LEGAL ASSISTANCE AND FREE

ACCESS TO COURT
The Section 11 of Article III states
that Free access to the courts and
quasi-judicial bodies and adequate
legal assistance shall not be denied
to any person by reason of poverty.
 This constitutional provision is the
basis for the provision of Sec. 17 Rule
5 of the New Rules of Court which
provides that for litigation in forma
pauperis in which paupers and
indigents, who have only their labor
to support themselves, are given free
legal services and access to courts.
 Reverend Father Joaquin Bernas in his 1987
Constitution Commentary once said that the
importance of the right to free access to the
courts and quasi-judicial bodies and to adequate
legal assistance cannot be denied. A move to
remove the provision on free access from the
Constitution on the ground that it was already
covered by the equal protection clause was
defeated by the desire to give constitutional
stature to such specific protection of the poor.
 Litigation in Forma Pauperis

In implementation of the right of free

access under the Constitution, the
Supreme Court promulgated rules,
specifically, Sec. 21, Rule 3, Rules of
Court, and Sec. 19, Rule 141, Rules of
Court, which respectively state thus:
 Indigent party — A party may be
authorized to litigate his action, claim or
defense as an indigent if the court, upon
an ex parte application and hearing, is
satisfied that the party is one who has
no money or property sufficient and
available for food, shelter and basic
necessities for himself and his family.
 Such authority shall include an exemption
from payment of docket and other lawful
fees, and of transcripts of stenographic notes
which the court may order to be furnished
him. The amount of the docket and other
lawful fees which the indigent was exempted
from paying shall be a lien on any judgment
rendered in the case favorable to the
indigent, unless the court otherwise
provides.
Any adverse party may contest the grant
of such authority at any time before
judgment is rendered by the trial court.
If the court should determine after
hearing that the party declared as an
indigent is in fact a person with sufficient
income or property, the proper docket
and other lawful fees shall be assessed
and collected by the clerk of court.
If payment is not made within the
time fixed by the court, execution
shall issue for the payment
thereof, without prejudice to such
other sanctions as the court may
impose.
Indigent litigants exempt from payment of
legal fees (a) whose gross income and that
of their immediate family do not exceed
an amount double the monthly minimum
wage of an employee and (b) who do not
own real property with a fair market value
as stated in the current tax declaration of
more than three hundred thousand
(P300,000.00) pesos shall be exempt from
payment of legal fees.
RIGHTS OF PERSONS UNDER
CUSTODIAL INVESTIGATION
The Section 12 of Article III states that Any person
under investigation for the commission of an offense
shall have the right to be informed of his right to
remain silent and to have competent and independent
counsel preferably of his own choice. If the person
cannot afford the services of counsel, he must be
provided with one. These rights cannot be waived
except in writing and in the presence of counsel.
No torture, force, violence, threat,
intimidation or any other means
which vitiates the free will shall be
used against him. Secret
detention places, solitary,
incommunicado, or other similar
forms of detention are prohibited.
Any confession or admission obtained in
violation of this or section 17 hereof
shall be inadmissible in evidence against
him. The law shall provide for penal and
civil sanctions for violations of this
section as well as compensation to and
rehabilitation of victims of torture or
similar practices, and their families.
This provision of our constitution
has been coined as Miranda
Rights. It was stemmed from the
1966 U.S. Supreme Court case
which is the Miranda v. Arizona.
To easily remember the principle of
Miranda Rights, just remember SCI:
S… Right to remain silent;
C…Right to competent and
independent counsel preferably of
his own choice; and
I..The right to be informed of such
rights
 Philippines and it is its policy to value
the dignity of every human being and
guarantee full respect for human rights.

In consonance with the Miranda

rights…. The RA 7438 assures the rights
of Persons Arrested, Detained or Under
Custodial Investigation;
 In this law, It is the duty of any
public officer or employee, or
anyone acting under his order or
his place, who arrests, detains or
investigates any person for the
commission of an offense:
 shall inform the latter, in a
language known to and
understood by him,
of his rights to remain silent and
to have competent and
independent counsel, preferably
of his own choice,
who shall at all times be allowed
to confer privately with the
person arrested, detained or
under custodial investigation. If
such person cannot afford the
services of his own counsel,
Lastly, he must be provided with
a competent and independent
counsel by the investigating
officer.
These rights begin to be available
where “the investigation is no
longer a general inquiry into an
unsolved crime but has begun to
focus on a particular suspect,
the suspect has been taken into
police custody, the police carry
out a process of interrogation
that lends itself to eliciting
incriminating statements.”
In a custodial investigation, any
interrogation initiated against a
suspect or an accused taken into
custody by a police officer or law
enforcer must not be deprived
of his freedom or action.
However, this rights has its own limitation
though…

These are the Circumstances not covered

by the rights

Just remember PerPoVol VeISP “Purple

Vase”)
 PER …. Persons under
preliminary investigations or
those already charged in court
for a crime for these are already
under the supervision of a court;
 PO…Police line-up;

VOL… Voluntary admission or

surrender where one presents
himself to the police to
surrender;
 VE… Verbal confessions to a
radio announcer or to media,
private persons, public officials
who are not law enforcers;
 I… Investigation by an administrative
body—because such inquiries are
conducted merely to determine
whether there are facts that merit
disciplinary measure against the erring
public officers or employees, with the
purpose of maintain the dignity of
government service;
S…Spontaneous statements even
when under police custody; and

P… Paraffin test.
S…Spontaneous statements even
when under police custody; and

P… Paraffin test.
 Right to be informed of his rights

It must be presumed to
contemplate the transmission of a
meaningful information rather
than just the ceremonial and
perfunctory recitation of an
abstract constitutional principle.
 Right to Counsel
Right to counsel attaches upon
the start of an investigation, i.e.
when the investigating officer
starts to ask questions to elicit
information and/or confessions or
admissions from the
respondent/accused .
 Substantial compliance
When an extrajudicial confession is
made, in the absence of a counsel,
but where at the closing stage of
the interrogation, counsel arrives
and has the opportunity to read the
statement and discuss it with the
client who subsequently signs it.
Lawyers who are not deemed independent counsel (SM
Bany)
S…Special counsel, public or private prosecutor,
municipal attorney or counsel of the police whose
interest is admittedly adverse to the accused;
M… Mayor;
B… Barangay Captain; and
ANY… Any other whose interest may be adverse to that
of the accused.
 Legal effect of the violation of these rights
When an extrajudicial confession is
made, in the absence of a counsel,
but where at the closing stage of
the interrogation, counsel arrives
and has the opportunity to read the
statement and discuss it with the
client who subsequently signs it.
 Legal effect of the violation of these rights
When an extrajudicial confession is
made, in the absence of a counsel,
but where at the closing stage of
the interrogation, counsel arrives
and has the opportunity to read the
statement and discuss it with the
client who subsequently signs it.
 Valid waiver of rights
There are two requisites for a
valid waiver of rights:
First, it must be made in writing;
and
Second, In the presence of a
counsel.
 Admission v. Confession
Wharton distinguishes a
confession from an admission. A
confession is an acknowledgment
in express terms, by a party in a
criminal case, of his guilt of the
crime charged, while an admission
is a statement by the accused,
 Admission v. Confession
direct or implied, of facts
pertinent to the issue and
tending, in connection with proof
of other facts, to prove his guilt.
In other words, an admission is
something less than a confession.
 Admission v. Confession
There are confession or
admission of guilt made outside
the court and not as part of a
judicial examination or
investigation. Such is called
Extrajudicial confession
 There are requisites for an extrajudicial
confession to be admissible in evidence…

1. The confession must be voluntary;

2. The confession must be made with the

assistance of a competent and independent

counsel, preferably of the confessant’s
choice;
 3. The confession must be express;
4. The confession must be in writing; and
5. Signed, or if the confessant does not
know how to read and write, thumb marked
by him.
 3. The confession must be express;
4. The confession must be in writing; and
5. Signed, or if the confessant does not
know how to read and write, thumb marked
by him.
Reasons why torture, force, etc. are prohibited

1. Because they vitiate

truth; and
2. Because they are an
assault on the dignity of
the person.
 Reasons why torture, force, etc. are prohibited

Every person is a human being

and everyone has the dignity to
life. The Universal Declaration
of Human Rights adheres to the
policy of equality, freedom,
justice, and dignity.