BILL OF RIGHTS

Group-6 46384
AGENDA
 Rights of the Accused – sec.4 Rule 115 Rules of court
 Rights to speedy disposition of case – sec. 16
 Rights against excessive fines and cruel, Degrading and in human punishment
– sec. 19
 Non- Imprisonment for debts – sec. 20
 Rights against double Jeopardy – sec. 21
 Rights against Involuntary servitude – sec. 18
 Ex Post Facto laws and bills of attainder – sec. 22
13. RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED- SEC.14
RULE 115 RULES OF COURT
 Right of the Accused- Sec 14; Rule 115 rules of court.

 The rights of the accused are a crucial component of the criminal

justice system. ensuring that individuals facing criminal charges are
afforded fair treatment. due process. and protection of their
fundamental rights. section 14 of the Philippines constitution and
rule 115 the rules of the outline these rights in detail.
PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENSE

The accused is presumed innocent until proven

guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. This means that
the burden of proof lies with the prosecution to
establish the guilt of the accused. The accused does
not have to prove their innocence.
RIGHT TO COUNSEL
 The accused has the right to be represented by a competent
and independent lawyer pf their choice. if they cannot
afford a lawyer, the court must appoint one for them. this
ensures that the accused is adequately represented and can
effectively defend themselves.
14. RIGHT TO SPEEDY DISPOSITION OF CASE – SEC. 16
 (1) Importance of right. - The above provision upholds the time-honored tradition of
speedy justice for, as stated in the truism "Justice delayed is justice denied." Its express
inclusion was in response to the common charge against the perennial delays in the
administration of justice which in the past have plagued our judicial system
 (2) Invocation of right- The right to a speedy disposition of cases can be invoked only
after the termination of the trial or hearing of a case.
 (3) Time limit in disposition of cases- Under the present Constitution, the Supreme
Court, all lower collegiate courts. and all other lower courts are required to decide or resolve
cases within a certain period of time. (see Art. VIII, Sec. 15[1]) With the setting of an absolute
time limit in the disposition of cases, a court litigant will not have to wait indefinitely anymore
for his case to be decided.
15. RIGHT AGAINST EXCESSIVE FINES AND
CRUEL, DEGRADING AND IN HUMAN
PUNISHMENT – SEC. 19
 Right to speedy disposition of cases : The question as to the amount of the fines that shall be
imposed is one addressed to the sound discretion of the court. If it keeps within the limits of a
statute, the fine cannot usually be held unreasonable. SEC. 19.
 (1) Excessive fines shall not be imposed, nor cruel, degrading or inhuman punishment inflicted.
Neither shall death penalty be imposed, unless, for compelling reasons involving heinous crimes,
the Congress hereafter provides for it. Any death penalty already imposed shall be reduced to
reclusion perpetua.
 (2) The employment of physical, psychological, or degrading punishment against any prisoner or
detainee or the use of substandard or Inadequate penal facilities under subhuman conditions shall be
dealt with by law.
 RIGHT AGAINST CRUEL, DEGRADING, OR
INHUMAN PUNISHMENTS.
 This right, as contra-distinguished from the right against the use of torture (Sec. 12[2].), can only
be invoked after conviction for a crime.
 (1) Form of punishment- It can be said that punishments are cruel and/or inhuman when
they involve torture or lingering death, such as burning alive, mutilation, starvation, drowning,
and other barbarous punishment.
 (2) Quantity or duration/severity of punishment- ordinarily not taken into account in
determining whether the It is punishment is cruel or inhuman. Hence, the mere fact that a
punishment is disproportionate to the nature of the offense would not make it cruel or inhuman.
 Application of penalties or punishments- The Constitution mandates that the employment of physical,
psychological or degrading punishment against any prisoner or detainee or the use of substandard or
inadequate penal facilities under subhuman conditions should be dealt with by law. Imposition of the
death penalty.
 (1) Commutation of death penalties already imposed. - Section 19 abolishes the death penalty. It shall
not be inflicted unless Congress decides to reinstate it "for compelling reasons, involving heinous
crimes" in which case it shall apply only to such crimes subsequently committed. Death penalties
already imposed upon the effectivity of the new Constitution were automatically commuted to
reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment. (Sec. 19.)
 (2) Crimes considered heinous. The Constitution does not define what are "heinous crimes" but they
can be said to cover offenses that are exceedingly or flagrantly bad or evil or those committed with
extreme cruelty as to shock the general moral sense, such as treason, parricide, and drug trafficking
etc especially if the crime is committed against children or defenseless people.
16. NON-IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBTS
– SEC. 20
 Sec. 20. No person shall be imprisoned for debt or non-
payment of a poll tax

 Meaning of Debt.
Debt, as intended to be covered by the constitutional
guarantee, means any liability to pay money arising out of a
contract, express or implied
Protection against imprisonment:
 The right guarantees that individuals cannot be imprisoned for failing to pay
debts. This means that debtors cannot be detained or incarcerated solely
because of their inability to repay financial obligation
Civil nature of debt:
The provision emphasizes that debts are primarily a civil matter rather than a
criminal offense. It recognizes that the non-payment of debts is a dispute
between private parties and should be resolved through civil remedies such as
negotiation, mediation, or legal proceedings.
Exceptions:
While the general rule is non-imprisonment foe debts. There are exceptions to
this principle. Individuals can still be subject to imprisonment for debts in cases
of fraud, embezzlement, or other criminal acts related to the debt. However even
such cases the imprisonment is not for the debt itself but for the accompanying
criminal offense.
Debt collection practices:
The right also serves as a safeguard against abusive debt collection practices. It
prevents creditors or debt collectors from using the threat of imprisonment as a
means to coerce or intimidate debtors into paying their debts.
17. RIGHTS AGAINST DOUBLE
JEOPARDY - SEC. 21
 SEC. 21. No person shall be twice put in jeopardy of punishment for the same
offense. If an act is punished by a law and an ordinance, conviction or acquittal
under either shall constitute a bar to another prosecution for the same act.

 Meaning of right against double jeopardy.

The right against double jeopardy means that when a person is charged with an
offense and the case is terminated either by acquittal or conviction or in any
other manner without the express consent of the accused, the latter cannot again
be charged with the same or identical.
Existence of double jeopardy.
(1) Requisites. - Under present law and jurisprudence, the
No cased is placed in double jeopardy if the following condition
are present:
(a) He has been previously brought to trial;
(b) In a court of competent jurisdiction (i.e ., court hay ing jurisdiction k;
(c) under a valid complaint or information (i.e ., suf-
ficient in form and substance to sustain a conviction); ordi
(d) He has been arraigned (see Sec. 14[2].) and pleaded
(either guilty or not guilty) to the charge;
(e) He has been convicted or acquitted or the case
against him has been dismissed or otherwise terminated lou
without his express consent; and con diff
(f) He is being charged again for the same offense.:
 (2) Rule in case of mistrial. - The right cannot be invoked

 where a petition for a declaration of a mistrial is granted on the pound that the proceedings
have been vitiated by lack of due sense , as where the prosecution and the judge who tried and
decided the case acted under the compulsion of some pressure.

 Rights to appeal in criminal cases.

(1) The government has no right, therefore, to appeal from

a judgment of acquittal.
(2) The accused, after having been convicted. may appeal
to a higher court, but the latter may raise the penalty imposed
on him by the lower court and such is not second jeopardy
ART. III - BILL OF RIGHTS
203
Classes of double jeopardy. It is to be observed that the provision deals with

two (2) Classes of double jeopardy. (1) For the same offense. - Under the first
sentence, the protection is against double jeopardy for the same offense and
not for the same act, provided he is charged with a different offense (so an act
may give rise to more than one offense) except if the "act is punished by a law
(enacted by Congress) and an ordinance" (enacted by a local legislative body)
in which case "conviction or acquittal under either shall constitute a bar to
another prosecution for the same act.“ (2) For the same act. - The second
sentence contemplates double jeopardy of punishment for the same act (e.g .,
illegal construction) and it applies although the offenses charged are different,
one constituting a violation of a statute and the other of an ordinance.
 18. RIGHTS AGAINST INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE –
SEC. 18
 Meaning of involuntary servitude
-Involuntary servitude refers to a situation where a person is forced to work against their will,
often under threat of coercion, violence, or some other form of compulsion. It's a form of slavery
or forced labor where individuals are deprived of their freedom to choose their employment or
work conditions.
-any service or labor which is not free, no matter under what form such service may have been
rendered It includes:
• (1) Slavery or the state of entire subjection of one person to the will of another
• (2) Peonage or the voluntary submission of a person ( peon] to the will of another because of his
debt. The term "slavery" is not employed in the Constitution because slavery, as it existed in
Europe and America, has never been practiced in the Philippines.
 Basis and purpose of the prohibition.
• (1) The prohibition is grounded on the value accorded to human dignity in a democratic and free
society. (see Art. II, Sec. 11.) Human dignity is not a merchandise appropriate for commercial
transactions or business bargains, Fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution are outside
the commerce of men; hence, they cannot be sold, bartered, leased, or otherwise be the subject matter
of contract.
• (2) The purpose is to maintain a system of completely free and voluntary labor by prohibiting the
rendition of personal service by one who is compelled by force, coercion, or imprisonment, and
against his will, for another's benefit. It is immaterial whether the labor is paid or not.
Exceptions to prohibition.
• (1) when the involuntary servitude is imposed as ª punishment for a crime whereof the party shall
have been duly convicted (Sec. 18[2].)
• (2) when personal military or civil service is required of citizens for the defense of the State (Art. Il,
Sec. 4.);
ART. III - BILL OF RIGHTS SEC.18
 (3) to injunctions requiring striking laborers to return to work pending settlement of an
industrial dispute.
 (4) to exceptional services, such as military and naval listment. Thus, a statute punishing
sailors who desert their ship do not contravene the constitutional provision. From Immemorial
usage, sailors may not leave their ships during a voyage
 (5) to exercise by parents of their authority to require their children to perform reasonable
amount of work
 (6) when there is a proper exercise of the police power of the State. (supra.) Thus, persons may
be required to assist in the protection of the peace and order of the community, or to help build
or repair public highways and streets
19. EX POST FACTO LAWS AND
BILLS OF ATTAINDER – SEC. 22
Meaning of ex post facto law.
 An ex post facto (after the fact) law is one which, operating retrospectively

(1) makes an act done before the passage of a law, innocent when done, criminal, and punishes
such act.
(2) aggravates a crime or makes it greater than when it was committed
(3) changes the punishment and inflicts a greater punish- ment than what the law annexed to
the crime, when committed
(4) alters the legal rules of evidence, and receives less testimony than or different testimony
from what the law required at the time of the commission of the offense, in order to convict
the offender.
CHARACTERISTICS OF EX POST FACTO LAW.

THEY ARE:
 (1) Ex post facto laws relate to penal or criminal matters only (civil interests are protected by
the non-impairment clause)
 (2) They are retroactive in their operation
 (3) They deprive persons accused of crime of some protec tion or defense previously
available, to their disadvantage.
* An example of an ex post facto law is a statute declaring as usurious and unlawful, the rate of
interest provided in a contract which was not usurious under the laws in force at the time of the
execution of the contract. Here, the law is unfair to the accused. Ex post facto laws are
absolutely prohibited unless they are favorable to the accused as when an act, a crime when
committed, is declared lawful and no longer punishable by a subsequent law. Note: Usury is no
longer punishable by law. There is now no limit imposed by law on the interest a lender may
charge a borrower.
MEANING OF BILL OF
ATTAINDER.
 A bill of attainder is a legislative act which inflicts punishment without a judicial trial.
 If the punishment is less than death, the act is called a bill of pains and penalties. It is included
within the meaning of bill of attainder as used in the Constitution.
Purpose of prohibition against bill of attainder.:
The prohibition against the enactment of bills of attainder is designed as a general safeguard
against legislative exercise of the judicial function, or simply, trial by legislature.
(1) In a case where a law passed by the United States Congress declared in one of its sections
that three (3) govern- ment employees named therein were not to receive any salary after a
certain date because of their subversive activities,
ART. III - BILL OF RIGHTS
 US Supreme Court held that the enactment was in the nature of a judge and giving no hearing
to the parties. Hence, the of a bill of pains and penalties, the Congress assuming the role
 provision was void.”
 (2) A law passed declaring members of an association guilty of subversion and subjecting
them to imprisonment is unconstitutional because it convicts and penalizes without the
 benefit of judicial trial.
 (3) But the detention of a prisoner for a certain period pending investigation and trial is not a
punishment; it is a necessary extension of the well-recognized power of the State to hold a
criminal suspect for investigation."