HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION

DEFINITION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

 GENERAL MEANING: human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of
race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status.
 TECHNICAL MEANING: human rights are those rights inherent in people and without
which people cannot live as true human beings. (According to the UNITED NATIONS)
 HUMAN RIGHTS as supreme rights, inherent and inalienable rights to life, dignity, and
self-development. It is the essence of these rights that makes man human. (According
to the Philippine Commission on Human Rights)
 HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION as training, dissemination and information efforts aimed
at the building of a universal culture of human rights through the imparting of
knowledge and skills and the molding of attitudes. (According to the United Nations
Decade for Human Rights Education (1995-2004)
 HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION is all learning that develops the knowledge, skills, and
values of human rights is itself a fundamental human right and also a responsibility.
Human rights education aims to build an understanding and appreciation for human
rights through learning about rights and learning through rights.

CHARACTERISTICS OF HUMAN RIGHTS

1. Inherent- human rights are inherent because they are not granted by any person or
authority. Human rights do not have to be bought , earned or inherited; they belong to
people simply because they are human.
2. Fundamental- human rights cannot be taken away; no one has the right to deprive
another person of them for any reason. People still have human rights even when the
laws of their countries do not recognize them, or when they violate them.
Example: when slavery is practiced, slaves themselves still have the rights even tough
some of their rights are being violated.
3. Imprescriptible- human rights do not prescribe and cannot be lost even if a man fails to
use or assert them, even by a long passage of time.
4. Indivisible – to live in dignity, all human beings are entitled to freedom, security, and
decent standards of living concurrently. Human rights are indivisible. Therefore, they are
not capable of being divided. They cannot be denied eve when other rights have already
been enjoyed.
5. Universal- human rights are universal in application and they apply irrespective of one’s
origin, status, condition, or place where one lives. Human rights are enforceable without
a national border. Human rights are the same for all human beings regardless of race,
 sex, religion, political or other opinion, national, or social origin. We are all born free and
equal in dignity and rights.
6. Interdependent- human rights are interdependent because the fulfillment or exercise of
one cannot be achieved without the realization of other.

CLASSIFICATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE THIRD GENERATION

ACCORDING TO ASPECT OF LIFE:
1. CIVIL RIGHTS- 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.
Example: rights against involuntary servitude, rights against imprisonment for non-
payment of debt or a poll of tax, the constitutional rights of the accused.
2. POLITICAL RIGHTS- right which are enable us to participate in running the affairs of the
government either directly or indirectly.
Example: right to vote, right to information on matters of public concern, right to
initiative and referendum.
3. ECONOMIC RIGHTS AND SOCIAL RIGHTS- rights which the law confers upon the people
to enable them to achieve social and economic development, thereby ensuring their
well- being, happiness and financial stability.
Example: right to property, right to education, and promotion of social justice.
4. CULTURAL RIGHTS- rights that ensure the well-being of the individual and foster the
preservation, based on the principle of unity in diversity in a climate of free artistic and
intellectual expression.

ACCORDING TO SOURCE:
1. NATURAL RIGHTS- are God-given rights acknowledge by everybody to be morally good.
They are unwritten but they prevail as norms of the society.
Example: right to life, dignity and self-development
2. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS- rights which are conferred and protected by the Constitution
and which cannot be modified or taken away by the law-making body.
3. STATUTORY RIGHTS- rights which are provided by law promulgated by the law-making
body, and consequently, may be abolished by the same body
THREE GENERATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS BY KAREL VASEK
FIRST GENERATIONS
CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS
Sometimes called “blue” rights, they deal essentially with liberty and participation in political
life. They are fundamentally civil and political in nature: These are “liberty-oriented” and
include the rights to life, liberty and security of the individual; freedom from torture and
slavery; political participation; freedom of opinion, expression, thought, conscience, and
religion; freedom of association and assembly.

SECOND GENERATIONS
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL & CULTURAL RIGHTS
Sometimes referred to as “red” rights, they impose upon the government the duty to respect,
promote, and fulfill them, depending on the availability of resources. These are “security-
oriented” rights including right to work, education, standard of living, food, shelter, health care,
equality; right to be employed in just and favorable conditions; right to food, housing, and
health care; as well as social security and unemployment benefits. These began to be
recognized by governments after World War II. They are fundamentally economic, social, and
cultural in nature.

THIRD GENERATIONS
SOLIDARITY RIGHTS
Sometime referred to as “green” rights, these include the right to live in an environment that is
clean and protected from destruction; right to cultural, political, and economic development;
right to self-determination; group and collective rights; rights to self-determination; right to
economic and social development; right to communicate and communication rights; right to
participation in cultural heritage; right to intergenerational equity and sustainability.

THREE MAIN GOAL OF HUMAN EDUCATION

1. KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS- learning about human rights and mechanisms for their
protection, as well as acquiring skills to apply them in daily life.
2. VALUES, ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR- developing values and reinforcing attitudes and
behavior which uphold human rights.
 3. ACTION- taking action to defend and promote human rights (2005, United Nation
General Assembly; Art, I A 4)
THREE MAIN ELEMENTS OF HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCTION
1. The acquisition of knowledge and skills about human rights.
2. The development of respectful values and attitudes and changed behavior that reflects
human rights values, and
3. The motivation of social action and empowerment of active citizenship to advance
respect for rights of all.

WHO NEEDS HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION?

HUMAN RIGHTS should be part of everyone’s education. However, certain groups have a
particular need for human rights education because they are especially vulnerable to human
rights abuses, others because they hold official positions and upholding human rights is their
responsibility, and lastly, others because of their ability to influence.

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE
- Law enforcement personnel, including police and security forces, prison officials,
lawyers, judges, and prosecutors. Other Government and legislative officials, members
of legislature, public officials, and elected and appointed members f the military.
OTHER PROFESSIONALS
- Educators, social workers, health professionals and journalists and media
representatives
ORGANIZATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS AND GROUPS
- Women’s organization, community activists and civic leaders, minority groups, members
of the business community. Trade unionists, indigenous peoples, religious leaders and
other with a special interest in social justice issues, children and youth, students at all
levels of education, refugees and displaced persons, people of all sexual orientations,
poor people, whether in cities or rural areas, people with disabilities and migrant
workers.

THEORIES OF THE SOURCES OR ORIGIN OF HUMAN RIGHTS

1. RELIGIOUS OR THEOLOGICAL APPROACH – In the Biblical tradition, individuals derive
their human dignity through God’s creation. Duties to others in the community are
 grounded in the covenantal relationship to a God that has delivered people from slavery
and oppression. Biblical justice involves provision for food, clothing and shelter.
Example: right to food.

2. NATURAL LAW THEORY - "natural" means "reason" as in "the law of reason" or "the
requirements of reason." It accepts that law can be considered and spoken of both as a
sheer social fact of power and practice, as a set of reasons for action that can be.
Aquinas is particularly clear and explicit that in this context, "natural" is predicated of
something (a law or virtue) only when reason, practical reason, or practical reason's
requirements.
3. POSITIVIST THEORY - The term "positivism", from Latin "positum," means to put, place,
or set. This theory addresses well the nature of law as something posited. Legal
positivism is the thesis that the existence and content of law depends on social facts and
not on its merits, the English jurist John Austin formulated it.
4. THEORY OF MARXISM - According to Karl Marx, legal relations and forms of the state
are not grasped from "the general development of the human mind," but rather have
their roots in the material conditions of life and the anatomy of civil society as
determined by political economy.
5. SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH - Also called functional human rights, they exist as a means
of social control and to serve the social interests of society.
6. UTILITARIAN THEORY - Also called "greatest happiness principle," it affirms that actions
are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness and wrong as they tend to
produce the reverse of happiness.
7. THEORIES OF JUSTICE - According to John Rawls, justice is the first virtue of social
institutions, as truth is of systems of thought and "justice as fairness" and "procedural
justice" proceeds from a rational constitutional choice among individuals behind a "veil
of ignorance" in order to define the basic rights and liberties of free and equal citizens in
a constitutional democracy.
8. THEORY BASED ON EQUALITY AND RESPECT OF HUMAN DIGNITY – Dignity is derived
from the classical Roman writings of Cicero. Human dignity is a concept that occurs in
several human rights documents and national constitutional texts as well as in lower
level legislation.

ACTION TOWARDS GREATER REALIZATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

 Implementation of Action & Participatory Reflection

 Human Rights Knowledge with Participatory methods in formal or non-formal settings
 Awakening of Critical Consciousness of Human Rights & Social Conditions
 Motivation to Act/Agency
 Identification of Individual and Collective Strategies of Action
THE PHILIPPINE BILL OF RIGHTS (THE 1987 CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE
PHILIPPINES ARTICLE II)
BILL OF RIGHTS - sometimes called "declaration of rights" or "charter of rights", is a list of the
most important rights to the citizens of a country with the purpose is to protect those rights
against infringement from public officials and private citizens and also refers to the declaration
and enumeration of the fundamental civil and political rights of a person with the primary
purpose of safeguarding the person from violations by the government, as well as by individuals
and group of individuals.
SECTION 1
BILL OF RIGHTS: 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.
LIFE - 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.
LIBERTY - denotes not merely freedom from physical restraint. 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.
PROPERTY - may refer to the thing itself or to the right over the thing.
EQUAL PROTECTION OF THE LAW - all persons or things similarly situated should be treated
alike both as to rights conferred and responsibilities imposed. The concept of equal protection
of the laws, it means that all persons or things similarly situated should be treated alike, both as
to rights conferred and responsibilities imposed. It guarantees equality, not identity of rights. It
does not forbid discrimination as to person and things that are different. What it forbids are
distinctions based on impermissible criteria unrelated to a proper legislative purpose, or
discriminatory legislation, which discriminates against some and favors others when both are
similarly situated.
DUE PROCESS - Is the legal requirement that requires the state to respect all the legal rights
owed to a person. Due process balances the power of the state and protects the individual
person from the power of the state. The following are the Two Aspect of Due Process of Law:
1. PROCEDURAL DUE PROCESS - refers to the method or manner by which law is enforced.
2. SUBSTANTIVE DUE PROCESS - which requires that the law itself, not merely procedures
by which the law would be enforced, is fair, reasonable, and just.
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.
RIGHT AGAINST UNREASONABLE SEARCH AND SEIZURE- The purpose is to protect the privacy
and the sanctity of the person and of his house and other possessions found therein against
arbitrary intrusions by agents of the state.
PERSONS – the protection applies to everybody, to citizens as well as aliens in the Philippines,
whether accused of crime or not.

SCOPE OF THE PROTECTION

PERSONS - the protection applies to everybody, to citizens as well as aliens in the Philippines,
whether accused of crime or not.
HOUSES – the protection is not limited to dwelling houses but extends to garages, warehouse,
shop, store, office, and even a safety deposit vault.
PAPERS AND EFFECTS – they include sealed letters and packages in the mall which may be
opened and examined only in the pursuance of the valid search warrant.

SEARCH WARRANT VS WARRANT OF ARREST

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 certain personal
property and bring it before the court.
WARRANT OF ARREST – is a written order of the court, issued in the name of the Philippines,
authorizing a peace officer to arrest a person, and put him under the custody of the court.
REQUISITES FOR A VALID SEARCH WARRANT
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
SEARCH AND SEIZURE MAY BE MADE WITHOUT WARRANT
1. Where there is consent or waiver;
2. Where search is an incident to a lawful arrest;
3. Moving vehicle;
4. As an incident of inspection, supervision and regulation in the exercise of police power;
5. Stop and Frisk
6. Exigent and Emergency Circumstances
7. Plain view - the possession of articles prohibited by law is disclosed to eye and hand.
WARRANTLESS ARREST VALID
1. In flagrante delicto arrest
2. Hot pursuit
3. Arrest of escaped prisoners

Note: Citizen Arrest it is must be noted that a lawful warrantless arrest may be performed not
just by a peace officer but also by a civilian. This is permitted under the rules under limited
circumstances.

SECTION 3
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 and Any
evidence obtained in violation of this or the preceding section shall be inadmissible for any
purpose in any proceeding.

 RIGHT OF PRIVACY OF COMMUNICATION AND CORRESPONDENCE - right of a person

to be free from undesired publicity, or disclosure of his communication and
correspondence and as the right to live without unwarranted interference by the public
in matters with which the public is not necessarily concerned. As a rule, the government
cannot intrude into the privacy of communication and correspondence.
EXCEPTIONS: When the court allows the intrusion, and when public safety and order so
demands.
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.
RIGHTS GUARANTEED: FREEDOM OF SPEECH, OF EXPRESSION, AND OF THE PRESS - Everyone
has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to
receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and
regardless of frontiers.
SECTION 5
Now law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without
discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed. No religious test shall be required for the
exercise of civil or political rights.
TWO GUARANTEES CONTAINED IN THIS SECTION:
1. NON-ESTABLISHMENT CLAUSE;
2. FREE EXERCISE CLAUSE, OR THE FREEDOM OF RELIGIOUS PROFESSION AND WORSHIP
 FREEDOM OF RELIGION - Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have a religion or whatever
belief of his/her choice.
 RELIGIOUS TEST PROHIBITED - The constitution expressly provides that the "No
religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or political rights" A religious test
is a legal requirement to swear faith to a specific religion or sect, or to renounce the
same.
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 - Is the right of a person to have his home in whatever place
chose by him and thereafter to change it at will, and to go where he pleases, except in the
interest of national security, public safety and public health.
LIMITATION – The liberty of abode may be impaired only upon lawful order of the court and
within the limits prescribed 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.
SCOPE OF THE RIGHT - This covers information on matters of public concern. It pertains to
access to official records, documents and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions or
decisions, as well as to government research data used as basis for policy development.
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.
FREEDOM TO ASSOCIATE AND UNIONIZE - includes the freedom not to associate, or, if one is
already a member, to disaffiliate from the association and the right to unionize is an economic
and labor right while the right to association in general is civil-political right.
SECTION 9
Private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation.
EMINENT DOMAIN is the right or power of the state or of those to whom the power has been
lawfully delegated to take or expropriate private property for public use upon paying to the
owner a just compensation.
CONDITIONS FOR THE EXERCISE OF EMINENT DOMAIN:
1. Taking of private property
2. For public use
3. Just compensation Observance of due process
SECTION 10
No law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be passed - The obligation of a contract is the
law or duty which binds the parties to perform their agreement according to its terms or intent
if it is not contrary to law, morals, good customs, public order, or public policy.

CONSTITUTES IMPAIRMENT - Any statute which introduces a change into the express terms of
the contract, or its legal construction, or its validity, or its discharge, or the remedy for its
enforcement, impairs
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.
This constitutional provision imposes a duty on the judicial branch of the government which
cannot be taken lightly. "The Constitution", as aptly stated in One Case, "is a law for rulers and
for people equally in war and in peace and covers with the shield of its protection all classes Of
men at all times and under all
circumstances.
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.
MIRANDA RIGHTS (Miranda v Arizona, 384 US 436, 1966)
1. Right to Remain Silent
2. Right to competent and independent counsel, preferably of his own choice
3. Right to be reminded that if he cannot afford the services of counsel, he would be
provided with one
4. Right to be informed of his rights
5. Right against torture, force, violence, threat, intimidation, or any other means which
vitiate the free will
6. Right against secret detention places, solitary, incommunicado, or similar forms of
detentions.
7. Right to have confessions or admissions obtained in violation of these rights
considered inadmissible in evidence
NOTE: Miranda rights become available during a custodial investigation or as soon as the
investigation ceases to be a general inquiry unto an unsolved crime and direction is aimed
upon a particular suspect, as when the suspect who has been taken into police custody and to
whom the police would then direct interrogatory questions which tend to elicit incriminating
statements.
  FRUIT OF THE POISONOUS TREE DOCTRINE- states that once the primary source (the
tree) is shown to have been unlawfully obtained, any secondary or derivative evidence
the fruit) derived from it is also inadmissible.
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 the 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.

 BAIL- It is the security given for the release of a person in custody of the law, furnished
by him or a bondsman, conditioned upon his appearance before any Court as required.
The Bail becomes a matter of right when all persons in custody shall be admitted to bail
as a matter of right, with sufficient sureties, or be released on recognizance as
prescribed by law or the Rules of Court and the bail a matter of discretion when upon
conviction by the RTC of an offense not punishable b" death, reclusion Perpetua, or life
imprisonment bail becomes discretionary.

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.

• PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE- The presumption of innocence is the legal principle that

one is considered innocent until proven guilty". The presumption of innocence is a legal
right of the accused in a criminal trial.
• RIGHT TO BE HEARD BY HIMSELF AND COUNSEL - It is more than just the presence of a
lawyer in the courtroom or the mere propounding of standard questions and objections. It
means that the accused is amply accorded legal assistance extended by a counsel who
commits himself to the cause of the defense and acts accordingly; an efficient and truly
decisive legal assistance, and not simply a perfunctory representation.
• RIGHT TO BE INFORMED OF THE NATURE AND CAUSE OF ACCUSATION - The constitutional
right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation entitles the defendant to
insist that the indictment apprise him of the crime charged with such reasonable certainty
that he can make his defense and protect himself after judgment against another
prosecution in the same charge.

SECTION 15
The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended except in cases of invasion or
rebellion when public safety requires it.
• WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS is a writ directed to the person detaining another. commanding
him to produce the body of the detainee at a designated time and place, and to show the
cause of his detention.
• PRIVILEGE OF THE WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS- It is the right to have an immediate
determination of the legality of the deprivation of physical liberty.

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

 SPEEDY TRIAL "speedy" trial basically means that the defendant is tried for the alleged
crimes within a reasonable time after being arrested and has the right to a speedy
disposition of a case, like the right to a speedy trial, is deemed violated only when the
proceeding is attended by vexatious, capricious and oppressive delays; unjustified
postponements; balancing test: conduct of prosecution and defense.

RIGHT TO SPEEDY, IMPARTIAL AND PUBLIC TRIAL

RIGHT TO SPEEDY
SPEEDY TRIAL-The term "speedy" means free from vexatious capricious and oppressive delays.
The factors to be considered are:
1. Time expired from the filing of information
2. Length of delay.
3. Reasons of the delay.
4. Assertion or non-assertion of the right by the accused.
5. Prejudice caused to the defendant.
IMPARTIAL - The accused is entitled to cold neutrality of an impartial judge, one who is free from
interest or bias.
PUBLIC TRIAL - It is in order to prevent possible abuses which may be committed against the accused.
The attendance at the trial is open to all, irrespective of their relationship to the accused. However, if
the evidence to be presented is "offensive to decency or public morals," the public may be excluded.

TRIAL IN ABSENTIA
1. Accused has been validly arraigned
2. Accused has been duly notified of the dates of hearing
3. Failure to appear is unjustifiable
RIGHT TO MEET THE WITNESSES FACE TO FACE AND THE PURPOSE OF THE RIGHT OF
CONFRONTATION-To afford the accused an opportunity to test the testimony of witness by cross-
examination, and to allow the judge to observe the deportment of the witness.
RIGHT TO COMPULSORY PROCESS TO SECURE ATTENDANCE OF WITNESS AND PRODUCTION OF
EVIDENCE- It is the right of the accused to have a subpoena and/or a subpoena duces tecum issued in
his behalf in order to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of evidence.
SECTION 17. NO PERSON SHALL BE COMPELLED TO BE A WITNESS AGAINST HIMSELF.
RIGHT AGAINST SELF-INCRIMINATION- This constitutional privilege has been defined as
protection against be a witness against himself. testimonial compulsion, but this has since been
extended to any evidence "communicative in nature" acquired under circumstances of duress (People v.
Olvis, G.R. No. 71092, Sept. 30, 1987). Applied only when the specific question, incriminatory in
character, is actually addressed to the witness.
USE OF PHYSICAL OR MORAL COMPULSION IS PROHIBITED- when extorting communication from the
witness or otherwise eliciting evidence which would not exist were it not for the actions compelled from
the witness.
QUESTION INCRIMINATING- A question tends to incriminate when the answer of the accused or the
witness would establish a fact which would be a necessary link in a chain of evidence to prove the
commission of a crime by the accused or the witness.
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 for a crime
whereof the party shall have been duly 4. convicted.
INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE, condition where one is compelled by force, coercion, or imprisonment, and
against his will, to labor for another, whether he is paid or not.

GENERAL RULE: No involuntary servitude shall exist.

EXCEPTIONS:
1. Punishment for a crime for which the party has been duly convicted. 2. Personal military or civil
service in the interest of national defense.
3. In naval enlistment, a person who enlists in a merchant ship may be compelled to remain in service
until the end of a voyage.
4. Posse comitatus or the conscription of able-bodied men for the apprehension of criminals.
5. Return to work order issued by the DOLE Secretary or the President.
6. Minor under patria potestas are obliged to obey their parents.
SECTION 19
1. Excessive fines shall not be imposed, degrading nor cruel, degrading or inhuman punishment
inflicted. Neither shall the death penalty be imposed, unless, for compelling the reasons
involving heinous crimes, the Congress hereafter provides for it. Any death penalty already
imposed shall be reduced to reclusion perpetual.
2. The employment of physical, psychological, or degrading punishment against any prisoner or
detainee or inadequate penal facilities under subhuman conditions shall be dealt with by law.
 A penalty is cruel and inhuman if it involves torture or lingering suffering.
 cruel, A penalty is degrading if it exposes a person to public humiliation.

THE STANDARDS USED TO DETERMINE IF THE PENALTY IS CRUEL AND INHUMAN:

1. The punishment must not be so severe as to be degrading to the dignity of human
beings.
2. It must not be applied arbitrarily.
3. It must not be unacceptable to contemporary society.
4. It must not be excessive, and it must serve a penal purpose more effectively than a less
severe punishment would.
5. Excessive fine, or one which is disproportionate to the offense

Note: Mere severity does not constitute cruel or inhuman punishment. To violate constitutional 2. The
employment of physical, guarantee, penalty must be flagrant and plainly oppressive, disproportionate
to the nature of the offense as to shock the senses of the community.
SECTION 20
No person shall be imprisoned for debt or non-payment of a poll tax.
 Debt- any civil obligation arising from contract
 Poll tax- a specific sum levied upon any person belonging to a certain class without
regard to property or occupation (e.g. Community tax)
Note: A tax is not a debt since it is an obligation arising from law. Hence, its non-payment maybe validly
punished with imprisonment. Only poll tax is covered by the constitutional provision.
"If an accused fail to pay the fines imposed upon him, this may result in his subsidiary imprisonment
because his liability is ex delicto and not ex contractu"
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.
DOUBLE JEOPARDY- When a person was charged with an offense and the case was terminated by
acquittal or conviction or in any other manner without his consent, he cannot again be charged with the
same or identical offense.
REQUISITES OF DOUBLE JEOPARDY:
1. Court of competent jurisdiction
2. A valid Complaint or Information
3. Arraignment and plea by the accused
4. Conviction, acquittal, or dismissal of the case without the express consent of the accused
SECTION 22
No ex post facto law or bill of attainder shall be enacted.
KINDS OF EX POST FACTO LAW:
1. Makes an act, which was innocent when done, criminal and punishes such action
2. Aggravates a crime or makes it greater than when it was committed
3. Changes the punishment and inflicts a greater punishment than the law annexed to the crime
when it was committed
4. Alters the legal rules of evidence and receives less or different testimony than the law required
at the time of the commission of the offense in order to convict the defendant
5. Assumes to regulate civil rights and remedies only. In effect imposes penalty or deprivation of a
right for something which when done was lawful
6. Deprives a person accused of a crime of some lawful protection to which he has become
entitled, such as the protection of a former conviction or acquittal, or a proclamation of
amnesty.
BILL OF ATTAINDER - a legislative act that inflicts punishment without trial, its essence being the
substitution of legislative fiat for a judicial determination of guilt