San Mateo Municipal College

(formerly Pamantasan ng Bayan ng San Mateo)

MODULE 2 : The Bill of Rights

OVERVIEW:

Rights and responsibilities help make our communities better. Rights are freedoms we have that are protected by
our laws, while responsibilities are duties or things that we should do. In order to be good citizens, or members of a
community, we must understand our rights and responsibilities.

INPUT INFORMATION:

BILL OF RIGHTS

Bill of rights may be defined as a declaration and enumeration of a person’s right and privileges that the Constitution is
designed to protect against violation by the government or by any individual or groups of individuals. It is a charter of liberties for the
individual and a limitation upon the power of the state.

Classes of Rights

1. Natural rights – They are the rights possessed by every citizen without being granted by the State, for they are given to man
by God as a human being created in His image so that he may live a happy life.

Examples: the right to life, the right to liberty, the right to property, and the right to love

2. Constitutional rights – They are the rights that conferred and protected by the constitution. Since they are part of the
fundamental law, they cannot be modified or taken away by any law-making body.

The human rights secured by the constitution include social and economic rights, not just political and civil rights. They are as
follows:

1. Political rights – they are such rights of the citizens that give them the power to participate, directly or indirectly,
in the establishment or administration of the government.
Examples: the right for voting, and the right to information on matters of public concern.
2. Civil rights – they are the rights that the law will enforce will enforce at the instance of private individuals for the
purpose of securing for them the enjoyment of their means of happiness.
Examples: the rights to due process and equal protection of the law; the constitutional rights of the accused;
the social and economic rights, religious freedom, the right against impairment of obligation of a contract;
freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press; the right of assembly and petition; and the right to form
association.
3. Social and Economic rights – they refer to the rights that are intended to insure the well-being and economic
security of the individual.

Examples: just compensation for private property taken for public use; promotion of social justice; the
conservation and utilization of natural resources; the promotion of education, science and technology, and
the arts and culture.
4. Rights of the accused – they are the (civil) rights intended for the protection of a person accused of any crime.

Examples: the right against unreasonable search and seizure, the right to presumption of innocence; the
right to a speedy, impartial, and public trial; the right against cruel, degrading, or inhuman punishment.
The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines - Article III

Bill of Rights

Section 1. No personal shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the
equal protection of the law.

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 the witnesses he may
produce, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.

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.

Section 7. The right of the people to information on matters of public concern shall be recognized. Access to official records, and to
documents and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions, or decisions, as well as to government research data used as basis for
policy development, shall be afforded the citizen, subject to such limitations as may be provided by law.

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.

Section 9. Private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation.

Section 10. No law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be passed.

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.

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. (2) No torture, force,
violence, threat, intimidation, or any other means which vitiate the free will shall be used against him. Secret detention places, solitary,
incommunicado, or other similar forms of detention are prohibited. (3) Any confession or admission obtained in violation of this or Section
17 hereof shall be inadmissible in evidence against him. (4) 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.

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.

Section 14. (1) No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense without due process of law. (2) In all criminal prosecutions, the
accused shall be presumed innocent until the contrary is proved, and shall enjoy the right to be heard by himself and counsel, to be
informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against him, to have a speedy, impartial, and public trial, to meet the witnesses face
to face, and to have compulsory process to secure the attendance of witnesses and the production of evidence in his behalf. However,
after arraignment, trial may proceed notwithstanding the absence of the accused provided that he has been duly notified and his failure
to appear is unjustifiable.

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.

Section 16. All persons shall have the right to a speedy disposition of their cases before all judicial, quasi-judicial, or administrative
bodies.

Section 17. No person shall be compelled to be a witness against himself.

Section 18. (1) No person shall be detained solely by reason of his political beliefs and aspirations.(2) No involuntary servitude in any
form shall exist except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.

Section 19. (1) Excessive fines shall not be imposed, nor cruel, degrading or inhuman punishment inflicted. Neither shall the 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.
Section 20. No person shall be imprisoned for debt or non-payment of a poll tax.
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.

Section 22. No ex post facto law or bill of attainder shall be enacted.

Meaning of due process of law

Any deprivation of life, liberty, or property by the state is with due process if it is done (a) under the authority of a law that is
valid or of the constitution itself and (b) after compliance with fair reasonable methods of procedure prescribed by law.

Aspects of due process of law

Due process of law has, therefore, a two-fold aspect, namely:

1. Procedural due process, which refers to the method or manner by which the law is enforced. It requires, to paraphrase
Daniel Webster’s famous definition… a procedure “which hears before it condemns, which proceeds upon inquiry, and
renders judgement only after trials.” An indispensable requisite of this aspect of due process is the requirement of notice
and hearing.

In judicial proceedings – for the most part, procedural due process has its application in judicial proceedings, civil
or criminal.
In administrative proceedings – Due process, however, is not always a 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, the 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 rule and regulations.

2. Substantive 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.
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.
Thus, a tax that is imposed for a private purpose constitutes the taking of property without due process as it is
beyond the authority of the legislature to levy.

3. Statutory rights – They are the rights that provided by law promulgated by a law-making body; consequently, they may
be abolished by the same body.

Examples: the right to receive a minimum wage and the right to adopt a child by an
unrelated person.

As a Filipino citizen, we have different rights.

References/Helpful Websites

Espiritu R.I et.al, 2018. National Service Training Program with Common and Specific Modules, Mutya Publishing House Inc. Malabon
City