CONCEPT OF A BILL OF RIGHTS
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 individual or groups of individuals.
It is a charter of liberties for the individual and a limitation
upon the power of the State.
Its basis is the social importance accorded to the individual in
the democratic or republican state, the belief that every
human being has intrinsic dignity and worth which must be
respected and safeguarded
CLASSES OF RIGHTS
The rights that a citizen of a democratic state enjoys may be
classified into:
1. Natural rights- They are those rights possessed by every citizen
without being granted by the State for they are given to man by
God as a human being created to His image so that he may live a
happy life. Ex. Right to life and right to love
2. Constitutional rights- They are those rights which are conferred
and protected by the Constitution. Since they are part of the
fundamental law, they cannot be modified or taken away by the
law –making body
3. Statutory rights- They are those rights which are provided by
laws promulgated by the law –making body and, consequently,
may be abolished by the same body. Ex. right to receive
minimum wage and right to inherit property.
CLASSIFICATION OF CONSTITUIONAL RIGHTS
The rights secured by the Constitution may be classified as follows:
1. Political rights- They are such rights of the citizens which give
them the power to participate, directly or indirectly, in the
establishment or administration of the government. Ex. right of
citizenship, right of suffrage and the right to information on
matters of public concern.
2. Civil rights- They are those rights which the law will enforce at
the instance of private individuals for the purpose of securing to
them the enjoyment of their means of happiness. Ex. rights
against involuntary servitude, liberty of abode, freedom of
speech, of expression or of the press.
3. Social and economic right- They include those right s which are
intended to insure the well-being and economic security of the
individual. Ex. right to property, right to just compensation for
private property taken for public use.
4. Rights of the accused- They are the (civil) rights intended for
the protection of a person accused of any crime, like the right
to presumption of innocence, right to a speedy , impartial,
and public trial , and the right against cruel , degrading, or
inhuman punishment .
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.
What is due process?
Any deprivation of life, liberty, or property is with due process
if it is done under the authority of a law that is valid (i.e., not
contrary to the Constitution) or of the Constitution itself, and
after compliance with fair and reasonable methods of
procedure prescribed by law.
ASPECTS OF DUE PROCESS OF LAW.
1. Procedural due process which refers to the method or
manner by which the law is enforced. Daniel Webster’s
famous definition: a procedure “which hears before it
condemn, which proceed s upon inquiry, and renders
judgment only after trial.” An indispensable requisite of
this aspect of due process is the requirement of notice and
hearing
2. Substantial due process which requires that the law itself,
not merely the procedures by which the law would be
enforced, is fair, reasonable, and just. In other words, no
person shall be deprived of his life, liberty, or property for
arbitrary reasons or on flimsy grounds.
PROCEDURAL DUE PROCESS.
1. In judicial proceedings-For the most part, procedural due
process has its application in judicial proceedings, civil or
criminal. It requires:
a. An impartial court clothed by law with authority to hear
and determine the matter before it;
b. Jurisdiction lawfully acquired over the person of the
defendant or property which is the subject matter of the
proceeding;
c. Opportunity to be heard given the defendant; and
d. Judgment to be rendered after the lawful hearing.
2. In administrative proceedings- Due process, however, is not
always judicial process. In certain proceedings of an
administrative character, notice and hearing may be
dispensed with, where because of public need or for practical
reasons, the same is not feasible. Thus, an offender may be
arrested pending the filing of charges, or an officer or
employee may be suspended pending an investigation for
violation of civil service rules and regulation.
Substantive due process.
Viewed in its substantive aspect, due process of law requires
that the law in question affecting life, liberty, or property be
a valid law, i.e., within the power of the law-making body to
enact and is reasonable in its operation. Ex. taking of
property for private use or without payment of just
compensation offends substantive due process.
Meaning of life- 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.
Meaning of liberty- Liberty, as protected by due process of law,
denotes not merely freedom from physical restraint e.g.
imprisonment. It also embraces the right of man to use his
faculties with which he has been endowed by his Creator
subject only to the limitation that he does not violate the law
or the rights of others.
Meaning of property- Property, as protected by due process of
law, may refer to the thing itself or to the right over a thing.
It includes the right to own, use, transmit and even to
destroy, subject to the right of the State and of other
persons.
MEANING OF EQUAL PROTECTION OF THE LAWS.
Equal protection of the laws signifies that “all persons subject
to legislation should be treated alike, under like circumstance
and conditions both in the privileges conferred and liabilities
imposed.”
What it prohibits is class legislation, which discriminates
against some and favors others when both are similarly
situated or circumstanced.
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 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 THE WITNESSES HE MAY
PRODUCE, AND PARTICULARLY DESCRIBING THE PLACE
TO BE SEARCHED AND THE PERSONS OR THINGS TO BE
SEIZED.
MEANING OF SEARCH WARRANT AND WARRANT OF ARREST
(1) A search warrant is 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.
(2) 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, the written order is called
warrant of arrest.
SCOPE OF THE PROTECTION.
(1) Persons.- The protection applies to everybody, to citizens as
well as aliens in the Philippines, whether accused of crime
or not. Corporations are also entitled to the protection.
(2) Houses.- The protection is not limited to dwelling houses
but extends to a garage, warehouse, shop, store, office ,
and even a safety deposit vault. It does not extend,
however, to the open spaces and fields belonging to one.
(3) Papers and effect.- They include sealed letters and packages
in the mail which may be opened and examined only in
pursuance of a valid search warrant.
WHAT CONSTITUTES A REASONABLE OR UNREASONABLE
SEARCH OR SEIZURE IN ANY PARTICULAR CASE IS A PURELY
JUDICIAL QUESTION (I.E., ONLY COURTS ARE EMPOWERED TO
RULE UPON), DETERMINABLE FROM A CONSIDERATION OF THE
CIRCUMSRTANCES INVOLVED.
REQUISITES FOR VALID SEARCH WARRANT OR WARRANT OF ARREST
They are:
(1) It must be issued upon probable cause;
(2) The probable cause must be determined personally by the
judge himself,
(3) 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; and
(4) The warrant must particularly describe the place to be
searched, and the persons or things to be seized
The law prohibits the issuance of a search warrant for more
than one specific offense.
MEANING OF PROBABLE CAUSE.
By probable cause is meant such facts and circumstances
antecedent to the issuance of a warrant sufficient in
themselves to induce a cautious man to rely upon them and
act in pursuance thereof.
It presupposes the introduction of competent proof that the
party against whom a warrant is sought to be issued has
performed particular acts, or committed specific omissions,
violating a given provision of our criminal laws.
WHEN SEARCH AND SEIZURE MAY BE MADE WITHOUT WARRANT
In the following instances:
(1) Where there is consent or waiver,
(2) Where search is an incident to a lawful arrest,
(3) 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, in view of the difficulty attendant to
securing a search warrant,
(4) Where, without a search, the possession of articles
prohibited by law is disclosed to plain view or is open to eye
and hand
(5) As an incident of inspection, supervision and regulation in
the exercise of police power such as inspection of restaurants
by health officers, of factories by labor inspectors, etc. The
same thing may be said of inspection of books of accounts by
revenue examiners, and
(6) Routinary searches usually made at the border or at ports of
entry in the interest of national security and for the proper
enforcement of customs and immigration laws.
WHEN ARREST MAY BE MADE WITHOUT WARRANT.
A peace officer or private person may, without a warrant,
arrest a person:
(1) When, in his presence, the person to be arrested has
committed, is actually committing, or is attempting to
commit an offense;
(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 ; and
(3) 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 temporarily confined while his
case is pending, or has escaped while being transferred
from 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 RERQUIRES
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.