Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Conceptofabillofrights 141012024655 Conversion Gate02
Conceptofabillofrights 141012024655 Conversion Gate02
CLASSES OF RIGHTS
1. Natural Rights –those possessed by every citizen without being granted by the
State for they are given to man by God as human being created to His image that
he may live a happy life.
2. Civil Rights – a law which secures private individuals for the purpose of securing
enjoyment of their means of happiness.
3. Social and Economic Rights – intended to insure the well – being and economic
security of an individual.
4. Rights of the Accused – intended for the protection of a person accused of any
crime.
STATE AUTHORITY AND INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM
SEC. 1: No Person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law,
nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws.
Any deprivation of life, liberty, or property by the State is with due process if it is done:
1. Under the authority of the law that is valid or the Constitution itself; and
2. After compliance with fair and reasonable methods of procedure required by law.
a. In judicial proceedings
a1. An impartial court clothe by law with authority to hear and determine the
matter before it;
a2. Jurisdiction lawfully acquired over the person of the defendant or property
which is the subject matter of the proceeding;
a3. Opportunity to be heard given the defendant; and
a4. Judgment to be rendered after lawful hearing.
b. In administrative proceedings
PERSONS PROTECTED – All persons within the territorial Jurisdiction of the Philippines, without
regard to any difference of race, color, or nationality, including aliens.
MEANING OF LIFE – Something more than mere animal existence. The prohibition against its
deprivation without due process extends to all the limbs and faculties by which life is enjoyed.
MEANING OF LIBERTY – The right of man to use its faculties with which he has been endowed
by his Creator subject only to the limitations that he does not violate the law or the rights of
others.
1. Deprivation of life – the loss of any of the various physical and mental attributes which
man must have to live as a human being. It is the very foundation of human rights.
2. Deprivation of liberty – that one is unduly prevented from acting the way he wishes to
do.
A. MEANING OF EQUAL PROTECTION OF THE LAW – signifies that all persons subject to
legislation should be treated alike under circumstances and conditions both in the privileges
conferred and liabilities imposed.
SEC. 2: The Right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects
against unreasonable searches and seizures of whatever nature and whatever purpose shall
be inviolable, and no search warrant or warrant of arrest shall issue except upon probable
cause to be determined personally by the judge after examination under oath or affirmation
of the complainant and the witness he may produce and particularly describing the place to
be searched and the persons or things to be seized.
C. WHEN SEARCH AND SEIZURE UNREASONABLE – In general, all illegal searches and
seizures are unreasonable while lawful ones are reasonable.
G. SUFFICIENCY OF DESCRIPTION
1. Proper party to invoke right – the legality of search and seizure can be contested
only by the party whose personal rights were involved.
2. Right subject to waver – Without proper search warrant, no public official has the
right to enter the premises of another without his consent for the purpose of
search and seizure.
SEC. 3: (1) The privacy of communication and correspondence shall be inviolable except upon
lawful order of the court, or when public safety or order requires otherwise as prescribed by
the law.
(2) Any evidence obtained in violation of this or the preceding section shall be
inadmissible for any purpose in any proceeding.
1. Permissible interference.
a. Upon lawful order of the court; or
b. When public safety or order requires otherwise as prescribed by law.
2. Intervention of the court.
MEANING OF WRIT OF HABEAS DATA – is a judicial remedy available to any individual whose
right to privacy in life, liberty, or security is violated or threatened by an unlawful act or
omission of a public official or employee or of a private individual or entity engaged in
gathering, collecting, or storing of data or information regarding the person, family, home, and
correspondence of the aggrieved party.
A. PURPOSE OF THE WRIT – to secure the privacy of an individual by way of regulating the
processing of personal information or data about him.
B. HOW WRIT OPERATES – Any aggrieved party may file a petition in court for the writ of
habeas data. The court shall issue the writ which shall be served upon the respondent
who shall file a written return under oath with supporting affidavits.
SEC. 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.
1. “Speech” and “expression” cover any form of oral utterances such as protests as
expression of opinion about subjects of public concern.
2. The “press” covers any sort of publications as instruments for mass
communication.
2. The right of petition means the right of any person or group of persons, to apply
without fear of penalty to the appropriate branch or office of government for
redress of grievances.
SEC. 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.
1. Meaning of terms
a. A religious test is one demanding the avowal or repudiation of a certain religious
beliefs before the performance of any act.
b. The expression of civil political rights (supra) is to be understood as including the
individual right safeguarded by the Constitution and statutory laws.
REASON FOR PROVISION – Without such prohibition, religious freedom becomes meaningless.
The State without such a bar, notwithstanding the doctrine of its separation from the Church,
could in fact accord preference to a religious organization.
SEC. 6: The liberty of abode and of changing the same within the limit prescribed by law shall
not be impaired except upon lawful order of the court. Neither shall the right to travel be
impaired in the interest of national security, public safety or public health, as may be
provided by law.
1. Permissible interference. – The right is qualified by the clauses “except upon lawful
order of the court” and “except in the interest of the national security, and public safety
or public health as may be provided by law.
2. Intervention of the court. – Note that under the second limitation, a court order is not
necessary. The determination of the proper executive officer (President) is subject to
judicial reviews.
A person whose liberty of abode is violated may petition for a writ of habeas corpus
against another holding him in detention.
SEC. 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 limitations as maybe provided by
law.
SEC. 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.
2. By enabling individuals to unite in the performance of tasks, which singly they would be
unable to accomplish, such associations relieve the government of a vast burden.
SEC. 9: Private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation.
a. They all rest upon necessity because there can be no effective government without them;
b. They are inherent in sovereignty; hence, they can be exercised even without being
expressly granted in the Constitution although the conditions for their exercise may be
regulated and limited by the Constitution and bylaw;
c. They are ways by which the State interferes with private rights and property;
d. They are all legislative in character; and
e. They all presuppose an equivalent compensation received, directly or indirectly, by the
person affected by the exercise of these powers by the government.
Meaning of Eminent Domain - is the right or power of the State or of those to whom the power
has been lawfully delegated to take private property for public use upon paying to the owner a
just compensation to be ascertained according to law.
Meaning of “taking”
1. Actual physical seizure not essential.
2. The “taking” must be direct.
Meaning of Police Power - has been referred to as the power of the State to enact such laws or
regulations in relation to persons and property as my promote public health, public morals,
public safety, and the general welfare and convince of the people.
Basis of police power
Based on two Latin maxims, salus populi suprema est lex (the welfare of the people is the
supreme law), and sic utere tuo ut alienum non laedas (so use your own as not to injure
another’s property)
Meaning of taxation - is the power of the state to impose charge or burden upon persons,
property, or property rights, for the use and support of the government and to enable it to
discharge its appropriate functions.
1. The power of taxation proceeds upon the theory that the existence of government is a
necessity that it cannot continue without means to pay its expenses, and that for these
means it has a right to compel all its citizens and property within its limits to contribute.
2. The basis of taxation is found in the reciprocal duties of protection and support between
the State and its inhabitants.
Meaning of taxes - are the enforced proportional contributions from persons and property
levied by the lawmaking body of the State by virtue of its sovereignty for the support of the
government and all public needs.
Meaning of obligation of a contract - is the law or duty which binds the parties to perform their
agreement according to its terms or intent, if it is not contrary to law, morals, good customs,
public order, or public policy.
Scope of terms “law” and “contract”
1. The law, the enactment of which is prohibited, includes executive and administrative
orders of the President, administrative orders issued by heads of departments, and
ordinance enacted by local governments.
2. The contract, the obligation of which is secured against impairment under the
Constitution, includes contracts entered into by the government.
SEC. 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.
SEC. 12: (1) 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.
(2) 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.
(3) Any confession or admission obtained in violation of this or Section 17 hereof shall
be inadmissible in evidence against him.
(4) 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.
2. To have competent and independent counsel preferably of his own choice or to be provided
with one.
3. Against the use of torture, force, violence, threat, intimidation or any other means which
vitiates the free will.
SEC. 13: All persons, except those charged with offenses punishable by reclusion perpetua
when evidence of guilt is strong, shall, before conviction, be bail able 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.
MEANING OF BAIL - is the security required by a court and given for the provisional or
temporary release of a person who is in the custody of the law conditioned upon his
appearance before any court as required under the conditions specified.
1. The purpose of requiring bail is to relieve the accused from imprisonment until his
conviction and yet secure his appearance at the trials.
2. It may be in the form of cash deposit, property bond, bond secured from a surety
company, or recognizance.
MEANING OF CAPITAL OFFENSE - for purposes of the above provision, is an offense which,
under the law existing at the time of its commissions, and at the time f the application to be
admitted to bail, may be punished with reclusion perpetua, life imprisonment, or death.
SEC. 14: (1) No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense without due process of
law.
(2) 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.
SEC. 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.
It has for its purpose to inquire into all manner of involuntary restraint or detention as
distinguished from voluntary and to relieve a person there from if such restraint is found illegal.
The writ is the proper remedy court to release y in each and every case of detention without
legal cause or authority. Its principal purpose then is to set the individual liberty.
The writ is the order from the court requiring a person detaining another to show cause
for the detention, while the privilege of the writ is the further order from the court to release
an individual if it finds his detention without legal cause or authority.
This is how the writ of habeas corpus operates to safeguard the liberty of a person.
The prisoner or any person in his behalf petitions the proper court, which immediately
issues the writ. It is sent to the person having another in his custody. Such person is ordered to
produce the prisoner in court at specified time together with an explanation of the cause of
detention, called the return. After the order is obeyed, the judge scrutinizes the return and then
decides whether it shows that imprisonment is authorized by law. If so, the prisoner is
remanded-sent back custody. If, not he is set free at once by the judge.
The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus (not the writ itself) may be suspended by the
president (Art. VII, Sec 18) in case only of invasion or rebellion, when public safety requires it.
Consequently, the person under detention by the government may not obtain his liberty by its
use.
While the person detained must still be produced in court, the official or person
detaining him may ask the court not to continue the proceeding any further as the privilege of
the writ as to that particular person seeking release has been suspended. Unlike cases where
the privilege of the writ is available and in full force and effect, the judge thus may be
prevented in the event of suspension from determining whether or not the detention is
authorized by law. But the Supreme Court is empowered to inquire, in an appropriate
proceeding filed by any citizen, whether or not there was factual basis to justify the suspension
by the president of the privilege.
The suspension of privilege of the writ enables the State “ to hold in preventive imprisonment
pending investigation and trial of persons who plot against it or commit acts that endanger its
very existence” (see Sec 13). Thus, the suspension in effect, sanctions are allows arrest and
seizures without warrants issued by courts. This topic is further discussed under Article VII
(Executive Department), Sec 18.
Writ of Amparo
The writ of habeas corpus is not to be confused with the writ of Amparo. Now, families
of victims of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances (or any qualified person or
entity) can invoke the writ when the right to life, liberty, or security of a person is violated or
threatened with violation by an unlawful act or omission of a public official or employee or of a
private individual or entity.
This special writ prohibits respondents (those required to answer or respond to the
complaint against them) from using the defense of simple denial.
They will have to produce documents or evidence to support claims that they did not violates
the right to life, liberty and security of the aggrieved party. Even before a petition for this writ is
resolved, the court may issue any of the following orders to safeguard one’s right to life, liberty
and security: temporary protection order to secure the safety of the aggrieved party and any
member of the immediate family; inspection order for the purpose of inspecting, measuring,
surveying or photographing property or operation thereof; production order requiring the
production of designated documents, papers, etc. and witness protection order for admission of
witness to the Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Program.
SEC. 16: All persons shall have the right to a speedy disposition of their cases before all
judicial, quasi-judicial, or administrative bodies.
(1) The above provision upholds the time-honored tradition of speedy justice for as stated in
the old dictum - "Justice delayed is justice denied." Its express inclusion was in response to the
common charge against the perennial delay in the administration of justice which in the past
has plagued our judicial system.
(2) The right to a speedy disposition of cases can be invoked only after the termination of the
trial or hearing of case.
(3) Under the present Constitution, the Supreme Court, all lowers delegate courts, and all other
lower courts are required to decide or resolve cases within a certain period of time.
(4) The provision contemplates the disposition of cases involving private interests not only
before judicial bodies, but also before quasi-judicial.
(1) Public Policy, because if the party is thus required to testify he would be placed under the
strongest temptation to commit the crime of perjury; and
The constitutional guarantee protects as well the right of the accused to silence, and his
silence, meaning, his failure or refusal to testify may not be used as presumption of guilt or
taken as evidence against him.
Scope of Guarantee
SEC. 18: (1) No person shall be detained solely by reason of his political beliefs and
aspirations.
(2) No involuntary servitude in any form shall exist except as a punishment for a crime
whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.
2. Suspension of privilege of writ of habeas corpus even after lifting of martial law.
3. Prohibition a guarantee against having “prisoners of conscience.”
It includes:
Slavery
Peonage
EXCEPTIONS OF PROHIBITIONS
SEC. 19: (1) Excessive fines shall not be imposed, nor cruel, degrading or inhuman punishment
inflicted. Neither shall death penalty be imposed, unless, for compelling reasons involving
heinous crimes, the Congress hereafter provides for it. Any death penalty already imposed
shall be reduced to reclusion perpetua.
SEC. 20: No person shall be imprisoned for debt or non-payment of a poll tax.
MEANING OF POLL TAXES - is a tax of a fixed amount imposed on individuals residing within a
specified territory, whether citizens or not, without regard to their property or the occupation
in which they may be engaged.
SEC. 21: No person shall be twice put in jeopardy of punishment for the same offense. If an
act is punished by a law and an ordinance, conviction or acquittal under either shall
constitute a bar to another prosecution for the same act.
MEANING OF RIGHTS AGAINST DOUBLE JEOPARDY - means that when a person is charged with
an offense and the case is terminated either by acquittal or conviction or in any other manner
without the express consent of the accused, the latter cannot again be charged with the same
or identical offense.
SEC. 22: No ex post facto law or bill of attainder shall be enacted.
Makes an act done before the passage of the law ,innocent when done, criminal, and
punishes such act; or
Aggravates a crime or makes it greater than when it was committed; or
Changes the punishment and inflicts a greater punishment than what a law annexed to
the crime when committed; or
Alters the legal rules of evidence, and receives less testimony than or different testimony
from what the law required at the time of the commission of the offense, in order to
convict the offender.
They are:
MEANING OF BILL OF ATTAINDER - is a legislative act which inflicts punishment without judicial
trial.