Conforming to the Bill of Rights or Article III, Section 11 of the 1987 Constitution; “Free access to the

courts and quasi-judicial bodies and adequate legal assistance shall not be denied to any person because
of poverty,” states that any person under custodial investigation regardless of his status in life or reason
of indigence shall not be repudiated to any adequate legal assistance. Acquiring free access to courts for
them to be able to defend themselves being waived by due process belongs to their rights as a citizen.
With the proliferation of social conflict in the country, the justice system is somehow considered anti-
poor because sometimes, the privileged people are more favored and those who are considered from a
destitute family are often neglected and not given equal attention. That’s why, with the help of this
provision, those under the fringe of society must be given a chance to uphold their rights. An example of
how this right was being invoked was the family’s quest for justice of the dreadful and gruesome case of
Kian Loyd Delos Santos, who was convicted and overkilled by three Caloocan Police, accusing him of his
involvement in drugs. The police officers presume that Kean was a drug courier though he is not enlisted
in the drug watch list and had no derogatory record. Also, the reason for his demise said the police
officers were out of self-defense. With the family’s urge to prove his innocence, they were assisted by
the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) that helped them to resolve and expedite the investigation, which
belongs to Section 7 of Article III of their rights. In the end, the three officers were convicted and
sentenced to Reclusion Perpetua or imprisonment for 20 to 40 years. Kean’s innocence was proved, and
justice has been served.