Professional Documents
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CONSTI 2 Reviewer
CONSTI 2 Reviewer
Diory Rabajante ©
1. in criminal case – can be raised any time in the discretion of
court
2. in civil case - can be raised at any stage if necessary to the
determination of the case
3. in every case (except when there is estoppel) - can be raised
at any stage if it involves
jurisdiction of the court
4. NECESSITY OF DECIDING CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTION - the decision of the
constitutional question must
be necessary to the determination of the case itself
■ as long as there is some other basis that can be used by the courts
for its decision, the
constitutionality of the challenged law will not be touched and
the case will be decided on other
available grounds
Similarities:
1. they are inherent in the State
2. they are necessary and indispensable
3. they are methods by which the State interferes with private rights
4. they presuppose an equivalent compensation
5. they are execised primarily by the legislature
Differences:
DIFFERENCES POLICE POWER EMINENT
DOMAIN TAXATION
As to regulation regulates both liberty and regulates
property rights regulates property rights
property only
only
As to who may exercise only the government government and
some only the government
private entities
As to the property taken destroyed because it is -wholesome
-wholesome
noxious or intended for -taken for a
public use or -taken for a public use or
noxious purpose purpose
purpose
As to Compensation intangible altruistic feeling full and fair
equivalent of the protection and public
that the person has property
expropriated improvements for the taxes
contributed to the general
paid
welfare
Characteristics:
most pervasive, least limitable and most demanding of the 3 powers
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Justification:
Salus populi est suprema lex – the welfare of the people is the supreme law
Sic utere tuo ut alienum non laedas – a person must use his own property so as not
to injure another
Scope:
1. cannot be bargained away through the medium of a treaty or contract (Stone
v Mississippi)
2. may use taxing power as its implement (Tio vs Videogram Regulatory Board)
3. may use eminent domain as its implement (Assoc. of Small Landowners vs
Sec. of Agrarian Reform)
4. could be given retroactive effect and may reasonably impair vested rights
or contracts (police power
prevails over contract)
5. dynamic, not static, and must move with the moving society it is supposed
to regulate
Tests (Limitations):
1. LAWFUL SUBJECT – interests of the public generally, as distinguished from
those of a particular class,
require the exercise of police power
2. LAWFUL MEANS – the means employed are reasonably necessary for the
accomplishment of the purpose
and not unduly oppressive upon individuals
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Jurisdiction over a complaint for eminent domain -
Regional Trial Court (RTC)
[P] Property
− GENERAL RULE: anything that can come under the dominion of man is subject to
expropriation
− EXCEPTIONS: money and chose in action (personal right not reduced into
possession, i.e. the right to bring an
action to recover debt, money or thing)
− Private property already devoted to public use cannot be expropriated by a
delegate acting under a general
grant of authority (City of Manila vs Chinese Community)
[T] Taking
- REQUISITES (Republic vs Castellvi) [EM-LPD]:
1. [E] expropriator must enter a private property
2. [M] entry must be for more than a momentary period
3. [L] entry must be under the warrant of legal authority
4. [P] entry is for public use
5. [D] the owner is deprived of enjoying his property
- if taking is under police power, it is not compensable
- where there is taking in the constitutional sense, the property owner need not
file a claim for just compensation
with the Commission on Audit; he may go directly to the court to demand payment.
Arbitrary action of the
government shall be deemed a waiver of its immunity from suit (Amigable vs Cuenca)
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− FORM OF COMPENSATION :
* money (However, in Assoc. of Small Landowners vs Sec. of Agrarian Reform,
payment is allowed to be made
partly in bonds because it deals with a revolutionary kind of expropriation)
− TRANSFER OF TITLE
- Payment of just compensation before title is transferred
− ENTITLEMENT TO INTEREST :
General Rule: when there is delay, there must be interest by way of damages
(Art. 2209, CC)
Exception: when waived by not claiming the interest
− PAYMENT OF TAXES :
- Taxes paid from the time of the taking until the transfer of the title,
during which the owner did not enjoy
any beneficial use of the property, are reimbursable by the expropriator.
Scope
− all income earned in the taxing state, whether by citizens or aliens, and all
immovable and tangible personal
properties found in its territory, as well as tangible personal property owned
by persons domiciled therein
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[E] Equal Protection
− embodied in Sec. 28 (1), Art. VI, 1987 Constitution (The rule of taxation shall
be uniform and equitable. The
Congress shall evolve a progressive system of taxation.)
Tax Exemptions
-may either be:
1. constitutional
- Art. Vi, Sec. 28 (3) : when lands, buildings and improvements are
actually, directly and exclusively
[ADE] for religious, charitable or educational purposes – entitled to exemption
2. statutory- discretion of legislature
Protection of Person
Covers Natural (citizen and alien) and Artificial Persons. As to the latter, with
respect only to property because its
life and liberty are derived from and subject to control of legislature
Liberty
− freedom to do right and never wrong (Mabini)
− right to be free from arbitrary personal restraint or servitude
Property
− anything that can come under the right of ownership and be the subject of
contract
− all things within the commerce of man
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• However, one cannot have a vested right to a public office as this is not
regarded as property. If created by
statute, it may be abolished by the legislature at any time.
• Mere privileges are not property rights and are therefore revocable at will
“A law which denies equal protection is the same with a law which permits such
denial.” (read People vs Vera)
Requisites:
1. it must be based on substantial distinctions
2. it must be germane to the purposes of the law
3. it must not be limited to existing conditions only
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- must be enforced as long as the problem sought to be corrected exists
4. it must apply equally well to all members of the class
- both as to rights conferred and obligations imposed
Section 2, Article III – deals with tangibles; embodies the “castle” doctrine (a
man's house is his castle; a
citizen enjoys the right against intrusion and is master of all the surveys within
the domain and privacy of his own
home.)
Section 3 (1), Article III – deals with intangibles
Section 3 (2), Artivle III – Exclusionary Rule (which embodies the Doctrine of the
Fruit of the Poisonous Tree)
• available to natural and artificial persons, but the latter's books of accounts
may be required to open for
examination by the State in the exercise of police power or power of taxation
• The right is personal (Stonehill vs Diokno)
• may be invoked only against the State (People vs Marti)
• Only a judge may issue a warrant. EXCEPTION: orders of arrest may be issued by
administrative authorities
but only for the purpose of carrying out a final finding of a violation of a
law
• VALID WARRANTLESS SEARCHES [NOTE: each of these requires probable cause, except
stop and frisk]
1. searches incidental to lawful arrest (rule 126, Rules of Court) – for
dangerous weapons or anything that
may have been used or constitute in the commission of an offense
Requisites:
1. the item to be searched was within the arrestee's custody or
area of immediate control
2. the search was contemporaneous with the arrest
2. searches of moving vehicles
3. searches of prohibited articles in plain view
Requisites:
1. prior valid intrusion to a place
2. evidence was inadvertently discovered by the police who has the
right to be there
3. evidence is immediately apparent
4. there is no further search
4. enforcement of customs law
5. consented searches
6. stop and frisk (limited protective search of outer clothing for weapons)
7. routine searches at borders and ports of entry
8. searches of businesses in the exercise of visitorial powers to enforce
police regulations
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submission of supporting affidavits of
witnesses
Limitations
1. LIBERTY OF ABODE - “upon lawful order of the court”
2. RIGHT TO TRAVEL - “national security, public safety or public health as may
be provided by law”
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XI. FREEDOM OF RELIGION
Religion defined
• “any specific system of belief, worship, conduct, etc., often involving
a code of ethics and philosophy”
(definition ni Cruz)
• The aforesaid definition is comprehensive than that given in Aglipay vs
Ruiz (a profession of faith to an
active power that binds and elevates man to his Creator). This is
because there are religions, which do not
make reference to a God, e.g Buddhism, Atheism, etc.
• (comment ko: The definition is too vague. It is too broad that it can
even cover systems of belief that we
do not consider as religions. If we are to accept the definition, it
would be tantamount to calling different
schools of thought, e.g. Analytic tradition, Existentialism, as
religions.)
• other provisions which support this: Sec 2(5), Art. IX-C [a religious
sect or denomination cannot be
registered as a political party], Sec 5(2), Art. VI [no sectoral
representative from the religious sector], and
Sec 29 (2), Art. VI [prohibition against the use of public money or
property for the benefit of any religion,
or of any priest, minister or ecclsiastic], Sec. 28 (3), Art. VI
[exemption from taxation of properties
actually, directly and exclusively used for religious purposes, Sec
4(2), Art XIV [citizenship requirement of
ownership of educational institutions except those owned by religious
groups], Sec 29(2), Art VI
[appropriation allowed where the minister is employed in the armed
forces, penal institution or
government-owned orphanage or leprosarium]
• Scope: the state cannot set up a church, nor pass laws which aid one
religion, aid all religion, or prefer
one religion...
• Rationale:
o to delineate boundaries between the 2 institutions; and
o to avoid encroachment by one against the other.
o [Strong fences make good neighbors; Render unto Ceasar the
things that are Ceasar's and unto
God the things that are God's.]
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Engel vs Vitale recitation by students in public schools in New York
of a prayer composed by the Board of
Regents was unconstitutional
Everson vs Board of US Supreme Court sustained the law providing free
transportation for all schoolchildren
Education without discrimination, including those attending
parochial schools
Board of Education vs US Supreme Court sustained the law requiring the petitioner
to lend textbooks free of
Allen charge to all students from grades 7-12, including
those attending private schools
In Everson and Allen, the government aid was given directly to the student and
parents, not to the church-related school
Adong vs Cheong Seng in line with the constitutional principle of equal treatment
of all religions, the State
Gee recognizes the validity of marriages performed in
conformity with the rites of Mohammedan
religion
Rubi vs Provincial Board the expression “non-Christian” in “non-Christian
tribes” was not meant to discriminate. It
refers to degree of civilization, not to the religious
belief.
Islamic Da'wah Council of by arrogating to itself the task of issuing halal
certifications, the State has, in effect, forced
the Philippines vs Office of Muslims to accept its own interpretation of the Qur'an
and Sunna on halal food.
Exec. Sec.
• 2 aspects:
1. FREEDOM TO BELIEVE
• absolute
• includes not to believe
• “everyone has a right to his beliefs and he may not be called
to account because he cannot
prove what he believes”
2. FREEDOM TO ACT ACCORDING TO ONE'S BELIEFS
• happens when the individual externalizes his beliefs in acts or
omissions
• subject to regulation; can be enjoyed only with proper
regard to rights of others
• Justice Frankfurter: the constitutional provision on
religious freedom terminated disabilities,
it did not create new privileges... its essence is freedom
from conformity to religious dogma,
not freedom from conformity to law because of religious
dogma
German vs Barangan SC found that
petitioners were not sincere in their profession
of religious liberty
and were using it merely to express their
opposition to the
government
Ebralinag vs division SC reversed Gerona vs
Sec. of Educ. , and upheld the right of
Superintendent of Schools petitioners to refute to
salute the Philippine flag on account of
of Cebu their religious
scruples.
People vs Zosa invocation of
religious scruples in order to avoid military
service was brushed
aside by the SC
Victoriano vs Elizalde Rope SC upheld the
validity of RA 3350, exempting members of a
Workers Union religious sect from
being compelled to join a labor union
American Bible Society vs the constitutional
guarantee of free exercise carries with it the
City of Manila right to disseminate
information, and any restraint of such
right can be
justified only on the ground that there is a clear
and present danger
of an evil which the State has the right to
prevent;
Hence, City
ordinance imposing license fees to on sale is
inapplicable to the
society
Tolentino vs Sec. of Finance the free exercise clause
does not prohibit imposing a generally
applicable sales and
use tax on the sale of religious materials;
the registration fee
is not imposed for the exerise of a
privilege, but only
for the purpose of defraying part of the cost
of registration
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• Compelling State Interest test [Estrada vs Escritor]
• the constitution's religion clause's prescribe not a
strict bu a benevolent neutrality
(which 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
• benevolent neutrality could allow for accomodation
morality based on religion provided it
does not offend the compelling state interest test.
• two steps (as regards the test):
1. inquire whether respondent's right to religious
freedom has been burdened; and
2. ascertain respondent's sincerity in her religious
belief.
• solicitiations for religious purposes requires not a prior
permit from DSWD as it is not
included in solicitations for “charitable or public welfare
purposes.” [Centeno vs Villalon-
Pornillos]
RELIGIOUS TESTS
Freedom of Speech – “at once the instrument and the guaranty and the bright
consummate flower of all liberty.”
(Wendell Philips)
Scope
• Freedom of Expression is available only insofar as it is exercised for the
discussion of matters affecting the
public interest. Purely private interest matters do not come within the
guaranty (invasion of privacy is not
sanctioned by the Constitution).
• covers ideas that are acceptable to the majority and the unorthodox view.
(One of the functions of this
freedom is “to invite dispute” – US Supreme Court; “I may not agree with
what you say, but I will defend
to the death your right to say it.” - Voltaire)
• The freedom to speak includes the right to silent. (This freedom was meant
not only to protect the
minority who want to talk but also to benefit the majority who refuse to
listen. - Socrates)
Importance
The ultimate good desired is better reached by a free trade in ideas – that the
best test of truth is the power of the
thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market; and that truth is
the only ground upon which their
wishes safely can be carried out.
Modes of Expression
− Oral and written language
− Symbolisms (e.g. bended knee, salute to the flag, cartoons)
ELEMENTS:
Freedom from previous restraint or censorship
Freedom from subsequent punishment
embodied in Art. III, Sec. 4 [No law shall be passed abridging the freedom
of speech, of expression, or of
the press, or the right of the people peacably to assemble and petition the
government for redress of
grievances.]
CENSOR, therefore, assumes the role of arbiter for the people, usually
applying his own subjective
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standards in determining the good and the not. Such is anathema in a free
society.
embodied in Art. III, Sec. 18 (1) [No person shall be detained solely by
reason of his political beliefs and
aspirations]
without this assurance, the individual would hesitate to speak for fear
that he might be held to account for
his speech, or that he might be provoking the vengeance of the officials he
may have criticized.
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- Obscenity
US vs Kottinger SC acquitted accused who was charged of having
offered for sale pictures of half-
clad members of non-Christian tribes, holding
that he had only presented them in
their native attire
People vs Go Pin Accused was convicted for exhibiting nude
paintings and pictures, notwithstanding
his claim that he had done so in the interest of
art. SC, noting that he has charged
admission fees to the exhibition, held that his
purpose was commercial, not
merely artistic.
Pita vs CA SC declared that the determination of what is
obscene is a judicial function.
Miller vs California Test of Obscenity:
whether the average person, applying
contemporary community
standards, would find that the work,
taken as a whole, appeals to the
prurient interest
whether the work depicts, in a patently
offensive way, sexual conduct
specifically defined by the applicable
law
whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks
serious literary, artistic,
political or scientific value
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Tests of valid governmental interference (criteria in determining the liability
of the individual for ideas
expressed by him) :
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Assembly and Petition
− public issues are better resolved after an exchange of view among citizens
meeting with each other for the
purpose.
− not subject to previous restraint or censorship
− regulated by BP 880 (Public Assembly Act)
Right of Association
SSS Employees right to organize does not carry with it right to strike
Assoc vs CA
Victoriano vs
Elizalde Rope
Workers' Union
Occena vs right of association was not violated where political
parties were prohibited from participating
COMELEC in the barangay elections to insure the non-partisanship
of the candidates.
In re Edillon Bar integration does not compel the lawyer to associate
with anyone. Integration does not
make a lawyer a member of any group of which he is not
already a member.
Access to Information
- the citizenry has a right to know what is going on in the country and in his
government so he can express his
views thereon knowledgeably and intelligently
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rights.
Legaspi v Civil Personal interest is not required in asserting the right to
information on matters of public
Service concern.
Commission What matters constitute “public concern” should be determined
by the court on a case to case
1987 basis.
Chavez v PCGG Public concern (def.) – writings coming into the hands of
public officers in connection with
1998 their official functions
Ill-gotten wealth is, by its nature, a matter of public
concern.
Privileged communication: (1) national security, (2) trade
secrets, (3) criminal matters
pending in court,
Echegaray case SC held that making the Lethal Injection Manual inaccessible
to the convict was
unconstitutional.
Purpose
- to safeguard the integrity of valid contractual agreements against unwarranted
interference by the State.
Contract defined
- any lawful agreement on property or property rights, whether real or personal,
tangible or intangible.
- does not cover:
(a) License (merely a permit or privilege to do what otherwise would be
unlawful and is not a contract with
the government
(b) Marriage contract (regarded as social institution subject at all times to
regulation by the legislature and to
change of the original conditions).
(c) Public office (public office is a public trust). EXCEPTION: where the
salary has already been earned, in
which case it will be deemed a vested property right that cannot be
withdrawn or reduced.
Impairment
- retroactive
- anything that diminishes the efficacy of the contract
- right of a party is changed to his prejudice
- when a law:
(a) Changes the terms of a contract between parties
(b) Imposes new conditions
(c) Dispenses those expressed
(d) Authorizes for its satisfaction something different from that provided in
its terms.
** A mere change in PROCEDURAL REMEDIES which does not change the substance of the
contract, and which still
leaves an efficacious remedy for enforcement does NOT impair the obligation of
contracts.
Limitations
− Police Power
- when a contract suffers from congenital infirmity, i.e. a contract
which affects the public welfare
− Eminent Domain
− Power of Taxation
- Tax exemptions are not contractual and so may be revoked at will by
the legislature.
EXCEPTION: where a law grants a tax exemption in exchange for
valuable consideration, such
exemption is considered a contract and cannot be repealed because of
the impairment clause.
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Bridge power of the state to provide for the improvement of an
important line of travel.
1837
Home Building & The legislature can’t bargain away public health, morals &
safety. The police power is
Loan Assoc. v considered a reserved power.
Blaisdell The legislature may not impair the obligation of a
contract but may modify, according to its
1934 wisdom, the remedy with which the obligations may be
enforced.
• remedy – modes of proceeding and forms to
enforce the contract provided
it does not seriously impair the value of
the right
The reservation of state authority is read into and deemed
part of contracts.
Stone v Mississippi A statute which subsequently outlaws gambling does not
impair the obligation of contract. A
1879 lottery charter is only a privilege which may be revoked
by the exercise of the police power of
the state, gambling being an appropriate subject of
regulation.
Manila Trading v There is no vested right in remedies or modes of
procedure. The legislature may modify
Reyes particular remedies for the enforcement of a contract
without interfering with the obligation of
1935 the contract.
Rutter v Esteban Police power may only be invoked against the impairment of
contracts if:
1953 1. justified by an emergency – furnished the proper
occasion for the exercise of the
reserved power of the state
2. temporary in nature – operation limited to the
exigency which called it forth, which
period may be reduced by the court
3. exercised upon reasonable conditions
4. impairment refers only to remedy and not to
substantive right
5. addressed to a legitimate purpose – the protection
of the basic interests of society
Ilusoria v CAR The prohibition in the Constitution refers only to
contracts with respect to property. It does
1966 not apply to statutes relating to public subjects within
the domain of the general legislative
powers of the state and involving the right and public
welfare of the entire community
affected by it.
A law which allows tenants to change their contracts from
tenancy to leasehold system does
not impair the obligation of contracts because it was
enacted pursuant to social justice
precepts of the constitution.
Ortigas v Feati Zoning laws, promulgated in the exercise of police power,
justify nullification of contractual
Bank obligations.
1979
Conference of Contracts of labor are explicitly subject to the police
power.
Maritime Manning CC1700: Relations between capital and labor are not merely
contractual but are impressed
Agencies v POEA with public interest and must yield to the common good…
1995
Kinds
1) One which makes an action done before the passing of the law, and which was
innocent when done, criminal,
and punishes such action.
2) One which aggravates the crime or makes it greater than when it was committed.
3) One which changes the punishment and inflicts a greater punishment than that
which the law annexed to the
crime when it was committed.
4) One which alters the legal rules of evidence and receives less testimony than
the law required at the time of
the commission of the offense in order to convict the accused.
5) One which assumes to regulate civil rights and remedies only BUT, in effect,
imposes a penalty or deprivation
of a right, which, when done, was lawful.
6) One which deprives a person accused of a crime of some lawful protection to
which he has become entitled
such as the protection of a former conviction or acquittal, or a proclamation
of amnesty.
Characteristics [CPR]
− [C] must refer to criminal matters
− [P] prejudicial to the accused
− [R] retroactive in application
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BILL OF ATTAINDER
A legislative act that inflicts punishment without trial.
Essence is the substitution of legislative fiat for a judicial determination
of guilt
BA → EPF
Δ BA= Bill of Attainder; EPF = Ex Post Facto Law
Debt defined
Any civil obligation arising from a contract
Expressed or implied
Resulting in any liability to pay in money
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** A FRAUDULENT debt may result in the imprisonment of the debtor if:
1. The fraudulent debt constitutes a crime such as estafa and
2. The accused has been duly convicted.
POLL TAX
GENERAL RULE: Non-payment of taxes is punishable with imprisonment.
EXCEPTION: Failure to pay a poll tax
General Rule
No involuntary service in any form shall exist.
Exceptions
1. Punishment for a crime for which the party shall have been duly convicted
(Sec. 18, Art. III)
2. Personal military or civil service in the interest of national defense
(Sec. 4, Art. II)
3. Naval enlistment – remain in service until the end of voyage so that the
crew would not desert the ship,
making it difficult for the owners to recruit new hands to continue the
voyage (Robertson vs Baldwin)
4. Posse comitatus – in pursuit of persons who might have violated the
law, the authorities might
command all male inhabitants of a certain age to assist them (US vs
Pompeya)
5. Return to work order in industries affected with public interest
(Kapisanan ng Manggagawa sa Kahoy vs
Gotamco)
6. Patria Potestas – unemancipated minors are obliged to obey their
parents so long as they are under
parental power and to observe respect and reverence to them always
(Art. 311, Civil Code)
US vs An Act providing for the method by which the people of the town
may be called upon to render
Pompeya assistance for the protection of the public and the preservation
of peace and good order is
constitutional. It was enacted in the exercise of the police
power of the state and does not violate the
constitutional prohibition on involuntary servitude.
Pollock vs No indebtedness warrants a suspension of the right to be free
from compulsory service, and no state
Williams can make the quitting of work any component of a crime, or make
criminal sanctions available for
holding unwilling persons to labor.
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his behalf
*** The writ is a prerogative writ employed to test the validity of detention
*** to secure the detainee’s release
*** The action shall take precedence in the calendar of the court and must be
acted upon immediately
Procedure
Need to comply with writ; disobedience thereof constitutes contempt
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2. Reason of delay
3. Assertion of the right or failure to assert it
4. Prejudice caused by delay
REQUIRES:
1. Impartial and competent court in accordance with
procedure prescribed by law
2. Proper observance of all the rights accorded the
accused under the Constitution and the
applicable statutes
(example of statutory right of the accused: right to
Preliminary investigation)
- When a law not published and a person is impleaded for violation of such
law --– violation of due process
SELF-INCRIMINATION
- Sec. 17, Art. III
- Based on:
1. HUMANITARIAN reasons – it is intended to prevent the State, with
all its coercive powers, from
extracting from the suspect testimony that may convict him
2. PRACTICAL reasons – a person subjected to such compulsion is
likely to perjure himself for his
own protection
- AVAILABLE TO:
- Criminal prosecutions, government proceedings, including civil
actions and administrative or
legislative investigations
- SCOPE:
- Testimonial Compulsion
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- Production of Documents, Papers and Chattels. EXCEPTION:
when books of accounts are
to be examined in the exercise of police power and power of
taxation.
- The right does NOT PROHIBIT the examination of the body of the
accused or the use of findings with
respect to his body as physical evidence. Hence, the fingerprinting of an
accused would not violate the
right against self-incrimination. However, obtaining a sample of the
handwriting of the accused would
violate this right if he is charged for falsification.
- WAIVER:
- Either:
a) Directly, or
b) By failure to invoke it PROVIDED the waiver is certain
and unequivocal and intelligently
and willingly made.
CUSTODIAL INVESTIGATION
- Sec. 12, Art. III
- called the “Miranda Doctrine” (Miranda vs Arizona)
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b) Right to counsel when making the waiver of the right to remain
silent or to counsel
- Right to counsel de parte is not unlimited. Accused cannot repeatedly ask for
postponement. He must be
provided with counsel de oficio.
- RA 7309: victims of unjust imprisonment may file their claims with the Board
of Claims under DOJ
- HEARSAY EXCEPTION: any of several deviations from the hearsay rule; allowing
the admission of otherwise
inadmissible statements because the circumstances surrounding the statements
provide a baiss for
considering the statements reliable.
- RES GESTAE: The declaration of the accused acknowledging guilt made to the
police desk officer after the
crime was committed may be given in evidence against him by the police
officer to whom the admission was
made, as part of the res gestae.
BAIL
- Sec. 13, Art. III
- BAIL defined
- Security given for the release of a person in custody of law,
furnished by him or a bondsman, to
guaranty his appearance before any court as may be required
- FORMS:
a) Corporate Surety
b) Property Bond
c) Cash Deposit
d) Recognizance
- WHO MAY INVOKE: a person under detention even if no formal charges have
yet been filed (Rule 114,
Rules of Court)
- Note:
1. Right to bail is not available in the military.
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2. Apart from bail, a person may attain provisional liberty through
recognizance.
PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE
- Sec. 14
- No inference of guilt may be drawn against an accused for his failure to make
a statement of any sort.
- Indispensable in any criminal prosecution where the stakes are the liberty or
even the life of the accused
- ASISTANCE OF COUNSEL – begins from the time a person is taken into custody
and placed under
investigation for the commission of a crime.
- This is not subject to waiver.
• Right to counsel means the right to EFFECTIVE REPRESENTATION.
• If the accused appears at arraignment without counsel, the judge
must:
− Inform the accused that he has a right to a counsel before arraignment
− Ask the accused if he desires the aid of counsel
− If the accused desires counsel, but cannot afford one, a counsel de
oficio must be appointed
− If the accused desires to obtain his own counsel, the court must give
him a reasonable time to
get one.
- CONTROLLING FACTOR
The description and not the designation of the offense is controlling
(The real nature of the crime charged is determined from the recital of
facts in the information. It is not
determined based on the caption or preamble thereof nor from the
specification of the provision of law
allegedly violated.)
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THE TRIAL
• FACTORS IN DETERMINING WHETHER THERE IS VIOLATION
1)Time expired from the filing of the information
2)Length of delay involved
3)Reasons for the delay
4)Assertion or non-assertion of the right by the accused
5)Prejudice caused to the defendant.
• SPEEDY TRIAL
• Free from vexatious, capricious and oppressive delays
• To relieve the accused from needless anxieties before sentence is
pronounced upon him
• IMPARTIAL TRIAL
• The accused is entitled to the “cold neutrality of an impartial
judge”. It is an element of due process.
• PUBLIC TRIAL
• The attendance at the trial is open to all irrespective of their
relationship to the accused. However, if
the evidence to be adduced is “offensive to decency or public
morals”, the public may be excluded.
• The right of the accused to a public trial is not violated if the
hearings are conducted on Saturdays,
either with the consent of the accused or if failed to object
thereto.
C. The accused may waive the right to be present at the trial by not
showing up. However, the court
can still compel the attendance of the accused if necessary for
identification purposes. EXCEPTION: If
the accused, after arraignment, has stipulated that he is indeed the
person charged with the offense
and named in the information, and that any time a witness refers to
a name by which he is known,
the witness is to be understood as referring to him.
• The trial in absentia does not abrogate the provisions of the Rules of
Court regarding forfeiture of bail
bond if the accused fails to appear at his trial.
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• PURPOSES OF THE RIGHT
• To afford the accused an opportunity to cross-examine the witness
• To allow the judge the opportunity to observe the deportment of the
witness
COMPULSORY PROCESS
• The accused is entitled to the issuance of subpoena ad testificandum
and subpoena duces tecum for
the purpose of compelling the attendance of witness and the production of
evidence that he may need for
his defense.
• Failure to obey – punishable as contempt of court.
• There are exceptional circumstances when the defendant may ask for
conditional examination,
provided the expected testimony is material of any witness under
circumstances that would make him
unavailable from attending the trial.
PROHIBITED PUNISHMENTS
• STANDARDS USED
1. The punishment must not be so severe as to be degrading to the
dignity of human beings.
2. It must not be applied arbitrarily.
3. It must not be unacceptable to contemporary society
4. It must not be excessive, i.e. it must serve a penal purpose
more effectively than a less severe
punishment would.
• EXCESSIVE FINE
A fine is excessive, when under any circumstance, it is
disproportionate to the offense.
Note: Fr. Bernas says that the accused cannot be convicted of the
crime to which the punishment is
attached if the court finds that the punishment is cruel,
degrading or inhuman.
Reason: Without a valid penalty, the law is not a penal law.
DOUBLE JEOPARDY
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2. When a law and an ordinance punish the same act (2nd sentence of Sec.
21)
I. SAME OFFENSE
1)Acquittal
2)Conviction
3)Dismissal W/O the EXPRESS consent of the accused
4)Dismissal on the merits.
Note: where a single act results in the violation of different laws or different
provisions of the same law, the
prosecution for one will not bar the other so long as none of the exceptions
apply.
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Double jeopardy will result if the act punishable under the law and the
ordinance are the same. For there to
be double jeopardy, it is not necessary that the offense be the same.
SUPERVENING FACTS
1)Under the Rules of Court, a conviction for an offense will not bar a
prosecution for an offense which
necessarily includes the offense charged in the former information
where:
2)Under (1)(b), if the facts could have been discovered by the prosecution
but were not discovered because
of the prosecution’s incompetence, it would not be considered a
supervening event.
1) Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of the adoption of the
1987 Constitution
2) Those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of the Philippines.
3) Those born before January 17, 1973 of Filipino mothers, who elect Philippine
citizenship upon reaching the age
of majority.
4) Those who are naturalized in accordance with law.
Modes of acquiring citizenship:
1) Jus Soli – acquisition of citizenship on the basis of place of birth
2) Jus Sanguinis – acquisition of citizenship on the basis of blood relationship
3) Naturalization – the legal act of adopting an alien and clothing him with the
privilege of a native-born citizen.
Prior to the 1973 Constitution, if a Filipina married an alien, she lost her
Filipino citizenship. Hence, her child
would have to elect Filipino citizenship upon reaching the age of majority. Under
the 1973 Constitution, however,
children born of Filipino mothers were already considered Filipinos. Therefore, the
provision on election of
citizenship under the 1987 Constitution only applies to those persons who were born
under the 1935 Constitution.
In order for the children to elect Filipino citizenship, the mothers must have been
Filipinos at the time of their
marriage. So, if your mother was a Filipina who married an alien under the 1935
constitution and you were born
before January 17, 1973, you can elect Filipino citizenship upon reaching the age
of majority.
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When must the election be made:
The election must be made within a reasonable period after reaching the age of
majority.
Effects of naturalization:
Natural-born citizens:
1) Citizens of the Philippines from birth who do not need to perform any act to
acquire or perfect their Philippine
citizenship.
2) Those who elect Philippine citizenship under Art. IV, Sec. 1(3) of 1987
Constitution.
• Re-acquisition of citizenship
Natural-born Filipinos who are deemed to have lost their citizenship may re-acquire
the same via repatriation
proceedings. This involves taking an oath of allegiance and filing the same with
the civil registry.
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