CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO LIBERTY VS.

STATE INTEREST TO
IMPOSE PENALTY

a.1 Right to Liberty of the people

The CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO LIBERTY is guaranteed under

the 1987 Philippine Constitution, Article III of the Phil. Constitution
provides:
Bill of Rights
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.
Liberty includes “the right to exist and the right to be free from
arbitrary personal restraint or servitude, x x x (It) includes the right
of the citizen to be free to use his faculties in all lawful ways x x x”
(Rubi v. Provincial Board of Mindoro, 39 Phil 660)
In able to enjoy the said liberty, we also need certain rights
under the Phil. Constitution such as:
a) Civil Rights. Those rights that belong to every citizen of the state
or country, or, in a wider sense, to all its inhabitants, and are not
connected with the organization or administration of government.
They include the rights to property, marriage, equal protection of the
laws, freedom of contract, etc.. They are rights appertaining to a
person by virtue of his citizenship in a state or community. Such term
may also refer, in its general sense, to rights capable of being
enforced or redressed in a civil action.
b) Political Rights. They refer to the right to participate, directly or
indirectly, in the establishment or administration of government, e.g.,
the right of suffrage, the right to hold public office, the right to
petition and, in general the rights appurtenant to citizenship vis-a-vis
the management of government (Simon v. Commission on Human
Rights, G.R. No. 100150, January 5, 1994)
a.2 Preservation of Peace and order

As stated under Article II, Section 5 of the 1987 Constitution: "The

maintenance of peace and order, the protection of life, liberty, and
property and the promotion of the general welfare are essential for
the enjoyment by all the people of the blessings of democracy.
 Further it is also provided under the Philippine National Police
that they shall enforce the law, prevent and control crimes,
maintain peace and order, and ensure public safety and internal
security with the active support of the community.

Republic Act No. 7160 or the Local Government Code Section

16 mandates all local government units to ensure and maintain peace
and order within their respective areas of jurisdictions, among other
concerns.

E.O. No. 773, series of 2009, entitled Further Reorganizing the

Peace and Order Council Section 3 (b), states that Sub-National
Councils shall identify strategies which will enrich peace and order
and public safety within their respective areas of responsibility;

a.3 Maintenance of a Penal System Akin to the Needs of the

Filipino People.

The maintenance of penal system as stated in National Criminal

Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) states that The Philippine
Government, despite prison overcrowding, lack of information
technology systems and expertise, and inadequate training, continues
to take concrete steps towards the improvement of its prison and jail
conditions and the treatment of offenders. However, the
improvement of the corrections system and the inmates’ successful
reintegration into the mainstream society is not the sole responsibility
of the corrections system; it needs the support and cooperation of all
society. The government plays a dominant and significant role in the
correction and rehabilitation of offenders. The Philippine Correction
System is composed of the institutions in the government, civil
society, and the business sector which are involved in the
confinement, correction, and restoration of those individuals charged
for and/or convicted of delinquent acts or crime. In this paper, an
overview of the Philippine Correction System is presented describing
the role of the various government agencies (Department of Justice,
Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the
Department of Social Welfare and Development), civil society and
business sector, the institutional framework, the impact of
overcrowding and inadequate training and information systems, and
initiatives undertaken to improve the treatment of offenders. 1
Justice Jorge Coquia refers to “the prison and correctional
systems in the Philippines as the repository of the criminal justice
system that provides for the safekeeping and the rehabilitation of
1
From Resource Material Series, No. 67, 75-87, 2005 -- See NCJ-214096)
prisoners and detainees. However, while our laws on criminal
penalties are strong on the punitive aspect, they seem to be wanting
in the rehabilitative aspect.
Another factor is the creation of the Bureau of Corrections
where they are mandated that the Bureau undertakes the following:
Confine persons convicted by the courts to serve a sentence in
national prisons. Keep prisoners from committing crimes while in
custody.
It is also provided under REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10575,
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS “THE BUREAU OF CORRECTIONS ACT OF
2013”
RULE I – PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS
Section 1. Short Title and Purpose. This Revised Implementing
Rules and Regulations, hereinafter called the IRR, is hereby adopted
and promulgated pursuant to Section 23 of Republic Act (RA) No.
10575, otherwise known as the “The Bureau of Corrections Act of
2013” for the purpose of prescribing and applying the necessary rules
and regulations for the strengthening of the correctional services.
RULE II – GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 2. Declaration of Policy. It is the policy of the State to
promote the general welfare and safeguard the basic rights of every
prisoner incarcerated in our national penitentiary by promoting and
ensuring their reformation and social reintegration, creating an
environment conducive to rehabilitation and compliant with the
United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners
(UNSMRTP). It also recognizes the responsibility of the State to
strengthen government capability aimed towards the
institutionalization of highly efficient and competent correctional
services.
The concept of imprisonment is stated in Rule 57 of UNSMRTP:
“Imprisonment and other measures which result in cutting off
an offender from the outside world are afflictive by the very fact of
taking from the person the right of self-determination by depriving
him of his liberty. Therefore the prison system shall not, except as
incidental to justifiable segregation or the maintenance of discipline,
aggravate the suffering inherent in such a situation.”
The concept of reintegration to society is stated in Rule 58 of
UNSMRTP:
 “The purpose and justification of a sentence of imprisonment or
a similar measure deprivative of liberty is ultimately to protect society
against crime. This end can only be achieved if the period of
imprisonment is used to ensure, so far as possible, that upon his
return to society the offender is not only willing but able to lead a
law-abiding and self-supporting life.”
And the concept of reformation is stated in Rule 59 of
UNSMRTP:
“To this end, the institution should utilize all the remedial,
educational, moral, spiritual and other forces and forms of assistance
which are appropriate and available, and should seek to apply them
according to the individual treatment needs of the prisoners.”
On a national scope, the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) shall be
able to completely deliver the actual realization of deterrence (special
deterrence and general deterrence), restraint, reformation,
retribution, and restoration as major interventions for the treatment
of law offenders towards a safe, secure, harmonious and progressive
Philippine society.
Towards this end, the State shall provide for the modernization,
professionalization and restructuring of the Bureau of Corrections by
upgrading its facilities, increasing the number of its personnel,
upgrading the level of qualifications of their personnel and
standardizing their base pay, retirement and other benefits, making it
at par with that of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology
(BJMP), and maximization of land use development for the agency’s
sustainability.