Zion Angelo P.
De Leon WU-P School of LawConstitutional Law 2 – Assignment
1. Custodial investigation
"Custodial investigation" shall include the practice of issuing an "invitation" to a
person who is investigated in connection with an offense he is suspected to have
committed, without prejudice to the liability of the "inviting" officer for any violation of
law. (Republic Act 7438)
Custodial investigation commences when a person is taken into custody and is
singled out as a suspect in the commission of the crime under investigation. 47 As a rule, a
police lineup is not part of the custodial investigation; hence, the right to counsel
guaranteed by the Constitution cannot yet be invoked at this stage. The right to be assisted
by counsel attaches only during custodial investigation and cannot be claimed by the
accused during identification in a police lineup. (People v Rueras, GR. 174471)
2. Rights of the accused under (custodial) investigation
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.
3. Right to counsel
The right to counsel of an accused is guaranteed by our Constitution, our laws and
our Rules of Court. During custodial investigation, arraignment, trial and even on appeal,
the accused is given the option to be represented by a counsel of his choice. But when he
neglects or refuses to exercise this option during arraignment and trial, the court shall
appoint one for him. While the right to be represented by counsel is absolute, the accused's
option to hire one of his own choice is limited. Such option cannot be used to sanction
reprehensible dilatory tactics, to trifle with the Rules or to prejudice the equally important
rights of the state and the offended party to speedy and adequate justice. (People v Serzo,
G.R. No. 118435)
4. Competent and independent counsel
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To be a competent and independent counsel in a custodial investigation, the
lawyer so engaged should be present at all stages of the interview, counselling or advising
caution reasonably at every turn of the investigation, and stopping the interrogation once in
a while either to give advice to the accused that he may either continue, choose to remain
silent or terminate the interview. It has been made clear that counsel should be present and
able to advise and assist his client from the time the confessant answers the first question
until the signing of the extrajudicial confession. Moreover, the lawyer should ascertain that
the confession is made voluntarily and that the person under investigation fully understands
the nature and the consequence of his extrajudicial confession in relation to his
constitutional rights. A contrary rule would undoubtedly be antagonistic to the
constitutional rights to remain silent, to counsel and to be presumed innocent. (People v
Paraggua, G.R. No. 247718)
5. Critical stages in pre-trial criminal process
Pre-trial; mandatory in criminal cases. — In all criminal cases cognizable by the
Sandiganbayan, Regional Trial Court, Metropolitan Trial Court, Municipal Trial Court in
Cities, Municipal Trial Court and Municipal Circuit Trial Court, the court shall after
arraignment and within thirty (30) days from the date the court acquires jurisdiction over
the person of the accused, unless a shorter period is provided for in special laws or circulars
of the Supreme Court, order a pre-trial conference to consider the following:
(a) plea bargaining;
(b) stipulation of facts;
(c) marking for identification of evidence of the parties;
(d) waiver of objections to admissibility of evidence;
(e) modification of the order of trial if the accused admits the charge but
interposes a lawful defense; and
(f) such other matters as will promote a fair and expeditious trial of the criminal
and civil aspects of the case. (Section 1, Rule 118, Rules of Court)
6. Inadmissible confession or admission
Any extrajudicial confession made by a person arrested, detained or under
custodial investigation shall be in writing and signed by such person in the presence of his
counsel or in the latter's absence, upon a valid waiver, and in the presence of any of the
parents, elder brothers and sisters, his spouse, the municipal mayor, the municipal judge,
district school supervisor, or priest or minister of the gospel as chosen by him; otherwise,
such extrajudicial confession shall be inadmissible as evidence in any proceeding. (Section
2 (d) Republic Act 7438)
7. Concept of speedy trial
Republic Act No. 8493, also known as the Speedy Trial Act of 1998, establishes
the duration for a trial from start to finish. Trials whose penalties do not exceed six
months or a P1,000 fine or both should only last 180 days from the first day of trial. The
court can extend the trial, given a compelling reason.
 Zion Angelo P. De Leon WU-P School of LawConstitutional Law 2 – Assignment

8. Concept of public trial

It means that anyone interested in observing the manner that a judge conducts the
proceedings in his courtroom may do so.

9. Right against self-incrimination

The right against self-incrimination is accorded to every person who gives
evidence, whether voluntary or under compulsion of subpoena, in any civil, criminal or
administrative proceeding. The right is not to be compelled to be a witness against himself.
It secures to a witness, whether he be a party or not, the right to refuse to answer any
particular incriminatory question, i.e., one the answer to which has a tendency to
incriminate him for some crime. However, the right can be claimed only when the specific
question, incriminatory in character, is actually put to the witness. It cannot be claimed at
any other time. It does not give a witness the right to disregard a subpoena, decline to
appear before the court at the time appointed, or to refuse to testify altogether. The witness
receiving a subpoena must obey it, appear as required, take the stand, be sworn and answer
questions. It is only when a particular question is addressed to which may incriminate
himself for some offense that he may refuse to answer on the strength of the constitutional
guaranty. (Mapalo v Lim, G.R. No. 136051)

10. Right to be presumed innocent

"The presumption of innocence . . . is founded upon the first principles of justice,
and is not a mere form but a substantial part of the law. It is not overcome by mere
suspicion or conjecture; a probability that the defendant committed the crime; nor by the
fact that he had the opportunity to do so. Its purpose is to balance the scales in what would
otherwise be an uneven contest between the lone individual pitted against the People and
all the resources at their command. Its inexorable mandate is that, for all the authority and
influence of the prosecution, the accused must be acquitted and set free if his guilt cannot
be proved beyond the whisper of a doubt. This is in consonance with the rule that conflicts
in evidence must be resolved upon the theory of innocence rather than upon a theory of
guilt when it is possible to do so." (People v Godoy, G.R. Nos. 115908-09)

11. Bail
Bail is a constitutional right in the Philippines, allowing an accused person to be
released from custody by posting a bond or property guaranteeing their appearance at trial.

12. Right to Bail (when a matter of right and when discretionary)

Generally Available: Bail is generally available for most offenses except those
punishable by life imprisonment or death when evidence of guilt is strong.

Judicial Discretion: The court has the discretion to grant or deny bail based on
factors such as the severity of the offense, risk of flight, and the evidence presented.

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