ARTICLE III

BILL OF RIGHTS
 Bill of rights:

• Design to preserve the ideals of liberty, equality and

security against the assaults of opportunism.

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 an individual or
groups of individual.
CLASSES OF RIGHTS OF
CITIZENS:
• A. NATURAL RIGHTS – these are inherent to a
person as creation of
God.
• B. CONSTITUTIONAL – these are rights which are
granted and
protected by the constitution.
• C. STATUTORY RIGHTS – these refers to rights
provided by laws which are granted by the legislature
and may be abolished by the same.
 CLASSIFICATION OF
CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS

1. POLITICAL RIGHTS – those right a citizen exercises

to participate in the affairs of the government.
2. CIVIL RIGHTS – those right that a citizen enjoys in
pursuance of individual happiness and development.
3. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RIGHTS – rights
intended to ensure the well-being and economic
security of the individual.
4. RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED – intended to protect
persons accused of any crime.
 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.”
DUE PROCESS –
hear before
condemn
 SECTION 1
• The term “person” embraces all persons within the territorial
jurisdiction of the Philippines, without regard to any difference
race, color, or nationality, including aliens.
RIGHT TO 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.
RIGHT TO LIBERTY
As protected by due process of law, denotes not merely
freedom from physical restraint. It also embraces the right of man to
use his faculties with which he has been endowed by his creator
subject only to the limitations that he does not violate the law or rights
of others.
 SECTION 1
RIGHT TO PROPERTY
As protected by due process of law, may refer to the
thing itself or to the right over a thing. The constitutional
provision, however, has reference more to the rights over the
thing. It includes the right to own, use, transmit and even to
destroy, subject to the right of the State and of other persons.
 SECTION 1
• 3 ASPECTS OF DUE PROCESS
1. PROCEDURAL DUE PROCESS -> The manner or
procedure which must be followed in the enforcement or
application of law.
2. SUBSTANTIVE DUE PROCESS -> This that the law is to
be applied is valid, just and not arbitrary.
 SECTION 1
EQUAL PROTECTION OF THE LAWS
“Signifies that “all persons subject to
legislation should be treated alike, under like
circumstances and conditions about privileges
conferred and liabilities imposed”
It means that all persons and things
similarly situated should be treated alike bought
as to and responsibilities.
• LIFE – not only the right to live, but the
right to have a good life
• LIBERTY – subject to limitations
• PROPERTY –all kinds of property

• Right to life is more superior than right to

property
• Rights of free expression and of assembly
is preferred over other civil liberties
 DUE PROCESS
• TWO ASPECTS OF DUE PROCESS
1.PROCEDURAL DUE PROCESS -> The manner or
procedure which must be followed in the
enforcement or application of law.
2.SUBSTANTIVE DUE PROCESS -> This that the
law is to be applied is valid, just and not arbitrary
laws
1. There must be court or tribunal
2. Jurisdiction over the person of the defendant
3. Defendant must be given opportunity to be heard
4. Judgment rendered upon lawful hearing
 EQUAL PROTECTION
OF THE LAW
• Equality of the Person
• does not treat the person differently
 Does equal protection prohibit
qualification?

• Must rest on substantial distinction

• Must be germane to the purpose of
the law
• Must not be limited to existing
conditions only
• Must apply equally to all the
members of the same class
 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 or warrant of arrest shall
issue except upon probable cause to be
determined personally by a judge 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.
SEARCH WARRANT VS.
WARRANT OF ARREST
• SEARCH WARRANT – 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 (Alvarez v. CFI of Tayabas)
• WARRANT OF ARREST – (a written order) 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.
 SEARCH WARRANT VS.
WARRANT OF ARREST
SEARCH WARRANT WARRANT OF ARREST
The applicant must show: The applicant must show:

1. that the items sought are in fact 1. probable cause that an offense has
seizable by virtue of being been committed; and
connected with criminal activity; 2. that the person to be arrested
and committed it
2. that the items will be found in the
place to be searched.
The judge must conduct a personal, The judge need not conduct a personal
searching examination of the applicant examination of the applicant and his
and his witnesses witnesses.  He may rely on the affidavits
of the witnesses and the recommendation
of the prosecutor.
It is valid for 10 days, after which the No expiration.
police officer should make a return to the
judge who issued it 
 ESSENTIAL REQUISITES OF A
VALID SEARCH WARRANT:
• Requisites for issuing search warrant under Sec.
4, Rule 126 of Rules of Court:
(a) It must be issued upon probable cause in connection
with one specific offense;
(b) The probable cause must be determined by the judge
himself and not by the applicant or any other person;
(c) In the determination of probable cause, the judge must
examine under oath or affirmation, the complainant and
the witness he may produce; and
(d) The warrant issued must particularly describe the place
to be searched and the things to be seized which may be
anywhere in the Philippines.
 ESSENTIAL REQUISITES OF A
VALID WARRANT OF ARREST:
• Requisites for arrest warrant issued by a RTC judge under
Sec. 5, Rule 112 of Rules of Court:
(a) Within 10 days from the filing of the complaint or
information
(b) The judge shall personally evaluate the resolution of
the prosecutor and its supporting evidence.
(c) If he finds probable cause, he shall issue a warrant of
arrest
(d) In case of doubt on the existence of probable cause 1)
The judge may order the prosecutor to present additional
evidence within 5 days from notice; and 2) The issue must
be resolved by the court within 30 days from the filing of
the complaint of information.
 PROBABLE CAUSE

• Such reasons, supported by facts and

circumstances, as will warrant a cautious
man in the belief that his actions, and the
means in presenting it, are legally just and
proper.
Judge’s personal determination of
probable cause
1. Judge must personally examine the
complainant and the witnesses in the form
of searching questions and answers
2. Examination under oath
3. Examination in writing
4. Complainant and witnesses be examined
on facts personally known to them
5. Judge must attach to the record sworn
statements of the complainant and the
witnesses together with any affidavit
submitted
 WARRANTLESS
SEARCHES OR SEIZURES
1. Warrantless search incidental to a lawful arrest
(Section 12, Rule 16 Rules of Court)
2. Seizure of evidence in Plain View
3. Search of moving vehicle
4. Consented warrantless arrest
5. Customs search or Seizure of goods concealed
to avoid duties
6. Stop-and-frisk
7. Exigent and Emergency Circumtances
8. Prohibited articles in plain view
WARRANTLESS SEARCH OF
ARTICLES IN PLAIN VIEW

1. A prior valid intrusion based on the valid

warrantless arrest in which the police are
legally present in the pursuit of their official
duties
2. Evidence was inadvertently discovered by the
police who had the right to be where they are
3. Evidence must be immediately apparent
4. Plain view justified mere seizure of evidence
without further search
 WARRANTLESS
ARRESTS
1. When, in his presence, the person to be arrested has
committed, is actually committing, or is attempting to
commit an offense (caught in flagrante delicto) (Rule
113, Revised Rules on Criminal Procedure)
2. 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 (Doctrine of hot
pursuit) (Rule 113, Revised Rules on Criminal
Procedure)
3. When a person arrested is an escape or detention
prisoner (Rule 113, Revised Rules on Criminal
Procedure)
 Let’s Practice
1. POLICE OFFICERS APPLIED FOR A
WARRANT TO SEARCH DOOR #1 OF AN
APARTMENT COMPLEX.  THE COURT
ISSUED THE WARRANT.  WHEN THEY WENT
TO THE APARTMENT COMPLEX, THEY
REALIZED THAT WHAT THEY THOUGHT
WAS DOOR #1 WAS ACTUALLY DOOR #7. 
CAN THEY SEARCH DOOR #7?
 ANSWER
>     No,  what  is  controlling  is  what  is  stated  in  the 
warrant,  and  not what the peace officers  had in mind,
even if they were the ones who gave it the description
to the court. 
>     This is to prevent abuses in the service of search
warrants 
 Let’s Practice
1. Police operatives went to Zamora and Pandacan
Streets, manila to confirm reports of drugs pushing
in the area. They saw E selling “something” to
another person. After the latter had left, they
approached E, introduced themselves as
policemen, and frisked him. The search yielded 2
plastic cellophane tea bags of marijuana. When
asked if he had more, E replied that there were
more in his house. The Policemen went to his
house where they found 10 more cellophane tea
bags of marijuana. E charged with and convicted of
possession of prohibited drugs. E assails the
admisibility in evidence of the siezed tea bags.
Decide
 ANSWER
The articles seized from E during his arrest were valid
under the doctrine of search made incidental to a lawful
arrest. The warrantless search made in his house,
however, which yield ten cellophane bags from
marijuana became unlawful since the police officers
were not armed with a search warrant at the time.
Moreover, it was beyond the reach and control of E.
(Espano vs. Court Appeals)
 PRIVACY OF COMMUNICATIONS
AND CORRESPONDENCE
• What a person knowingly exposes to the
public, even in his own home or office, is not
a subject of Fourth Amendment protection.
But what he seeks to preserve as private,
even in an area accessible to the public may
be constitutionally protected (Katz vs US, 389 US
347)
ANTI-WIRETAPPING LAW
• Prohibits overhearing, intercepting, or
recording of private communications
• Intrusion of privacy in communication
and correspondence is allowed upon
lawful order of the court or when public
safety or order requires otherwise as
prescribed by law
 FREEDOM OF
EXPRESSION
• Includes every form of expression, whether
oral, written, tape, or disc recorded

• Includes movies, symbolic speech, wearing

of arm band, peaceful picketing
 FREEDOM OF RELIGION
1. NON-ESTABLISHMENT CLAUSE
: State cannot set up a church nor pass
laws which aid one religion, aid in all
religions or prefer one religion over
another, nor force or influence a person
to go to or remain away from church
against his will or force him to profess
belief or disbelief in any religion
2. FREE EXERCISE CLAUSE
: Freedom to believe
 LIBERTY OF ABODE AND
FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT
Right to choose a person’s abode and the right to
travel both at home and going out of the country

1. LIBERTY OF ABODE : may be limited upon

lawful order of the court
2. RIGHT TO TRAVEL : may be limited by
administrative authorities as may be provided by
law in the interest of national security, public
safety or public health
RIGHT TO INFORMATION
1. Right to information on matters of public
concern
2. Corollary right of access to official records
and documents
 RIGHT OF ASSOCIATION
• The right of the government employees to
organize include the right to form unions
but not to strike and to engage in similar
activities

• Right to associate guarantees the right not

to join an association
 EMINENT DOMAIN
• Power of the State to forcibly take private
property for public use upon payment of just
compensation
 LEGAL ASSISTANCE AND FREE
ACCESS TO COURTS
INDIGENT PARTY

: One authorized by the court to prosecute his

action or defense as an indigent upon an ex
parte application and hearing showing that
he has no money or property sufficient and
available for food, shelter and basic
necessities for himself and his family
 RIGHTS OF SUSPECTS
1. Right to be informed of his right to remain
silent and to counsel
2. To be reminded if he waives his right to
remain silent, anything he says can and will
be used against him
3. To remain silent
4. To have competent and independent
counsel preferably of his own choice
 RIGHTS OF SUSPECTS
5. To be provided with counsel, if cannot afford to
provided
6. No torture, force, threat, intimidation or any other
means which vitiate the free will shall be used
against him
7. Secret detention places, solitary,
incommunicado, or other similar forms of
detention are prohibited
8. Confessions or admissions obtained in violation
of these rights are inadmissible as evidence
 RIGHTS OF THE
ACCUSED
Right to due process
To bail
To presumption of innocence
To be heard
To assistance of counsel
To be informed
To speedy, impartial and public trial
Right of confrontation
Right to compulsory processes
Trial in absentia
WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS, AMPARO,
HABEAS DATA AND KALIKASAN
HABEAS CORPUS

: a writ directed to the person detaining

another, commanding him to produce the
body of a prisoner at a designated time and
place, with the day and cause of his caption
and detention, to do, submit to, and receive
whatever the court or judge awarding the writ
shall consider in that behalf
 PRIVILEGE OF THE WRIT OF
HABEAS CORPUS
• The right to have an immediate determination
of the legality of the deprivation of physical
liberty

• What is suspended by the President is the

privilege, NOT the writ, in cases of invasion
or rebellion when the public safety requires it
AMPARO

: remedy available to any person whose right to

life, liberty, security is violated or threatened with
a violation with unlawful act or omission of public
official or employee, or of any private individual
or entity
HABEAS DATA

: remedy available to person whose right to

privacy to life, liberty or security is violated or
threatened by unlawful act or omission of
public official or employee, or private entity
engaged in the gathering, collecting, storing
of data or information regarding the person
KALIKASAN

: remedy available to natural or juridical

person on behalf of the persons whose
constitutional right to a balanced and
healthful ecology is violated
 SELF-INCRIMINATION
CLAUSE
• Includes the right to refuse to testify to a fact
which would be a necessary link in a chain of
evidence to prove the commission of a crime by
a witness

• What is prohibited by the constitutional

guarantee is the use of physical or moral
compulsion to extort communication from the
witness, not an inclusion of his body as
evidence, when it may be material
INVOLUNTARY SEVITUDE
• Condition where one is compelled by force,
coercion, or imprisonment, and against his
will, to labor for another, whether he is paid or
not
 Can the legislature restore death
penalty in the future?
Yes, if it finds compelling reasons involving
heinous crimes

HEINOUS CRIMES
Crimes are heinous for being grievous, odious, and
hateful offenses and which, by reason of their
inherent or manifest wickedness, viciousness,
atrocity and perversity are repugnant and outrageous
to the common standards and norms of decency and
morality in a just, civilized, and ordered society
 Instances when death penalty will
not be imposed
1. The guilty person is below 18 years of age at
the time of the commission of the crime
2. The guilty person is more than 70 years of age
at the time of the commission of the crime
3. When upon appeal or automatic review of the
case by the Supreme Court, the required
majority vote is not obtained for the imposition
of the death penalty shall be reclusion perpetua
 NON-IMPRISONMENT FOR
DEBTS
1. Debt : any liability to pay money growing
out of contract

2. Poll tax : cedula or residence tax

: a tax the payment of which is made a
requirement for the exercise of the
right of suffrage
 DOUBLE JEOPARDY
 Accused is acquitted, or convicted, or the
case against him is dismissed or otherwise
terminated without his express consent by a
court of competent jurisdiction, upon a
complaint or information, and after the
accused has pleaded to the charge, the
conviction or acquittal or the dismissal of the
case shall be a bar to another prosecution for
the same offense
 REQUISITES:
1. A first jeopardy must have attached
prior to the second
2. The first jeopardy must have
terminated
3. The second jeopardy must be for the
same offense as that in the first
 How is the first jeopardy
terminated?

1. By acquittal
2. By final conviction
3. By dismissal without express consent of the
accused
4. By dismissal on the merits
 EX-POST FACTO LAW
1. Which makes an action before the passing
of the law and which was innocent when
done in criminal, and punishes such action
2. Which aggravates a crime or makes it
greater when it was committed
3. Which changes the punishment and inflicts
a greater punishment than the law annexed
to the crime when committed
4. Which alters the legal rules of evidence and
receives less or different testimony than the law
required at the time of the commission of the
offense in order to convict the defendant
5. 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. 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
 BILL OF ATTAINDER
A legislative act which inflicts punishment without
judicial trial

REQUISITES:
1. There must be a law
2. The law imposes a burden on a named individual
or easily ascertainable members of a group
3. The penal burden is imposed directly by the law
without judicial trial