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ARTICLE III BILL OF RIGHTS

2. CONCEPT OF A BILL OF RIGHTS A bill of rights may be defined as a
declaration and enumeration of a persons 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
3. CLASSES OF RIGHTS The rights that a citizen of a democratic state
enjoys may be classified into:

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
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
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.

4. CLASSIFICATION OF CONSTITUIONAL RIGHTS

The rights secured by the Constitution may be classified as follows:

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.
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.
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.
5. 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 .
6. 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.
7. ASPECTS OF DUE PROCESS OF LAW. Procedural due process which refers
to the method or manner by which the law is enforced. Daniel Websters
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 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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 propertyProperty, 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.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. MEANING OF SEARCH WARRANT AND WARRANT OF ARREST 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. 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.
15. 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. Corporations are also entitled to the protection. 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. 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.
16. 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.
17. REQUISITES FOR VALID SEARCH WARRANT OR WARRANT OF ARREST
They are: It must be issued upon probable cause; The 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; and 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 .
18. 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.
19. WHEN SEARCH AND SEIZURE MAY BE MADE WITHOUT WARRANT In the
following instances: Where there is consent or waiver, Where search 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, in view of
the difficulty attendant to securing a search warrant, Where, without a
search, the possession of articles prohibited by law is disclosed to plain view
or is open to eye and hand
20. 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.
21. WHEN ARREST MAY BE MADE WITHOUT WARRANT. A peace officer or
private person may, without a warrant, arrest a person: When, in his
presence, the person to be arrested has committed, is actually committing,
or is 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 ; and 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.
22. 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.