Introduction to Political

Science and Philippine

Constitution

Lesson 7
 Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, you will be

able to:

Defined the meaning, scope and nature of

Bill of Rights
Explain the importance of Bill of Rights
Practice the basic principles of Bill of Rights
Article III Bill of Rights
Part II
Section 12.
1. (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
service 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.
Meaning of custodial investigation
It is any questioning initiated by law enforcement
officer after a person has been taken into custody or
otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any
significant way.
Rightofpersonundercustodialinvestigation

Any person under criminal investigation for the

commission of an offense shall have the right:

1. Right to be informed of his right to remain silent;

2. Rights to be reminded that if he waives his right to
remain silent, anything he says can and will be used
against him;
3. Right to remain silent;
4. Right to have a competent and independent counsel
preferably of his own choice;
5. right to be provided with counsel, if the person
cannot afford the service of one;
6. Right against the use of torture, force, violence,
threat, intimidation, or any other means which
vitiates the free will;
7. Against being held in secret, solitary,
incommunicado or other similar forms of detention;
and
8. Confession or admission obtained in violation of
these rights are in admissible as evidence.
Requisites of admissible
extrajudicial confession:
Given by accused with assistance of a counsel;
In writing;
Voluntary;
Express; and
Signed.
Extent of violation of rights
 To give force and meaning to the constitutional
provision, any confession obtained in violation of any
of the above rights is declared inadmissible in
evidence before any proceeding and violators shall be
subject to penal and civil sanctions to be provided by
law. For humanitarian reasons, such law to be enacted
by congress shall provide compensation for and
rehabilitation of victims to torture or similar practices,
and their families
Right which cannot be waives:
The right to be informed of his right to remain silent
and to counsel;
The right to counsel when making waiver of the right
to remain silent or to counsel
 Miranda Doctrine: Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 [1966])
1. Person in custody must be informed at the outset in clear and
unequivocal terms that he has a right to remain silent;
2. After being so informed, he must be told that anything he says
can and will be used against him in court;
3. The right to consult with a lawyer and to have a lawyer with him
during the interrogation;
4. If he is indigent, a lawyer will be appointed to represent him;
5. Even if he consents to answer questions without the assistance of
counsel, the moment he ask for a lawyer at any point in the
investigation, the interrogation must cease until an attorney is
present; and
6. If the foregoing are not demonstrated, no evidence obtained can
be used against the person in custody
Section 13. All persons, except those charged with the
offenses punishable by reclusion perpetua when the
evidence of guilt is strong, shall before conviction,
bailable by sufficient sureties or be released on
cognizance 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.
Meaning of bail

Bail is the security required by a court and given for

the provisional or temporary released of a person who
is in the custody of the law conditioned upon his
appearance before any court as required under the
conditioned specified
1. Purpose and form of bail
2. The purposed of requiring bail is to relieve an
accused from imprisonment until his conviction
and yet secures his appearance at the trial. The
right to bail is granted because in all criminal
prosecutions, the accused is presumed innocent.
3. Bail can be in the form of:
A. Cash deposit;
B. Property bond;
C. Corporate surety; or
D. Recognizance.
Who may invoke the right to Bail
 The right to bail is available to any person arrested, detained, or
otherwise deprived of his liberty, whether or not an information
has been filed against him.
1. It cannot be invoked where the applicant is not yet in custody
of the law because he went into hiding and is at large, and
hence, a free man even when he has already been criminally
charged in court.
2. It is also not available to one charged with capital offense or
an offense punishable by reclusion perpetua, life
imprisonment, or death if the evidence of guilt is strong.
3. Under the Rules of Court, “no bail shall be allowed after the
judgment has become final, or after the accused has
commenced to serve sentence.”
Meaning of capital offense
 A capital offense, for purpose of the above
provision, is an offense which, under the law existing
at the time of its commission, and at the time of the
application to be admitted to bail, may be punished
with reclusion perpetua, life imprisonment, or death.
Excessive bail prohibited
1. Importance of prohibition. – The constitution
ordains that the excessive ail shall not be required.
Without the explicit injunction, the right to bail
would be meaningless farce.
2. Reasonableness of bail. - What amount is
reasonable bail rests mainly upon discretion of the
judge. He has to take into account in deciding the
matter, among others, the nature of the offense, the
penalty which the law attaches to it, the probability
of guilt, and the financial condition of the accused.
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 t be heard by himself and
counsel, to be informed of the nature and
 cause of 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.
Right to due process of law in criminal cases
1. Due process in its procedural aspect. – A person
cannot be held to answer for a criminal offense
without due process of law. Due process in this
context pertains more to the procedural aspects. It
requires that:
A. The accused must be –
I. Tried before a competent court;
II. Given a fair and impartial trial; and
III. Allowed to use all legal means and opportunity to
defend himself; and
B. The judgment awarded against him must be within the
authority of a valid law.
Right to presumption of innocence
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused is presumed
innocent until the contrary is proved.
1. A safeguard against false conviction. – This presumption of
innocence is guarantee that no person shall be convicted of a
crime except upon confession or unless his guilt is established
by proof beyond reasonable doubt which is more than just a
preponderance of evidence sufficient to win in a civil case.
2. Requirement of guilt beyond reasonable doubt. – The burden
of proof in a criminal proceeding is upon the prosecution. Its
evidence must be strong enough to convince the court that the
accused is clearly and unmistakably guilty, not because he
cannot prove that he is innocent, but because it has proved
that the accused is guilty beyond reasonable doubt
Statutory presumption of guilt

1. Presumption founded upon human experience. – There, is,

however, no constitutional objection to the passage of a law
providing, even in criminal prosecutions, that the presumption
of innocence may be overcome by a contrary presumption,
founded upon the experience of human conduct – that when
certain facts have been proved, they shall be prima facie
evidence of the existence of the main fact in question.
2. Person in possession of stolen property. – Under our Rules of
Court, for instance, it is presumed “that a person found in
possession of a thing taken in the doing of a recent wrongful act
is the taker and the doer of the whole act.” The ground for the
presumption is that men who came honestly into the possession
of property have no difficulty in explaining the method of which
they
Right to be heard by himself and
counsel
Implementing the right to be heard, the Rules of Court provides:

1. “In all criminal prosecutions, the defendant shall be entitled to be

present and defend in person and counsel at the very stage of the
proceedings, from the arraignment to the promulgation of the
judgement.
2. “The accused must be present at the arraignment and must personally
enter his plea.”
3. “After a plea of not guilty, the accused is entitled to two (2) days to
prepare for trial unless the court for good cause grants him further time.”
4. “Before arraignment, the court shall inform the accused of his right to
counsel and shall ask him if he desire to have one. Unless the accused is
allowed to defend himself in person, or he has employed counsel of his
choice, the court must assign a counsel de officio to defend him.”
Meaning and purpose of
arraignment
1. Arraignment is made in open court by the judge or
clerk, and consists in furnishing the accused a copy
of the complaint or information with the list of
witnesses, reading the same in the language or
dialect known to him and asking him whether he
pleads guilty or not.
2. It is at the stage of arraignment that the accused, for
the first time, is granted the opportunity to know the
precise charge that confronts him.
Importance of the right to counsel
The right to be heard would be of little avail if it does
not include the right to be heard by counsel.
 Even the most intelligent or educated man may
have no skill in the science of the law, particularly in
the rules of procedure and without counsel, he may be
convicted not because he is guilty but because he does
not how to establish his innocence.
Right to be informed of the nature and
cause of the accusation against him
1. Specific allegations of crime charged. – This right
implies that the offense which a person is accused of be
made known to him. The criminal complaint or information
should be sufficient clear to a person of ordinary intelligence
as to what the charge is so as to enable him to prepare his
defense.
2. Remedy of the accused whose right is violated. – Thus
requirement of notice is indispensable in as much as in
criminal cases not only the liberty but even the life of the
accused may be at stake. Thus, there is violation of the right
whereas accused has been charged with an offense and
convicted of another, or where no arraignment of the
accused has taken place.
Rights to have a speedy, impartial,
and public trial
1. Speedy trial. – Our statutes do not define with
precision what constitutes time for speedy trial. It has
been said, however, that a “speedy trial” means one
that can be had as soon as possible, after a person is
indicted and within such time as the prosecution,
with reasonable diligence, could prepare for it. It
should be a trial “conducted according to fixed rules,
regulations, proceedings of law free from vexatious,
capricious, and oppressive delays.” It does not mean
undue haste but one conducted with reasonable
promptness consistent with due course of justice.
2. Impartial trial. – An impartial trial is certainly a basic
requirement of due process in criminal proceedings.
 Impartiality implies an absence of actual bias in the trial of
the cases. To this end, no man can be judge in his own case
and no man is permitted to try cases where he has an
interest, pecuniary or otherwise, in the outcome. Thus, a
conviction under an ordinance whereby a portion of the fine
imposed went to the judge and remainder to the municipal
treasury is a violation of the due process of law. Every
procedure which would offer ever only a possible temptation
to the judge to forget the burden of proof required to
convict the defendant, denies the latter due process of law.
Public trial. – The requirement that the trial be
public is not meant that every person who sees fit shall
in all cases be permitted to attend criminal trials. A
public trial is not of necessity one to which the whole
public is admitted, but it is one so far open to all, as
that of the accused’s friends and relatives and others
who may be inclined to watch the proceedings in order
to see if justice is intelligently and impartially
administered, so that they may have an opportunity to
do so.
Right to confrontation of witnesses
The accused person has the right to meet the
witnesses face to face. There are two(2) important
reasons behind this right.
1. Cross-examination of witnesses by the accused. –
The first is to give the accused an opportunity to
cross-examine witnesses against him to test their
recollection and veracity. He may not, therefore,
convicted upon the mere depositions or ex parte (of or
from one party) affidavits (sworn written statements)
of his accusers. Thus, a doctor who executes a medical
certificate must be presented for examination.
2. Assessment by the court of witness credibility. –
The second is to give the judge, as the trier of facts,
an opportunity to see the demeanour and
appearance of witnesses while testifying.
Right to compulsory production of
witness and evidence
The accused has the right to have compulsory process
issued to secure the attendance of witnesses and the
production of evidence in his behalf.
1. Under the Rules of Court, an accused person is
entitled to have subpoenas (order to a person to appear
and testify in court) issued to compel the attendance
of witnesses in his favour, including a warrant of
arrest, if needed. He must, however, make reasonable
and diligent effort to have them cited to appear to
testify, otherwise, the court may properly refuse to
postpone the trial in spite of the absence of witnesses.
2. Likewise, the court, upon proper application of the
defendant, may order the prosecution to produce or
permit the inspection of evidence material to any
matter involved in the action, in the possession or
under the control of the prosecution, the police, or
any other law investigating agencies. Thus, another
mode is assured the accused of meeting the evidence
that might be presented to prove his guilt.
Trial in the absence of the accused
1. Conditions. – The constitutional right of the
accused to be personally present and to be heard
in his defense by himself may be waived by him.
Thus, trial may proceed notwithstanding the
absence of the accused provided that three (3)
conditions concur:
A. He has been arraigned;
B. He has been duly notified of the trial: and
C. His failure to appear in unjustifiable.
2. Reason for rule. – The rule is in the interest of a
speedy administration of justice which should be
afforded not only to the accused but to the offended
party as well. An accused cannot, by simply escaping,
thwart his prosecution and not possibly, eventual
conviction provided only that the three (3)
conditions mentioned are present.
Section 15. The privileged of the writ of habeas corpus
shall not be suspended except in cases of invasion or
rebellion when the public safety requires it.

Meaning of writ of habeas corpus

 The writ of habeas corpus is an order issued by a
court of competent jurisdiction, directed to the person
detaining another, commanding him to produce the
body of the prisoner at a designated time and place,
and to show sufficient cause for holding in custody the
individual so detained.
Purpose of the writ
 It has for its purpose to inquire into all manner
of involuntary restraint or detention as distinguished
from voluntary and to relieve a person therefrom if
such restraint is found illegal. The writ is the proper
remedy in each and every case of detention without
legal cause or authority. Its principal purpose then is to
set the individual at liberty.
How writ operates

The writ is the order from the court requiring a person

detaining another to show cause for the detention,
while the privileged of the writ is the further order
from the court to release an individual if it finds his
detention without legal cause or authority.
This is how the writ of habeas corpus operates to safeguard the
liberty of a person:

 The prisoner or any person in his behalf petitions the

proper court, which immediately issues the writ. It is sent to
the person having another in his custody. Such person is
ordered to produce that prisoner in court at a specified time,
together with an explanation of the cause of the detention,
called the return. After the order is obeyed, the judge
scrutinizes the return and then decides whether it shows that
the imprisonment is authorized by law. If so, the prisoner is
remanded – sent back to custody. If not, he is set free at once
by the judge.
Suspension of the privileged of the
writ

The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus may be

suspended by the President in cases only of invasion or
rebellion, when public safety requires it.
Consequently, the person under detention by the
government may not obtain his liberty by its use.
1. While the person detained must still be produced in court,
the official or person detaining him may ask the court not to
continue the proceeding any further as the privilege of the
writ as to that particular person seeking release has been
suspended. Unlike in cases where the privilege of the writ is
available and in full force and effect, the judge thus may be
prevented in the event of suspension from determining
whether or not the detention is authorized by law.
2. The suspension of the privilege of the writ enables the state
“to hold in preventive imprisonment pending investigation
and trial of persons who plot against it or commit acts that
endanger its very existence. Thus, the suspension, in effect,
sanctions or allows arrests and seizures without warrants
issued by the courts.
Meaning of Writ of Amparo
 The writ of amparo is a judicial remedy that
provides speedy relief to protect the people’s right to
life, liberty and security in cases involving enforce dis
appearance or extrajudicial killing, or threats thereof.
Purpose of the writ
Now, families of the victims of extrajudicial killings
and enforced disappearance can invoke the writ when
the right of life, liberty, or security of a person is
violated or threatened with violation by an unlawful
act or omission of a public official or employee or of a
private individual or entity.
 The writ is thus a protective remedy designed to
provide rapid judicial relief in a summary proceedings
whose principal objectives is to address violations or
threats of violations of the right to life, liberty, or
security.
How writ operates
1. Duty of respondents. – The court shall grant the
privilege of the writ if the allegations in the petition
or complaint are proven with sufficient evidence. The
special writ prohibits respondents from using the
defense of simple denial. They will have to produce
documents or evidence to support claims that they
did not violate the rights to life, liberty, and security
of the aggrieved party.
2. Interim reliefs. – Even before a petition for this writ
is resolved, the court may issue any of the following
orders to safeguard one’s right to life, liberty, and
security:
A. Temporary protection order to secure the safety of the
aggrieved party and any member of the immediate family;
B. Inspection order for the purpose of inspecting, measuring,
surveying or photographing property or operation thereof;
C. Production order requiring the production of designated
documents, papers, etc., and
D. Witness protection order for admission of witnesses to the
witness protection, security, and benefit program.
Section 16. All person shall have the right to a speedy
disposition of their cases before all judicial, quasi-
judicial, or administrative bodies.
Right to speedy disposition of cases
1. Importance of right. – The above provision upholds
the time-honoured tradition of speedy justice for, as
stated in truism – “Justice delayed is justice denied.” Its
express inclusion was in response to common charge
against the perennial delays in the administration of
justice which in the past have plagued our judicial
system. One need not stress the fact that a long delay
in the disposition of cases not only increases the cost
of seeking justice. Worse, it creates mistrust of the
government itself and this may pave the way to
aggrieved parties taking the law in their own hands to
great detriment of society.
On the other hand, the observance of “the right to a
speedy disposition of their cases” enhances the
people’s respect for the law and faith in their
government.
2. Invocation of right. – The right to speedy
disposition of cases can be invoked only after the
termination of the trial or hearing of a case. Like the
right to speedy trial in criminal prosecution, it is
necessarily relative. It is consistent with reasonable
delays and usually depends on the circumstances.
3. Time limit in the disposition of cases. – Under the
present constitution, the Supreme Court, all lower
collegiate courts, and all other lower courts are
required to decide or resolve cases within a certain
period of time. With the setting of an absolute time
limit in the disposition of cases, a court litigant will not
have to wait indefinitely anymore for his case to be
decided.
4. Cases contemplated. – The provision contemplates
the disposition of cases involving private interest not
only before judicial bodies, but also before quasi-
judicial and administrative bodies.
Section 17.No person shall be compelled to be a
witness against himself.

Right against self-incrimination

 No person shall be compelled to be a witness

against himself. This is a protection against self –
incrimination which may expose a person to criminal
liability.
1. Basis. – The right is founded on grounds of:
A. Public policy, because if the party is thus required to
testify, he would be placed under the strongest
temptation to commit the crime of perjury; and
B. Humanity, because it prevents the extortion of
confession by duress.
2. Right to silence. – The constitutional guarantee
protects as well the right of the accused to silence,
and his silence, meaning, his failure or refusal to
testify, may not be used as a presumption of guilt
or taken as evidence against him.
Scope of guarantee
 The right against self-incrimination applies in
criminal cases as well as in civil, administrative, and
legislative proceedings where the fact asked for
criminal one. It protects one whether he is a party or a
witness.
Nature of guarantee
1. The right is purely personal and may be waived. It was never
intended to permit a person to plead the fact that some third
person might be incriminated by his testimony, even though he
were the agent of such person;
2. It may not be invoked to protect a person against being compelled
to testify to facts which may exposed him only to public ridicule or
tend to disgrace him;
3. It may not be invoked simply because the testimony might subject
one to some liability ot arising from any criminal action;
4. It is applicable only to a present not a past criminality which
involves no present danger of prosecution. Hence, a witness
cannot refuse to testify as a crime which has already prescribe; and
5. It can be availed of only against testimonial compulsion.
Form of testimony prohibited
1. Compulsory testimonial self-incrimination. – he
constitutional guarantee that no person shall be compelled to
be a witness against himself in limited to prohibition against
compulsory testimonial self-incrimination – extricating from
defendant’s own lips, against his will, an admission of his guilt.
It extends to the production by the accused of documents,
chattels, or other objects demanded from him, for then he is
compelled to make a statement, express or implied, as to the
identity of the articles produced. The refusal of a person to
produce a specimen of his handwriting is also included within
the privileged. The reason is that writing is not a purely
mechanical act. It requires the application of intelligence and
attention and is equivalent to testimonial compulsion
2. Instance of absence of testimonial compulsion. –
However, there is no violation where:
A. The accused is forced to discharge morphine from the
mouth;
B. The accused is compelled to place his foot on a piece of
paper to secure his footprint;
C. The accused is compelled to be photographed or to remove
his garments and his shoes;
D. Where a woman accused of adultery is compelled to permit
her body to be examined by physicians to determined if she
is pregnant; and
E. The voluntary confession of the accused is admitted at the
trial.
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.
Right against detention solely by reason of
political beliefs and aspirations
1. Incarceration without charges of “political
prisoners.” – Upon the declaration of martial law on
September 21, 1972 under Proclamation No. 1081 of the
then incumbent president the military establishment
carried out a nationwide arrest and detention of known
political opponents and critics of the administration.
Thousands of people were arrested and jailed during the
whole period of martial law rule for attacking certain
acts and policies of the president, for exposing graft and
corruption in the government for criticizing the
president and members of his family, for being members
of cause-oriented and nationalist organization, etc.
Many remain in incarceration for years without charges
filed against them. They came to be known as
“political prisoners” and “political detainees.”
2. Suspension of privilege of writ of habeas corpus even
after lifting of martial law. – Even after the lifting of
martial law by Proclamation No. 2054 on january17, 1981 up
to the February, 1986 “people power revolution,” the privilege
of the writ of habeas corpus remained suspended “for the
crimes of insurrection or rebellion, subversion, conspiracy or
proposal to commit such crimes and for all other crimes and
offenses committed in connection therewith.” Many more
were arrested and detained after lifting of martial law, for
denouncing, among others, the authoritarian rule of the
president, human rights violations by the government, and
enrichment in office of people close to the president and first
lady, for advocating political, social and economic reforms,
for espousing allegedly radical doctrines, or for participating
in protest movements and demonstrations, or on mere
suspicion of being subversives or communist sympathizers,
and then charged with having committed crimes against
national security and public order.
Prohibition a guarantee against having
“prisoners of conscience.” – The inclusion in the
constitution of the right against detention merely by
reason of one’s political beliefs and aspirations is
response to these recent events in our history and
manifests the great importance the framers attach to
its protection.
It is a positive declaration that within the democratic
framework, the people, for example, can freely speak
of what they think is wrong with the government and
its leaders, or seek changes in the government and its
policies which they believe to be necessary or the
removal of public officials unworthy of their trust.
Meaning of involuntary servitude
Involuntary servitude denotes a condition of enforced,
compulsory service of one to another. It is applied to any
service or labour which is not free, no matter under what form
such service may have been rendered.
It includes:
1. Slavery or the state of entire subjection of one person to the
will of another, and
2. Peonage or voluntary submission of a person to the will of
another because of his debt.
3. The term “slavery” is not employed in the constitution
because slavery, as it existed in Europe and America, has
never been practice in the Philippines.
Basis and purpose of the prohibition
1. The prohibition is grounded on the value accorded to
human dignity in a democratic and free society.
Human dignity is not merchandise appropriate for
commercial transactions or business bargains.
Fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the
constitution are outside the commerce of men;
hence, they cannot be sold, bartered, leased, or
otherwise be the subject matter of contract.
2. The purpose is to maintain a system of completely
free and voluntary labour by prohibiting the
rendition of personal service by one who is
compelled by force, coercion, or imprisonment, and
against his will, for another’s benefit. It is immaterial
whether the labour is paid or not.
Exception to the prohibition
Not every form of compulsory service or forced labour is
within the scope of the constitutional provision. Thus,
the prohibition does not apply:
1. When the involuntary servitude is imposed as a
punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have
been duly convicted;
2. When personal military or civil service is required of
citizens for the defense of the state.
3. To injunction requiring striking labourers to return
to work pending settlement of an industrial disputes;
4. To exceptional service, such as military and naval
enlistment. Thus, a statute punishing sailors who
desert their ship do not contravene the
constitutional provision. From immemorial usage,
sailors may not leave their ships during a voyage;
5. To exercise by parents of their authority to inquire
their children to perform reasonable amount of
work; and
6. Where there is a proper exercise of the police power
of state. Thus, persons may be required to assist in
the protection of the peace and order of the
community, or to help build or repair public
highways and streets.
Section 19. (1) Excessive fines shall not be imposed,
nor cruel, degrading or inhuman punishment
inflicted. Neither shall 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.
Right against excessive fines
The question as to the amount of the fines that shall be
imposed is one addressed to the sound discretion of
the court. If it keeps within the limits of statute, the
fine cannot usually be held unreasonable.
Courts will be justified in declaring a fine prescribed by a
statute excessive only when it is clearly so, considering
the nature of the offense and the ability of the person
punished to pay the fine.
Rights against cruel, degrading, or inhuman
punishments
The right, as contra-distinguished from the right against the
use of torture, can only be invoked after conviction for a
crime.
1. Forms of punishment. – It can be said that punishments
are cruel and/or inhuman when they involve torture or
lingering death, such as burning alive, mutilation,
starvation, drowning, and other barbarous punishment.
The punishment by hanging, electrocution, or musketry
is not considered cruel within the meaning of that word
as used in the Constitution. Nor it is inhuman. Destierro
or banishment from a certain locality as a punishment is
neither cruel nor inhuman and so valid.
2. Quantity or duration/severity of punishment. – It is
ordinarily not taken into account in determining whether
the punishment is cruel or inhuman. Hence, the mere
fact that a punishment is disproportionate to the nature
of the offense as to be shocking to the human conscience
would be both cruel and inhuman. But all punishment
greatly disproportionate to the nature of the offense as to
be shocking to the human conscience would be both
cruel and inhuman. Thus, the penalty of life
imprisonment is not cruel nor inhuman when imposed
for treason , parricide, murder and other heinous offense
especially when aggravating circumstances attended their
commission; but it is cruel and inhuman if imposed for
pretty crimes like slander or theft of small value.
It is not to be lost sight of that to be prohibited by the
Constitution, the punishment need only be cruel,
degrading, or inhuman.
Purpose of the guarantee
The purpose of the guarantee is to eliminate many of
the barbarous and uncivilized punishments formerly
known, the infliction of which would be barbarize
present civilization. Examples of such punishments
are those inflicted at the whipping post or in the
pillory, burning at the stake, breaking on the wheel,
disembowelling, and the like.
Application of penalties or
punishments
The Constitution mandates that 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 should be dealt with by law.
This contemplates the improper, unreasonable, or
inhuman application of penalties or punishments on
legally detained.
Section 20. No person shall be imprisoned for debt or
non-paymentof a poll tax.
Meaning of debt.
Debt, as intended to be covered by the constitutional
guarantee, means any liability to pay money arising
out of a contract, express or implied.
Basis for the purpose of prohibition against
imprisonment for debt
1. Humanitarian considerations. – The prohibition
was brought about by the force of public opinion
which looked with abhorrence on the statutes
permitting the cruel imprisonment of debtors. The
control of creditor over the person of his debtor has
been abolished on humanitarian considerations.
One should not be punished on the account of his
poverty.
2. Prevention of use of state power. – The
constitution seeks to prevent the use of power of the
state to coerce the payment of debts. Moreover, the
government is not a proper party to private disputes.
It should not render its aid to one who deems
himself aggrieved by imprisoning the other for
failure to pay his debts.
But if the debtor has property, the creditor has the
right in a civil case to have such property attached as a
means of enforcing payment of the debt.
Prohibition limited to contractual
obligations only
The inhibition was never meant to include:

1. Damages arising in action ex delicto (criminal

action) for the reason that the damages recoverable
therein do not arise from any contract entered into
between the parties, but are imposed upon the
defendant for the wrong he has done and are
considered as a punishment thereof; and
2. Fines and penalties imposed by the courts in
criminal proceedings as punishments for crime.

In other words, debt, as used in the Constitution,

refers to civil or contractual debt or one not arising
from a criminal offense. A person may be imprisoned
for failure to pay tax when there is fraud or bad faith as
tax is not a debt.
Meaning of poll tax
A poll tax (or personal or capitation tax) is a tax of
fixed amount imposed on the individuals residing
within a specified territory, whether citizen or not,
without regard to their property or the occupation in
which they may be engaged.
 The community tax (formerly residence tax) is
in the nature of a poll tax.
Basis and purpose of prohibition against
imprisonment for non-payment of poll tax
1. The constitutional right is a measure dictated by a sense
of humanity and sympathy for plight of the poorer
elements of the population who cannot even afford to
pay their cedula or poll taxes, now community tax.
2. It also seeks to prevent the state from utilizing its
coercive power to compel the payment of the tax
especially due from those without financial means.
3. But a person is subject to imprisonment for violation
other than for non-payment of the community tax, and
for non-payment of other taxes if so expressly provided
by the pertinent law.
Section 21. No person shall be twice put in jeopardy of
punishment for the same offense. If an act is
punishable by a law and an ordinance, conviction or
acquittal under either shall constitute a bar to another
prosecution for the same act.
Meaning of right against double
jeopardy
The right against double jeopardy means that when a
person is charged with an offense and the case is
terminated either by acquittal or conviction or in any
other manner without the express consent of the
accused, the latter cannot again be charged with the
same or identical offense.
 The guarantee protects against the perils of a
second punishment as well as a second trial for the
same.
Existence of double jeopardy
1. Requisites. – Under present law and
jurisprudence, the accused is placed in double
jeopardy if the following conditions and present:
A. He has been previously brought to trial;
B. In a court of competent jurisdiction;
C. Under a valid complaint or information;
D. He has been arraigned and pleaded to the charge;
E. He has been convicted or acquitted or the case against
him has been dismissed or otherwise terminated
without his express consent;
F. He is being charged again for the same offense.
2. Rule in case of mistrial. – The right cannot be
involved where a petition for a declaration of mistrial
is granted on the ground that the proceedings have
been vitiated by lack of due process, as where the
prosecution and the judge who tried and decided the
case acted under the compulsion of some pressure
which prove to be beyond their capacity to resist and
which it would have otherwise presented, but also
predetermined the final outcome of the case. A pre-
trial becomes necessary.
Right to appeal in criminal cases

1. The government has no right, therefore, to appeal

from a judgment of acquittal.
2. The accused, after having been convicted, may
appeal to a higher court, but the latter may raise the
penalty imposed on him by the lower court and such
is not second jeopardy.
Section 22.No ex post facto law or bill of
attainder shall be enacted.
Meaning of ex post facto law

1. An ex post facto (after the fact) law is one which, operating

retrospectively-
2. Makes an act done before the passage of a law, innocent when
done, criminal, and punishes such act; or
3. Aggravates a crime or makes it greater than when it was
committed; or
4. Changes the punishment and inflicts a greater punishment than
what the law annexed to the crime, when committed; or
5. Alters the legal rules of evidence, and receives less testimony than
or different testimony from what the law required at the time of
the commission of the offense, in order to convict the offender.
Characteristics of ex post facto law.
They are:

1. Ex post facto laws relate to penal or criminal matters

only;
2. They are retroactive in their operation; and
3. They deprive persons accused of crime of some
protection or defense previously available, to their
disadvantage
 An example of an ex post facto law is a statute
declaring as usurious and unlawful, the rate of interest
provided in a contract which was not usurious under the
law in force at the time of the execution of the contract.
Here, the law is unfair to the accused. Ex post facto laws
are absolutely prohibited unless they are favourable to
the accused as when an act, a crime when committed, is
declared lawful and no longer punishable by a
subsequent law. Note: usury is no longer punishable by
law. There is now no limit imposed by law on the
interest a lender may charge a borrower.
Meaning of bill of attainder
 The prohibition against the enactment of bills of
attainder is designed as a general safeguard against
legislative exercise of the judicial function, or simply,
trial by legislature.

1. In a case where a law passed by the United States Congress

declared in one of its sections that three (3) government
employees named therein were not to receive any salary after
a certain date because of their subversive activities, the U.S
Supreme court held that the enactment was in the nature of a
bill of pains and penalties, the congress assuming the role of
a judge and giving no hearing t the parties. Hence, the
provision was void.
2. A law passed declaring members of an association
guilty of subversion and subjecting them to
imprisonment is unconstitutional because it convicts
and penalizes without the benefit of judicial trial.
3. But the detention of a prisoner for a certain period
pending investigation and trial is not a punishment;
it is a necessary extension of the well-recognized
power of the state to hold a criminal suspect for
investigation.
 A law can never be consider ex post facto as long as it
operates prospectively since its strictures would covers
only offenses committed after and not before its
enactment
 Kinds of ex post facto laws:
Law making an act criminal which was not so before
it’s;
Law aggravating the penalty for a crime committed
before it’s passage;
Law inflicting a greater or more severe penalty;
Law altering the legal rules of evidence and allowing
the receipts of less or different testimony than what the
law requires at the time of commission, in order to
convict accused;
Law assuming to regulate civil rights and remedies only,
in effect imposes a penalty of deprivation of right for
something which when done was lawful; and
Law depriving accused of some lawful protection to
which he had been entitled, such as protection to which
he had been entitled, such as protection of a former
conviction or acquittal, or a proclamation of amnesty.
 Characteristics
It refers to criminal matters
Retroactive
Prejudicial to the accused
 Bill of attainder is a legislative act that inflicts
punishment without trial.