Provisions relating to the exercise of religion:

Art. III, Section 5. No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion,

or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of
religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall
forever be allowed. No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or
political rights.

FREE EXERCISE CLAUSE : “The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession
and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed”
 2 FOLD ASPECTS:
o Freedom to Believe
 The individual is free to believe (or disbelieve) as he pleases
concerning the hereafter. He may indulge his own theories about
life and death; worship any god he chooses, or none at all;
embrace or reject any religion; ack xnowledge the divinity
of God or of any being that appeals to his reverence; recognize
or deny the immortality of his soul - in fact, cherish any religious
conviction as he and he alone sees fit. However absurd his beliefs
may be to others, even if they be hostile and heretical to the
majority, he has full freedom to believe as he pleases. He may
not be required to prove his beliefs. He may not be punished for
his inability to do so. Religion, after all, is a matter of faith. "Men
may believe what they cannot prove." Everyone has a right to his
beliefs and he may not be called to account because he cannot
prove what he believes.

o Freedom to Act on One's Beliefs

 Where the individual externalizes his beliefs in acts or omissions
that affect the public, his freedom to do so becomes subject to the
authority of the State. As great as this liberty may be, religious
freedom, like all other rights guaranteed in the Constitution, can
be enjoyed only with a proper regard for the rights of others.
 The inherent police power can be exercised to prevent religious
practices inimical to society. And this is true even if such practices
are pursued out of sincere religious conviction and not merely for
the purpose of evading the reasonable requirements or
prohibitions of the law.

Freedom to believe is absolute, whereas freedom to act on one’s belief

may be subject to regulation and the State’s police powers.

NON-ESTABLISHMENT CLAUSE : “No law shall be made respecting an

establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”
See also: Section 29 (2), Article VI of the 1987 Constitution, "No public money or
property shall be appropriated, applied, paid, or employed, directly or
indirectly, for the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination,
 sectarian institution, or system of religion, or of any priest, preacher,
minister, or other religious teacher, or dignitary as such, except when such
priest, preacher, minister, or dignitary is assigned to the armed forces, or to
any penal institution, or government orphanage or leprosarium."

The non-establishment clause reinforces the wall of separation between Church

and State. It simply means that the State cannot set up a Church; nor pass laws which
aid one religion, aid all religion, or prefer one religion over another nor force nor
influence a person to go to or remain away from church against his will or force him to
profess a belief or disbelief in any religion; that the state cannot punish a person for
entertaining or professing religious beliefs or disbeliefs, for church attendance or
nonattendance; that no tax in any amount, large or small, can be levied to support any
religious activity or institution whatever they may be called or whatever form they may
adopt or teach or practice religion; that the state cannot openly or secretly participate
in the affairs of any religious organization or group and vice versa. Its minimal sense
is that the state cannot establish or sponsor an official religion.

ESTABLISHMENT vs. ACCOMODATION

NB: What the Constitution prohibits is the establishment of religion and not the
accommodation thereof.
In order to give life to the constitutional right of freedom of religion, the State
adopts a policy of accommodation. Accommodation is a recognition of the reality that
some governmental measures may not be imposed on a certain portion of the
population for the reason that these measures are contrary to their religious beliefs.
As long as it can be shown that the exercise of the right does not impair the public
welfare, the attempt of the State to regulate or prohibit such right would be an
unconstitutional encroachment.
Establishment entails a positive action on the part of the State. Accommodation,
on the other hand, is passive. In establishment, the State becomes involved through
the use of government resources with the primary intention of setting up a state
religion. In accommodation, the State, without being entangled, merely gives
consideration to its citizens who want to freely exercise their religion.

INSTANCES WHERE THE STATE ACCOMMODATED RELIGION:

 In Victoriano v. Elizalde Rope Workers Union, the Court upheld the exemption
of members of Iglesia ni Cristo from the coverage of a closed shop agreement
between their employer and a union, because it would violate the teaching of
their church not to affiliate with a labor organization.
 In Ebralinag v. Division Superintendent of Schools of Cebu, the petitioners,
who were members of the Jehovah 's Witnesses, refused to salute the flag, sing
the national anthem, and recite the patriotic pledge for it is their belief that those
were acts of worship or religious devotion, which they could not conscientiously
give to anyone or anything except God. The Court accommodated them and
 granted them an exemption from observing the flag ceremony out of respect for
their religious beliefs.
 In Manosca v. CA, a parcel of land located in Taguig was determined by the
National Historical Institute to be the birthsite of Felix Y. Manalo, the founder
of Iglesia ni Cristo. The Republic then sought to expropriate the said property.
The exercise of the power of eminent domain was questioned on the ground
that it would only benefit members of Iglesia ni Cristo. The Court upheld the
legality of the expropriation, and ruled: The practical reality that greater benefit
may be derived by members of the Iglesia ni Cristo than by most others could
well be true but such a peculiar advantage still remains to be merely incidental
and secondary in nature
 Further, several laws have been enacted to accommodate religion.
o The Revised Administrative Code of 1987 has declared Maundy
Thursday, Good Friday, and Christmas Day as regular holidays.
o Republic Act (R.A.) No. 9177 proclaimed the FIRST Day
of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic Calendar, a national holiday
for the observance of Eidul Fitr (the end of Ramadan).
o R.A. No. 9849 declared the tenth day of Zhu/ Hijja, the twelfth month of
the Islamic Calendar, a national holiday for the observance of Eidul
Adha.
o Presidential Decree (P.D.) No. 1083, otherwise known as the Code of
Muslim Personal Laws of the Philippines, expressly allows a Filipino
Muslim to have more than one (1) wife and exempts him from the crime
of bigamy punishable under Revised Penal Code (RPC). The same
Code allows Muslims to have divorce.

 Revised Penal Code, Crimes against religious worship

Article 132. Interruption of religious worship. - The penalty of prision

correccional in its minimum period shall be imposed upon any public
officer or employee who shall prevent or disturb the ceremonies or
manifestations of any religion.

If the crime shall have been committed with violence or threats, the
penalty shall be prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods.

Elements:
o Offender is a public officer or employee (If offender is a private individual,
he may be liable under Art 133, RPC.);
o Religious ceremonies or manifestations of any religious are about to take
place or are going on;
o Offender prevents or disturbs the same.

RATIONALE: Persons who meet for the purpose of religious worship, by any
method which is not indecent and unlawful, have a right to do so without being
molested or disturbed (US v. Balcorta, 23 Phil 279).

RELIGIOUS WORSHIP includes people in the act of performing

religious rites for religious ceremony or manifestation of religion.
 If the prohibition or disturbance is committed only in a meeting or rally of
a sect, it would be punishable under Art. 131 (Prohibition, interruption
and dissolution of peaceful meetings.)

It does not cover quasi-religious ceremonies such as “house-blessing”.

Article 133. Offending the religious feelings. - The penalty of arresto

mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in its minimum
period shall be imposed upon anyone who, in a place devoted to religious
worship or during the celebration of any religious ceremony shall perform
acts notoriously offensive to the feelings of the faithful.

Elements:
 Acts complained of were performed:
o In a place devoted to religious worship; or
o During the celebration of any religious ceremony; and
 Acts must be notoriously offensive to the feelings of the faithful.

It is not necessary that there is religious worship

RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES : Those religious acts performed outside of a

church, such as processions and special prayers for burying dead persons.

ACTS CONSIDERED NOTORIOSLY OFFENSIVE. An act is considered

notoriously offensive when the act is directed against religious practice,
dogma or ritual for the purpose of ridicule, as mocking or scoffing at or
attempting to damage an object of religious veneration (People v. Baes,
G.R. 46000, May 25, 1939). The act is offensive to a religious whether he is
a member of the particular religion concerned or not; whether he is present
or absent thereat. If it is offensive to a particular religion only, or only to
those present at the religious meeting, the offense is unjust vexation.

There must be deliberate intent to hurt the feelings of the faithful, mere
arrogance or rudeness is not enough. Otherwise, it is only unjust vexation.
Section 30. Prohibited Construction on Navigable or Floatable Waterways – Except when
allowed under these rules, the Board shall recommend to the DPWH, Department of the
Interior and Local Government (DILG) or appropriate government agency or local
government unit the removal of dams, dikes, or any structure or works or devices that
encroach into any public navigable or floatable rivers, streams, coastal waters, waterways,
bodies of water, or obstruct or impede the free passage of water or cause inundation. The
rules and regulations of the Philippine Coast Guards pertaining to navigation shall be
suppletory to these rules. Rivers, lakes and lagoons may be declared by the Board as
navigable in whole or in part upon recommendation of the Philippine Coast Guard.