

the trial, he can be ordered arrested by the court for nonappearance upon summons to appear for purposes of
identification.

I. Compulsory process / confrontation

Section 15. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be
suspended except in cases of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety
requires it.

Confrontation

Right to cross-examine complainant and witnesses.

Right may be waived.

Testimony of a witness who has not submitted himself to

cross- examination is not admissible in evidence.

Writ of Habeas Corpus

A writ issued by the court directed to a person detaining another,

commanding him to produce the body of the prisoner at a designated
time and place, with the day and cause of his caption and detention, to
do, to submit to, and to receive whatever the court or judge awarding
the writ shall consider in his behalf.
8

The writ will not issue where the person alleged to be restrained of
liberty is in the custody of an officer under a process issued by the
court which has jurisdiction to do so.

A state of martial law does not suspend the operation of the

Constitution, nor supplant the functioning of the civil courts or
legislative assemblies, nor authorize the conferment of jurisdiction on
military courts and agencies over civilians where civil courts are able
to function, nor automatically suspend the privilege of the writ.

Purpose of the writ: Relieve a person from unlawful restraint.

It is essentially a writ of inquiry and is granted to test the right under

which he was detained.
When available:
1) A speedy and effectual remedy to relieve persons from unlawful
restraint and is the best and only sufficient defense of personal
freedom;
2) As a consequence of judicial proceeding when:
a) There has been deprivation of a constitutional right
resulting in the restraint of the person;
b) The court has no jurisdiction to impose the sentence; or
c) An excessive penalty has been imposed, since such
sentence is void as to the excess.

The suspension of the privilege of the writ shall apply only to persons
judicially charged for rebellion or offenses inherent in or directly
connected with invasion.
During the suspension of the privilege of the writ, any person thus
arrested or detained shall be judicially charged within three days,
otherwise he shall be released.

The suspension shall apply only to persons judicially charged for

rebellion or offenses inherent in or directly connected with invasion.
The suspension of the writ of habeas corpus does not suspend the
right to bail.

Procedure: There is need to comply with the writ (officer), disobedience thereof
constitutes contempt of court.
Ground for suspension of the writ of habeas corpus: In case of invasion or
rebellion, the President may for a period not exceeding 60 days suspend
the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus.
Article VII
THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT
Section 18. The President shall be the Commander-in-Chief of all
armed forces of the Philippines and whenever it becomes necessary,
he may call out such armed forces to prevent or suppress lawless
violence, invasion or rebellion. In case of invasion or rebellion, when
the public safety requires it, he may, for a period not exceeding sixty
days, suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or place the
Philippines or any part thereof under martial law. Within forty-eight
hours from the proclamation of martial law or the suspension of the
privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, the President shall submit a
report in person or in writing to the Congress. The Congress, voting
jointly, by a vote of at least a majority of all its Members in regular or
special session, may revoke such proclamation or suspension, which
revocation shall not be set aside by the President. Upon the initiative
of the President, the Congress may, in the same manner, extend such
proclamation or suspension for a period to be determined by the
Congress, if the invasion or rebellion shall persist and public safety
requires it.
The Congress, if not in session, shall, within twenty-four hours
following such proclamation or suspension, convene in accordance
with its rules without need of a call.
The Supreme Court may review, in an appropriate proceeding filed by
any citizen, the sufficiency of the factual basis of the proclamation of
martial law or the suspension of the privilege of the writ or the
extension thereof, and must promulgate its decision thereon within
thirty days from its filing.

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