BILL OF RIGHTS declaration and enumeration of the individual rights and privileges, which the constitution is designed to protect.

Section 1. RIGHT TO LIFE, LIBERTY AND PROPERTY Sec. 2. RIGHT AGAINST UNREASONABLE SEARCHES AND SEIZURES (seize) Sec. 3. RIGHT TO PRIVACY OF COMMUNICATION AND CORRESPONDENCE Sec. 4. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION : SPEECH, OF THE PRESS, TO ASSEMBLE, TO PETITION GOVT Sec. 5. FREEDOM OF RELIGION Sec. 6. LIBERTY OF ABODE and TRAVEL Sec. 7. RIGHT TO INFORMATION Sec. 8. RIGHT TO FORM UNIONS Sec. 9. RIGHT TO PRIVATE PROPERTY Sec. 10. No law impairing the obligation of contracts Sec. 11. Free access to courts Sec. 12. RIGHTS OF A PERSON UNDER CUSTODIAL INVESTIGATION : (1) Miranda Rights. (2) No torture is allowed (3) Any confession in violation of this section is inadmissible in court. (4) Violators are penalized. Sec. 13. RIGHT TO BAIL Sec. 14. RIGHTS OF AN ACCUSED PERSON 1) right to due process 2) right to be presumed innocent 3) right to be heard 4) right to be informed of the nature & cause of the accusation against him 5) right to have a speedy, impartial & public trial 6) right to meet witnesses face to face 7) right to have compulsory process to have witnesses and the production of evidence. Sec. 15. privilege of the writ of habeas corpus Sec. 16. right to a speedy disposition of their cases Sec. 17. RIGHT AGAINST SELF-INCRIMINATION. Sec. 18. (1) No person shall be detained solely by reason of his political beliefs and aspirations (2) RIGHT AGAINST INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE

Sec. 19. 1) RIGHT AGAINST EXCESSIVE FINES 2) RIGHT AGAINST CRUEL, DEGRADING & INHUMAN PUNISHMENT Sec. 20. No person shall be imprisoned for debt or non-payment of poll tax. Sec. 21. RIGHT AGAINST DOUBLE JEOPARDY Sec. 22. RIGHT AGAINST EX-POST FACTO LAW/BILL OF ATTAINDER DISCUSSIONS : Section 1. Liberty & Property can be subsumed as part of Life..Life here is more than just mere existence.more than just breathing & the presence of blood. In biology, life is the ability to grow and reproduce.but in human rights, life includes the enjoyment of everything connected to a persons life. If one source of happiness is taken away from you, that can be considered as a deprivation of life. Under section 1, the state has the capacity to take away life, liberty & property if one has violated its rules. To protect the person from this, the state is not allowed to take these without due process. Due process is a right of the person to be considered innocent until proven guilty, to be given the right to trial. Section 2. Police power as a fundamental power of the state has the capacity to seize a person or objects connected to a crime or offense committed. To be protected from this, police has to have a SEARCH WARRANT to search for & seize (grab) objects as evidence to a crime/offense committed; and a WARRANT OF ARREST to seize (capture) a person in relation to a crime/offense committed. These two are both documents signed by the judge. Section 2 ensures us that our homes & objects are protected as well as we are comfortable with ourselves going outside our house without being seized anytime. Section 3. The right to privacy is our right to be left alone. It can only be intruded (invaded) or the state can intrude our privacy only UPON LAWFUL ORDER OF THE COURT. This means that the police can listen to a conversation of two criminals because they were given a court order signed by a judge. Now, if for example, if Joan shared her illegal activity to her friend and her friend recorded the conversation without a court order, that recording is considered as a violation of her right to privacy. And if there is a case that would be filed against Joan for her illegal activities, that recording cannot be used as an evidence. But only as a basis for further investigation. Section 4. Freedom of expression includes four expressions : of speech (verbal expression), of the press (written expression), for people to peacefully assemble (like rallies & strikes), and to petition the government against grievances (complaints).

But this freedom is NOT ABSOLUTE. This means that this freedom is conditional or has limitations. These limitations are SLANDER (oral defamation & libel), OBSCENITY & INCITING TO REBELLION. Section 5. Freedom of religion is twofolds : The freedom to believe is absolute. If you believe yourself to be a god, nobody should question or harm you because of your belief. However, when you act your belief and your actions are harmful then your freedom to believe can be taken away from you anytime. (freedom to act on ones belief is not absolute anymore as it has limitations) Section 6. Liberty of abode (home, residence, house) is the freedom to transfer residence wherever we want as long as we have not violated any law. This can only be disallowed (not allowed) if you have committed an offense and there is a COURT ORDER that you cannot transfer to any residence. The right to travel is the right to transfer from one place to another. It can only be reduced/limited when you become a threat to NATIONAL SECURITY, PUBLIC SAFETY or PUBLIC HEALTH. A good example was the H1N1 flu where those who were infected were quarantined (separated/secluded) from the people. Section 7. The right to information is the right to know of things from the government. However, this right has limitations. Not all government information should be available to the people, like : 1. National Security Matters. 2. Trade secrets and banking transactions 3. Criminal matters or classified law enforcement matters 4. Other confidential matters covered under the The Ethical Standards Act (RA 6713) A good example of this is during the Hostage Crisis of Hongkong tourists. The media was all over the place in covering the crisis. They ignored the fact that the hostage taker has a tv, a radio and a cellphone inside the van. The hostage taker knows the activities of the police outside the bus as he all three media inside. Based on the report, there were bullets found in the victims that are not from the hostage taker. This is an example that the right to information should be limited. Section 8. The right to form unions is the right of individuals to associate themselves with groups that is not in violation of the law. Groups are very important as the government listens to the demands of the groups than by individuals. Section 9. The right to private property is a protection from the power of eminent domain of the state. The state cannot take private property for public use without just compensation (payment) to the owner. 3

Section 10. A contract is an agreement between two individuals, between two groups or between an individual and a group. Since this is an agreement, no outside entity has the right to spoil the obligation of the agreement. Example : a company who produces alcoholic drinks requested their employees to render services on Saturdays and Sundays with overtime pay. A law called BLUE SUNDAY was passed. In this law, those who render Sunday services are considered as voluntary service. The company of the alcoholic drink applied the law to their employees and did not pay their employees who rendered Sunday service. The employees filed a case against the company and applied this section. And the employees won the case. Section 11. This section means that poverty should not limit a person in seeking justice. The person who cannot afford to go to court is given priority by the government to seek free legal assistance and has free access to courts. The Public Attorneys Office (PAO) is the agency that caters to the legal needs of those who cannot afford a private lawyer. We also have a law where lawyers can render free legal assistance which is called as pro bono cases. Section 12. 1st paragraph are summed up as the Miranda Rights. This is what you usually see in American police movies when the police would catch a criminal, the police would say : you have the right to remain silent, anything you say will be used against you in the courts of law, you have the right get a lawyer, if you cannot afford one, the state will provide you with one. Under this paragraph, it is added that the person under the custody of the police can waive (give up) his/her rights in writing in the presence of a lawyer. The 2nd paragraph protects the person from abuses of the police. Torture and any other threatening activities is not allowed. 3rd paragraph indicates that if the person confesses due to being tortured or threatened, his/her confession cannot be used as an evidence during trial. 4th paragraph emphasizes that all those who violate this section will be punished. *section 12 protects us from the abuses of police power. Section 13. In this section, the person accused/charged with an offense can be temporarily set free with the use of the bail. The bail money/bond assures the court that you will appear during trial. But after the trial, whether the person is acquitted (released) or convicted (found guilty), the bail money/bond is returned to the accused person. But this right is limited. The accused cannot invoke (use) this right : (1) if his/her offense is punishable with reclusion perpetua (life sentence); and (2) if the evidence (proof) of guilt is very strong. Section 14. This section enumerates the rights of a person accused or charged with an offense. The accused person should undergo due process, meaning he/she is presumed innocent until proven guilty. With this, the person has the right to defend himself/herself, needs to know

what the accusation is against him/her, needs to meet the witnesses face-to-face and get a speedy trial. TRIAL IN ABSENTIA - if the accused already knows the schedule of the trial and failed to attend the said trial without a valid reason, the trial may proceed even if the accused is absent. Section 15. This section protects us from illegal detention. Habeas corpuse means (in legal terms) you have the body meaning the state can command the detaining officer to produce the body of the prisoner being detained in a designated time and place. The writ is a document thus when the accused invokes the right, it should be the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus. Section 16. The right to a speedy disposition of cases is different from the right to a speedy trial. Speedy disposition means that the accused is protected from any arbitrary (illogical) delay of his/her case. This means that the case (not just the trial) is disposed of (settled) immediately. Sample case : a guy from Manila was charged with a hit and run case here in Iligan City. For three consecutive schedule of the trial, the complainant was absent. On the 3rd day of the trial, the lawyer of the accused person invoked (brought up) her clients right of a speedy disposition of his case using the reason that the complainant is not anymore interested with the case. His case was then dismissed and the person was acquitted. Section 17. A person cannot be a witness against himself to protect the person from : 1) Abuses from the police like torture 2) Committing the crime of perjury (lying). Any confession from the accused which is a violation of this section and section 12 cannot be used as an evidence in court. Section 18. Paragraph 1 talks about political beliefs. No man is to be interfered with because of his opinions provided his avowal (declaration) of them does not disturb public order or established law. Paragraph 2 talks about involuntary servitude. Involuntary Servitude denotes a condition of enforced, compulsory service of one to another. It is applied to any servitude in fact involuntary, no matter under what form such servitude may have been disguised. A person should not be imprisoned just because of his political beliefs. And involuntary service is only enforced as a punishment to a crime/offense.

Section 19. 5

RIGHT AGAINST EXCESSIVE FINES----fine here is a punishment other than imprisonment. This is not the same as bail. However, fine is dependent on the gravity of the persons offense, thus, this right protects us from grave abuse of authority. RIGHT AGAINST CRUEL, DEGRADING & INHUMAN PUNISHMENT --- this is a right recognizing convicted persons that despite the crimes they have committed, they are still considered as humans. With this, the Phil govt do not have death penalty as a punishment except for heinous crimes like rape with murder and parricide (one killing ones immediate family). Any death penalty imposed shall be lessened to reclusion perpetua (life sentence). This is because we are not assured that the judicial system is always right. And we always consider the principle that it is better to set free a murderer than kill (through death penalty) an innocent person (wrongly accused of a crime). Section 20. A person who became indebted due to unfortunate circumstances should not be in jailed especially if the person do not have the capacity to pay. On the other hand, if a person became indebted and then paid the debtor through fraudulent means, then by all means, the debtor can file a case against this person. Example : Juan, who is unemployed, was forced to borrow money from Pedro to have his kid hospitalized. Promising to pay after a month, Juan got the money. After month, still unable to get a job, Juan cannot pay Pedro. Pedro cannot have him jailed because of this reason. Now, if Juan borrowed money from Pedro and he paid Pedro through a check. When Pedro went to the bank, the account does not have any money in it. Pedro can file a case of Estafa against Juan as he paid through fraudulent (deceitful) means. Section 21. Right against double jeopardy means that a person cannot be punished for the same offence twice. Whether the person has been found guilty or not, after trial and the case has already been decided, the case cannot be filed again in another court. Example : Juan was filed a case of qualified theft in Iligan City. After a series of hearings and due to lack of evidences, the case was dismissed and Juan was acquitted. The complainant, Maria was not satisfied with the result. She again filed the same case in the court of Ozamis City. However, Juan underwent the same process before and so he invoked his right against double jeopardy and thus was set free. Section 22. Bill of attainder is a law that inflicts punishment without judicial trial. This right against bill of attainder protects us from the abusive use of legislative authority (power to make laws). For example, Senator John Smith does not like Peter Pan. One day he created a law declaring Peter Pan as illegal. Without knowing what their fault was, all men whose name is Peter Pan was jailed. This is unfair because the name Peter Pan does not entail any threat to the society. The law was made out of the selfish interest of the Senator. Thus, we have this right. Expost facto law is a law that aggravates (worsens) the punishment of a crime. For example, Jane Smith was accused of Theft. She was given a punishment of 10 years imprisonment. Now, during her tenth year, a day before she is about to be set free, a law was passed and enforced. The law states that all those who committed theft will now be 6

punished with death penalty. Now, this is rather unfair for Jane. Thus, we are protected from this unfortunate event. The effectivity of a law should start from the day it was approved and applies to the future. It should not apply backwards.