ARTICLE

III
BILL OF
RIGHTS
CONCEPT OF A BILL OF RIGHTS

A bill of rights may be defined as a

declaration and enumeration of a person’s
rights and privileges which the Constitution is
designed to protect against violations by the
government , or by individual or groups of
individuals.
It is a charter of liberties for the
individual and a limitation upon the power of
the State.
Its basis is the social importance accorded
to the individual in the democratic or
republican state, the belief that every human
being has intrinsic dignity and worth which
must be respected and safeguarded
 CLASSES OF RIGHTS
The rights that a citizen of a democratic state enjoys may be
classified into:
2. Natural rights- They are those rights possessed by every citizen
without being granted by the State for they are given to man by
God as a human being created to His image so that he may live a
happy life. Ex. Right to life and right to love
3. Constitutional rights- They are those rights which are conferred
and protected by the Constitution. Since they are part of the
fundamental law, they cannot be modified or taken away by the
law –making body
4. Statutory rights- They are those rights which are provided by laws
promulgated by the law –making body and, consequently, may be
abolished by the same body. Ex. right to receive minimum wage
and right to inherit property.
CLASSIFICATION OF CONSTITUIONAL RIGHTS

The rights secured by the Constitution may be classified as

follows:
2. Political rights- They are such rights of the citizens which
give them the power to participate, directly or indirectly, in
the establishment or administration of the government.
Ex. right of citizenship, right of suffrage and the right to
information on matters of public concern.
3. Civil rights- They are those rights which the law will
enforce at the instance of private individuals for the
purpose of securing to them the enjoyment of their means
of happiness. Ex. rights against involuntary servitude,
liberty of abode, freedom of speech, of expression or of the
press.
4. Social and economic right- They include those right s
which are intended to insure the well-being and economic
security of the individual. Ex. right to property, right to just
compensation for private property taken for public use.
4. Rights of the accused- They are the
(civil) rights intended for the
protection of a person accused of any
crime, like the right to presumption of
innocence, right to a speedy , impartial,
and public trial , and the right against
cruel , degrading, or inhuman
punishment .
SECTION 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.

What is due process?

Any deprivation of life, liberty, or property is with
due process if it is done under the authority of a
law that is valid (i.e., not contrary to the
Constitution) or of the Constitution itself, and
after compliance with fair and reasonable
methods of procedure prescribed by law.
 ASPECTS OF DUE PROCESS OF LAW.

1. Procedural due process which refers to the method

or manner by which the law is enforced. Daniel
Webster’s famous definition: a procedure “which
hears before it condemn, which proceed s upon
inquiry, and renders judgment only after trial.” An
indispensable requisite of this aspect of due
process is the requirement of notice and hearing
2. Substantial due process which requires that the law
itself, not merely the procedures by which the law
would be enforced, is fair, reasonable, and just. In
other words, no person shall be deprived of his life,
liberty, or property for arbitrary reasons or on
flimsy grounds.
 PROCEDURAL DUE PROCESS.

1. In judicial proceedings-For the most part, procedural

due process has its application in judicial
proceedings, civil or criminal. It requires:
a. An impartial court clothed by law with authority
to hear and determine the matter before it;
b. Jurisdiction lawfully acquired over the person of
the defendant or property which is the subject
matter of the proceeding;
c. Opportunity to be heard given the defendant; and
d. Judgment to be rendered after the lawful hearing.
2. In administrative proceedings- Due
process, however, is not always judicial
process. In certain proceedings of an
administrative character, notice and
hearing may be dispensed with, where
because of public need or for practical
reasons, the same is not feasible. Thus, an
offender may be arrested pending the
filing of charges, or an officer or employee
may be suspended pending an
investigation for violation of civil service
rules and regulation.
Substantive due process.

Viewed in its substantive aspect, due process

of law requires that the law in question
affecting life, liberty, or property be a valid
law, i.e., within the power of the law-
making body to enact and is reasonable in
its operation. Ex. taking of property for
private use or without payment of just
compensation offends substantive due
process.
Meaning of life- Life, as protected by due process of
law, means 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- Liberty, as protected by due process
of law, denotes not merely freedom from physical
restraint e.g. imprisonment. It also embraces the
right of man to use his faculties with which he has
been endowed by his Creator subject only to the
limitation that he does not violate the law or the
rights of others.
Meaning of property- Property, as protected by due
process of law, may refer to the thing itself or to the
right over a thing. It includes the right to own, use,
transmit and even to destroy, subject to the right of
the State and of other persons.
 MEANING OF EQUAL PROTECTION OF THE
LAWS.

Equal protection of the laws signifies that:

“all persons subject to legislation should be treated

alike, under like circumstance and conditions both
in the privileges conferred and liabilities
imposed.”

What it prohibits is class legislation, which

discriminates against some and favors others when
both are similarly situated or circumstanced.
 SECTION 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 FOR ANY PURPOSE SHALL BE
INVIOLABLE, AND NO SEARCH 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 WITNESSES HE MAY
PRODUCE, AND PARTICULARLY DESCRIBING
THE PLACE TO BE SEARCHED AND THE
PERSONS OR THINGS TO BE SEIZED.
MEANING OF SEARCH WARRANT AND WARRANT OF
ARREST
(1) A search warrant is an order in writing , issued
in the name of the People of the Philippines,
signed by a judge and directed to a peace
officer, commanding him to search for certain
personal property and bring it before the
court.
(2) If the command is to arrest a person
designated, i.e., to take him into custody in
order that he may bound to answer for the
commission of an offense, the written order is
called warrant of arrest.
 SCOPE OF THE PROTECTION.

(1) Persons.- The protection applies to everybody, to

citizens as well as aliens in the Philippines,
whether accused of crime or not. Corporations are
also entitled to the protection.
(2) Houses.- The protection is not limited to dwelling
houses but extends to a garage, warehouse, shop,
store, office , and even a safety deposit vault. It
does not extend, however, to the open spaces and
fields belonging to one.
(3) Papers and effect.- They include sealed letters and
packages in the mail which may be opened and
examined only in pursuance of a valid search
warrant.
 WHAT CONSTITUTES A REASONABLE OR
UNREASONABLE SEARCH OR SEIZURE IN ANY
PARTICULAR CASE IS A PURELY JUDICIAL
QUESTION (I.E., ONLY COURTS ARE
EMPOWERED TO RULE UPON),
DETERMINABLE FROM A CONSIDERATION OF
THE CIRCUMSRTANCES INVOLVED.
 REQUISITES FOR VALID SEARCH WARRANT OR
WARRANT OF ARREST
They are:
(2)It must be issued upon probable cause;
(3)The probable cause must be determined
personally by the judge himself,
(4)Such determination of the existence of probable
cause must be made after examination by the
judge of the complainant and the witnesses he
may produce; and
(5)The warrant must particularly describe the place
to be searched, and the persons or things to be
seized
The law prohibits the issuance of a search
warrant for more than one specific offense.
 MEANING OF PROBABLE CAUSE.

By probable cause is meant such facts and

circumstances antecedent to the issuance of a
warrant sufficient in themselves to induce a
cautious man to rely upon them and act in
pursuance thereof.
It presupposes the introduction of competent
proof that the party against whom a warrant is
sought to be issued has performed particular
acts, or committed specific omissions, violating
a given provision of our criminal laws.
 WHEN SEARCH AND SEIZURE MAY BE MADE WITHOUT
WARRANT

In the following instances:

(2)Where there is consent or waiver,
(3)Where search is an incident to a lawful arrest,
(4)In the case of contraband or forfeited goods being
transported by ship automobile, or other vehicle,
where the officer making it has reasonable cause for
believing that the latter contains them, in view of the
difficulty attendant to securing a search warrant,
(5)Where, without a search, the possession of articles
prohibited by law is disclosed to plain view or is open
to eye and hand
(5) As an incident of inspection, supervision
and regulation in the exercise of police
power such as inspection of restaurants by
health officers, of factories by labor
inspectors, etc. The same thing may be said
of inspection of books of accounts by
revenue examiners, and
(6) Routinary searches usually made at the
border or at ports of entry in the interest of
national security and for the proper
enforcement of customs and immigration
laws.
WHEN ARREST MAY BE MADE WITHOUT WARRANT.

A peace officer or private person may, without a

warrant, arrest a person:
(2)When, in his presence, the person to be arrested
has committed, is actually committing, or is
attempting to commit an offense;
(3)When an offense has in fact just been committed
and he has personal knowledge of facts indicating
that the person to be arrested has committed it ;
and
(4)When the person to be arrested is a prisoner who
has escaped from a penal establishment or place
where he is serving final judgment or temporarily
confined while his case is pending, or has escaped
while being transferred from one confinement to
another.
SECTION 3. (1) THE PRIVACY OF
COMMUNICATION AND
CORRESPONDENCE SHALL BE
INVIOLABLE EXCEPT UPON LAWFUL
ORDER OF THE COURT, OR WHEN
PUBLIC SAFETY OR ORDER RERQUIRES
OTHERWISE AS PRESCRIBED BY LAW.
(2) ANY EVIDENCE OBTAINED IN
VIOLATION OF THIS OR THE
PRECEDING SECTION SHALL BE
INADMISSIBLE FOR ANY PURPOSE IN
ANY PROCEEDING.