GEC 002

Week 13
Intended Learning Outcomes
(ILOs)
• Demonstrate the ability to formulate
arguments in favor or against a particular
issue regarding the Bill of Rights
The 1987 Constitution
• In History, President Corazon Aquino's
government decided to make a new
Constitution because they believe that it
could break the vestiges of Marcos
dictatorship.
• In 1986, a constitutional convention was
created, composed of 48 members from
different sectors of society- lawyers,
teachers, jurists, farmers, etc.
The 1987 Constitution
• The 1986 constitutional convention became
formally known as the 1986 Philippine
Constitutional Commission.
• The convention drew up the present
Constitution, largely restoring the setup
abolished by Marcos in 1972.
• The Constitution begins with a preamble
and eighteen self-contained articles.
A historical
marker issued by
the National
Historical
Commission of
the Philippines to
commemorate
the 1986
Philippine
Constitutional
Commission.
President of the Constitutional Commission,
Cecilia Muñoz-Palma.
The 1987 Constitution
• It established the Philippines as a
"democratic republican state" where
sovereignty resides in the people and all
government authority emanates from them.
• It contains separation of powers between
the executive, legislative and judicial
branches of the government.
Why not total democracy? Why
need a constitution?

To avoid the “tyranny of the majority”.

CONSTITUTIONAL
COMMISSIONS
The 1987 Constitution
• The Constitution also established three
independent Constitutional Commissions.
• The Constitutional Commissions, which shall
be independent, are the:
• Civil Service Commission,
• the Commission on Elections,
• and the Commission on Audit.
Constitutional Commissions
• Civil Service Commission, a central agency in
charge of government personnel
• Commission on Elections, mandated to
enforce and administer all election laws and
regulations
• Commission on Audit, which examines all
funds, transactions and property accounts of
the government and its agencies
Other Constitutional Offices
Other Constitutional Offices
• Office of the Ombudsman was created to
investigate complaints that pertain to public
corruption, unlawful behavior of public
officials, and other public misconduct. The
Ombudsman can charge public officials
before Sandiganbayan, a special court
created for this purpose.
Other Constitutional Offices
• Created under the 1987 Constitution of the
Philippines, the Commission on Human
Rights was tasked with the primary function
of investigating all forms of human rights
violations involving civil and political rights in
the Philippines.
BILL OF RIGHTS
(ARTICLE III)
Bill of Rights
• May be defined as a declaration and
enumeration of a persons right and
privileges which the constitution
designed to protect against violations
by the government or by an individual
or groups of individuals.
Classes of Rights
• Natural Rights - Rights posses by every citizen
without being granted by the state for they are
given to man by God as human being created to
his image.
• Constitutional Rights - Rights which are
conferred by the constitution.
• Statutory Rights - Rights which are provided by
laws by the law-making body and consequently
maybe abolish by the same body.
Classification of Constitutional
Rights
• Political Rights - Gives the citizen the
power to participate directly or
indirectly in the government.
• Civil Rights - Rights which the law
enforce. Includes the rights to due
process and equal protection of the law.
Classification of Constitutional
Rights
• Social and Economic Rights - Includes
the right which are intended to insure
the well-being and economic security of
the individual.
• Rights of the Accused - Civil rights
intended for the protection of the
person accused of any crime. Like the
right to presumption of innocence.
Activity
• Identify what classification of constitutional rights
the following belongs to.

1. Right against torture or use of violence by the

arresting officer.
2. Right to own a property.
3. Right to vote.
4. Right to minimum wage.
5. Right against discrimination.
Answer Key
1. Rights of the Accused
2. Social and Economic Rights
3. Political Rights
4. Social and Economic Rights
5. Civil Rights
Article III: Bill of Rights
• Section 1 – Right to Due Process of Law
• Section 2 – Right against Warrantless Arrest and
Seizures
• Section 3 – Right of Privacy
• Section 4 – Freedom of Expression
• Section 5 – Freedom of Religion
• Section 6 – Liberty of Abode and Travel
• Section 8 – Right to Form Associations
Article III: Bill of Rights
• Section 9 – Right to Own a Property subject to the
principle of Eminent Domain
• Section 10 – Obligation of Contract
• Section 11 - Rights of the Accused in Criminal Cases
• Section 12 – Rights of the Person under
Investigation
• Section 13 – Right to Bail
• Section 16 – Right to Speedy Trial
Article III: Bill of Rights
• Section 17 – Right against Self-Incrimination
• Section 19 – Right against cruel, degrading,
or inhuman punishment
• Section 20 – Right against Imprisonment due
to Debt
• Section 21 – Right against Double Jeopardy
Article III - Section 1
No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or
property without due process of law, nor
shall be denied the equal protection of the
laws.

Due Process of Law - a law or a policy that

hears before it condemns, a principle of fair
play.
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 the judge after
examination under oath or affirmation of the
complainant and witnesses he may produce,
and particularly describing the place to be
searched and the persons or things to be seized.
Kinds of Warrant
• Search warrant – an order of 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.
• Warrant of arrest – to arrest a person
designated and to take him into custody in
order that he may be bound to answer for the
commission of an offense
Requisites for valid search warrant
or warrant of arrest
• Must be issued upon probable cause
• Probable cause must be determined personally
by the judge himself
• Such determination of the existence of probable
cause must be made after examination by the
judge of the complainant and the witnesses he
may produce
• Must be particularly describe the place to be
search and the person or things to be seized.
When search and seizure may be
made without warrant
• Where there is consent and waiver.
• Where such is an incident to a lawful arrest
• In the case of contraband or forfeited goods
being transported by ship, automobile, or
other vehicle, where the officer making it
has reasonable cause for believing that the
latter contains them.
When arrest may be made without
warrant
• When in his presence, the person to be arrested
has committed or attempting to commit an offense.
• 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.
• When the person to be arrested is a prisoner who
has escaped from a penal establishment or place
where he is serving final judgment or has escaped
while being transferred to one confinement to
another.
Section 3
(1) The privacy of communication and
correspondence shall be inviolable except
upon lawful order of the court, or when
public safety or order requires otherwise as
prescribed by law.
(2) Any evidence obtained in violation of this or
the preceding section shall be inadmissible
for any purpose in any proceeding.

Right of privacy – right to be left alone

The Exclusionary Rule Principle
• The principle which mandates that
evidence obtained from an illegal
arrest, unreasonable search or
coercive investigation, or in
violation of a particular law, must
be excluded from the trial and will
not be admitted as evidence.
Section 4
No law shall be passed abridging the
freedom of speech, of expression, or of the
press, or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble and petition the government for
redress of grievances.

One of the freedoms covered by this section is the

constitutional freedom of speech and expression,
and of the press, otherwise also known as
the freedom of expression.
Limits of Freedom of Expression
• Anyone who Slanders or Libels
• Lewd and obscene speech
• Fighting words
• Seditious speeches
Congresswoman Claudine Diana “Dendee” Bautista-Lim
has filed an online defamation complaint against actor
Enchong Dee for Php. 1B
Section 6
The liberty of abode and of changing the
same within the limits prescribed by law shall
not be impaired except upon lawful order of
the court. Neither shall the right to travel be
impaired except in the interest of national
security, public safety, or public health, as
may be provided by law.
Liberty of Abode and Travel
• Liberty of Abode and Travel or the right
of a person to have his home in
whatever place chosen by him and
thereafter to change it at will, and to go
where he pleases without interference
from any source. It also include the
right to travel.
Section 8
The right of the people, including those
employed in the public and private
sectors, to form unions, associations, or
societies for purposes not contrary to
law shall not be abridged.
Right to Form Associations
• The right to form an association is the
freedom to organize or to be a member
of any group or association, union or
society and to adopt the rules which the
members judge most appropriate to
achieve their purpose.
Right to Form Associations
• Grants government employees to form
labor unions.
• Conversely, it includes the right not to
be compelled to join an association
Section 9
• While each person has the right to own
a property, such property may be taken
away, but there must be proper
compensation. This is because the state
possess inherent powers.
 Police

Inherent
Powers of
the State
Eminent
Taxation
Domain
Inherent Powers of the State
• Power of Eminent Domain - power
of the state to take private property
for public use upon paying the
owner just compensation.
Inherent Powers of the State
• Police Power - power of the state to
enact laws and regulations in
relation to person and property as
may promote public health, public
morals, public safety, and general
welfare of the people.
Inherent Powers of the State
• Power of Taxation - power of the
state to impose charge or burden
upon persons, property, or property
rights for the use and support of the
government and to enable it to
discharge its appropriate functions.
Section 10
No law impairing the obligation of
contracts shall be passed.
Obligation of Contract
• Obligation of contract is the law or
duty which binds the parties to
perform their agreement according
to its terms and intent if it is not
contrary to law, morals, good
customs, public order or public
policy.
Obligation of Contract
• Prohibition of impairing it is
intended to protect creditors, to
assure the fulfillment of lawful
promises, and to guard the integrity
of contractual obligations.
What the law say?
• Under the Law on Obligations and Contracts,
the general principle is that a contract term
should not be so onerous or
disadvantageous to the consumer that it
practically destroys their ability to enter into
a meaningful contract.
What the law say?
• In Philippine courts, they also consider the
bargaining power of the parties involved. If
the consumer has significantly less
bargaining power than the business, the
court may be more likely to find a term
unfair.
Section 11
Free access to the courts and quasi-
judicial bodies and adequate legal
assistance shall not be denied to any
person by reason of poverty.
Reasons for constitutional
safeguards
• A criminal case, an unequal contest - it
is of necessity, unequal contest because
the parties are of unequal strength. It is
a contest between the individual
government. The government being the
most influential institution always have
the upper-hand in any criminal case.
Reasons for constitutional
safeguards
• Criminal accusations, a very serious
matter-the defendant by merely being
accused may find himself in immediate
trouble whether guilty or not, his
reputation is at question. The accused
therefore needs every possible
opportunity to defend himself
Reasons for constitutional
safeguards
• Protection of innocent, the underlying
purpose - the purpose is to assure that
truth will be discovered and that justice
will be done
Section 12
(1) 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.
Right of Person Under
Investigation
• to be informed of his right to remain silent
• to have competent and independent counsel
preferably of his own choice or to be provided with
one
• against the use of torture, force, violence, threat,
intimidation, or any other means w/c vitiates the
free will
• against being held in secret, solitary ,
incommunicado, or other similar forms of
detention
Miranda Rule Doctrine
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything
you say can and will be used against you in a
court of law. You have a right to an attorney. If
you cannot afford an attorney, one will be
appointed for you.”
What happens if a cop
doesn't read/recite you
your Miranda rights?
What happens if a cop doesn't
read you your Miranda rights?
• Many people believe that if they are arrested
and not "read their rights," they can escape
punishment. Not true. But if the police fail to
read a suspect his or her Miranda rights,
anything you say cannot be used as
evidence at trial.
“The Miranda doctrine has been honored more in
breach than in observance by our police officers. We
live in dangerous times when the suspect is
shot/killed even before arrest.

Sadly, “the right to remain silent,” these days, is

taken literally and to its extreme—silenced forever
has become the norm!” (Business Mirror)
Can anyone (regardless of
crime committed) post
bail?
Section 13
All persons, except those charged with
offenses punishable by reclusion perpetua
when evidence of guilt is strong, shall, before
conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties,
or be released on recognizance as may be
provided by law. The right to bail shall not be
impaired even when the privilege of the writ of
habeas corpus is suspended. Excessive bail
shall not be required.
Who do you think is responsible in
deciding whether a criminal
offender has the right to bail and
the amount to bail?
Right to Bail
• Bail is a security required by a court and
given for the provisional or temporary
release of a person who is in the custody of
the law.
• An accused or person under investigation
may lose the right to bail if the offense falls
under “capital offense” (to be determined by
a judge).
Section 15
The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus
shall not be suspended except in cases of
invasion or rebellion when the public safety
requires it.
Privilege of the Writ of Habeas
Corpus
• Writ of Habeas Corpus is the order from the
court requiring a person detaining another
to show cause for detention.
• It also inquire into all manner of involuntary
restraint or detention as distinguished from
voluntary and to relieve a person therefrom
if such restraint is found illegal.
Privilege of the Writ of Habeas
Corpus
• The order is issued by the court directed to
the person detaining another, commanding
him to produce the body of the prisoner at a
designated time and place.
Explain in your own words the catch
phrase:
“Justice delayed is justice denied”.
Section 16
All persons shall have the right to a speedy
disposition of their cases before all judicial,
quasi-judicial, or administrative bodies.
Right to Speedy Trial
Maximum period for rendition of decision:
• Supreme Court - within 24 months
• Court of appeals and other Collegiate Courts - 12
months
• Lower Courts - within 3 months unless reduced by
the Supreme Court

Note: There are allowable delays as identified by the

court.
A police investigator to the
accused:
“Have you stopped beating
your wife?”

Is there anything wrong with the

question? Why or why not?
Section 17
No person shall be compelled to be a witness
against himself.
Right against Self-Incrimination
• The right against self-incrimination is
defined as exposing oneself (or another
person) to "an accusation or charge of
crime," or as involving oneself (or another
person) "in a criminal prosecution or the
danger thereof."
Right against Self-Incrimination
• It simply secures to a witness, whether he or
she be a party, the right to refuse to answer
any particular incriminating question, i.e.,
one to which has a tendency to incriminate
(make someone appear guilty of a crime)
him or her for some crime.
• Subpoena (a writ ordering a person to
attend a court)is an exemption.
Mayor Antonio Halili of the Philippines town of Tanauan,
known for forcing drug suspects to parade through the
streets. Do you think this is right? Why or why not?
Section 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.
Section 19
(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 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.
• Punishment is degrading when it brings shame
and humiliation to the victim, or exposes him
to contempt or ridicule, or lowers his/her
dignity and self-respect as a human being.
Right against excessive fines
• Here, the question as to the amount of the
fines that shall be imposed is the sound
discretion of the court, if it keeps within the
limit of the Statute, it cannot be held
unreasonable.
Case Study
When the quarantine was introduced, Lora, who lives
with her elderly parents and supports them as well
as her married siblings, saw her income shrink and
practically disappear over the next three months.
That left her with no choice but to dip into her
savings and use up what should have been her
payment for her credit card balances.

Question: Will Lora go to jail when she can’t pay her

credit card? Why?
Section 20
No person shall be imprisoned for debt or
non-payment of a poll tax.
Right against Imprisonment due to
debt
• As human consideration, such laws has been
abolished because no one should be
punished on account of his/her poverty.
• Another reason is that the power of the state
should never use to coerce the payment of
debts.
• The government is not the proper party to
private disputes.
Returning to the case of Lora
According to Atty. Romel Regalado Bagares, “non-
payment of debts are only civil in nature and cannot
be a basis of a criminal case. But of course, there
are also cases where credit cards are used
fraudulently, which are then subject of a criminal
prosecution with a jail term as penalty.”
Atty. Bagares is currently general counsel for a
microfinance non-profit and lecturer for
International Law at Lyceum University.
Source: https://news.abs-cbn.com/blogs/business/08/03/20/can-you-go-to-jail-for-not-
paying-your-credit-card-debt
Section 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.
Right against Double Jeopardy
• This section features the constitutional right
against double jeopardy.
• It 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 offense.
Section 22
No ex post facto law or bill of attainder shall
be enacted.
Right against Ex-post facto law or
Bill of Attainder
• An ex post facto law is one which, operating
retrospectively.
• Aside from its retroactive nature and being
related to penal and criminal matters alone,
an ex post facto law deprive the person
accused of crime of some protection or
defense previously available to their
advantage.
Right against Ex-post facto law or
Bill of Attainder
• Another important term featured in section
22 is the Bill of Attainder.
• Bill of attainder is a legislative act which
inflicts punishment without a judicial trial.
This was made as a safeguard against
legislative exercise of judicial function, or
simply, the trial by legislature.
Now that you know the
constitutional provisions
underscored in the Bill of Rights,
what do you think now is its
essence or importance to you as an
individual?