CEÑIDOZA, Christianna Louise I.

2015-06947

PA 106 FYZ

Essay on Rights

1. The Constitution, aside from being the supreme law of a land, is also a framework for
government, and a legitimate vehicle for granting and limiting the power of government
officials (“What is a Constitution”, 1988). It contains a set of laws, rules, and principles
that govern a whole country or nation state. It gives its subjects fundamental rights and
makes them aware of their duties as responsible citizens. With these, legislators must
formulate policies and laws that conform to the Constitution.

As citizens, we should be knowledgeable of our fundamental rights in order to nurture

our democracy and preserve our freedom. We should always be aware if ever there are
any transgressions committed to us by the government or by other people, and be ready
to fight for our own rights. Also, as responsible citizens, we should pay attention to
everything that is happening around us and continuously uphold the Constitution and
our democracy because after all, it belongs to us, it is for us, it was created by us, so it
must be sustained by us and must be kept going by us. In line with these, we should
exercise our rights, actively participate in government activities, and hold our elected
officials accountable (Johnson et al., 2009)

Furthermore, public administrators are expected to have reasonable knowledge of the

constitutional rights of the people upon whom they act (Rosenbloom et al., 2015). They
should have a keen understanding of the Constitution for them to be able to perform
and carry out their duties while following and abiding by the supreme law of the land.
As public administrators, they must be in the forefront in upholding the Constitution
and standing by it, serving as a paragon of a responsible, and law-abiding citizen.

A.
Equality has long been desired by citizens especially those belonging in the
middle class - the peasants, laborers, non-aristocrats, etc. They advocated and promoted
a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Hence, the formation
and mobilization of this class during the French Revolution. They called themselves
the National Assembly. They wanted the monarchy to consider their opinions and hear
out their voices, not just the opinions and voices of the clergy and the nobles. For that
reason, they adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which
acknowledges that “all men are equal under law.”
 With this, fundamental human rights were given appreciation and value. The
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is composed of 17 articles that
contain rights that all men and citizens of France should have. There were now judicial
processes in order to prevent abuses from the monarchy, everyone where given the
freedom to express themselves and practice their religion and everyone has the right to
contribute to the formation of laws. However, “men and citizens” in this context only
means men who are property owners, excluding women and non-property owners.
Additionally, it says nothing about slaves and servants, giving them no rights. After all,
this document kind of manifests the interests of the elites who wrote it. Since a lot of
people were left out, it still does not stand up for equality that the citizens want.

Nonetheless, this document hadn’t served its purpose especially during the
Reign of Terror, a period in the French Revolution where the Jacobins, a powerful
political party, popularized the idea that all powers and rights should reside in the
people, that it was the government’s duty to obey whatever the people demands and
commands. This resulted to anarchy, wherein due process of law was of no value, and
fundamental human rights of men were ignored and forgotten. Similarly, this also
happened during World War II, during Hitler’s reign. In Hitler’s organic state, the one
on top of the political pyramid is the head and the overall in-charge and everyone under
him has no say in the government and that they are supposed to submit to everything
the head commands. This, including many other atrocities, inhumanities and
barbarousness during the World War II, led to the formulation of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights which promotes that everyone has inherent dignity with
equal and inalienable rights.

According to Mr. Cassin, a French delegate who wrote some of the early drafts
of the said document, fundamental rights to liberty, equality, and fraternity were
disregarded and were not remembered during the war (Morsink, 1993). As follows, the
document stresses the principle of nondiscrimination. All people are born equal,
regardless of race, color, gender, language, religion, ethnicity, and they are all entitled
to the same fundamental rights.

The importance of the true meaning of equality could not be more stressed in
the past important and historical human rights documents. Along with this principle is
the prevention of future inhumane actions like torture, slavery, and any kind of
 oppression. Everyone is given the freedom to express themselves and do as they please
provided that it does not harm others and still respects the natural rights of others. Due
process of law, right to suffrage, and right to contribute and participate in government
activities, were also present in the document. Hopefully, these fundamental rights will
forever be remembered, and applied because I believe that practicing and respecting
these rights is one step closer to achieving harmony and world peace.

B.

The Constitution, aside from being the supreme law of a land, is also a
framework for government, and a legitimate vehicle for granting and limiting the power
of government officials (“What is a Constitution”, 1988). It contains a set of laws, rules,
and principles that govern a whole country or nation state. It gives its subjects
fundamental rights and makes them aware of their duties as responsible citizens. As
citizens, we should be knowledgeable of our fundamental rights in order to nurture our
democracy and preserve our freedom. We should always be aware if ever there are any
transgressions committed to us by the government or by other people, and be ready to
fight for our own rights.

According to Article III, Section 1 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution of the

Philippines, “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.” We
all have the right to live and be free until proven guilty through an official investigation
and heard in a court of law. In line with these, every person has the right to an attorney
and has the right to defend him/herself in court, presenting evidence. In line with these,
every citizen should enjoy all rights and privileges provided by the law, equally.
Everyone should be treated fairly and unbiased since every law applies to each and
every citizen. No one should be given a special treatment and no one is allowed to be
above the law.

According to Article III, Section 4 of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, “No
law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of press, or the
right of the people to peaceably assemble and petition the government for redress of
grievances.” All Filipino citizens have the right to petition and the right to assemble,
to congregate peacefully, and discuss matters of interest to them. The New Public
Assembly Act, then House Bill 6834, was approved by the House of Representatives
 on February 05, 2018. It includes the coverage of public assemblies (“rallies,
demonstrations, marches, parades, processions, or any other form of concerted action
for the purpose of presenting a lawful cause, expressing an opinion on any issue, and
protesting against or influencing any issue or program of the government”) (Cervantes,
2018) and requires any person or groups planning to hold such to serve a notice to the
local chief executive in command of the place in order for them to make ways on how
to prevent the public’s inconvenience. For me, since we are in a democratic country, it
is important for us to be given the freedom to speak out our interests, thoughts, and
feelings and be heard by the law-makers. I noticed that over the years, our country’s
political and economic elite make up the Philippine Congress and that most of the
laws/bills created and passed are for the benefit of most of the bureaucrats. With these,
I think that one way of administering justice for everyone especially the marginalized,
would be participating in campaigns and peaceful protests, provided that speeches
would not encourage people to engage in illegal actions.

Nowadays, the term rally might sound negative for some people because there are
students who organize rallies to voice out their concerns but for some people it is
disturbing because it affects their daily lives. However, since freedom of expression is
included in the bill of rights, everyone is entitled to do so.

C. One major theorist in public administration

a. How his perspectives might help improve the government’s role in ensuring the
full realization of rights
b. Cite current actions and occurrences

List of References:

Reyes, John. 2010. Article III of Our Constitution Identifies Every Rights of Every Filipino
Citizen, Scribd. Accessed 16 October 2018, https://www.scribd.com/doc/37082966/Article-
III-of-Our-Constitution-Identifies-Every-Rights-of-Every-Filipino-Citizen

Cervantes, Filane Mikee. (February 05). House approves bill strengthening freedom of
expression. Philippine News Agency http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1024142

1987 Constitution of the Philippines

Morsink, J. (1993). World War Two and the Universal Declaration. Human Rights Quarterly,
15(2), 357-405. doi:10.2307/762543
Tamayo, M. (2014, August 21). BILL OF RIGHTS. Retrieved October 19, 2018, from
https://tamayaosbc.wordpress.com/2014/06/20/bill-of-rights/

CS Global Partners. What are the main differences between residence and citizenship?
[Infographic]. Retrieved from https://csglobalpartners.com/what-is-citizenship/