Bill of Rights

BILL OF RIGHTS

} A declaration and enumeration of the individual rights and privileges which the Constitution is designed to protect against encroachments by the government or by individual or groups of individual.

} It is a charter of liberties for the individual and a limitation upon the power of the State.

Classes of rights

1.Natural rights

Possessed by every citizens without being granted by the state for they are conferred upon him by God as a human being so that he may live a happy life.

Right to life and right to love

2.Constitutional rights

Rights conferred and protected by the Constitution. Since they are part of the fundamental law, they cannot be modified or taken away by the law making body.

Classification

1.POLITICAL RIGHTS – rights of the citizens which give them the power to participate, directly or indirectly, in the establishment or administration of the government.

· Right of citizenship

· Right of suffrage

· Right to information on matters of public concern

2.CIVIL RIGHTS – rights which the law will enforce at the instance of private individuals for the purpose of securing to them the enjoyment of their means of happiness.

· aFreedom of speech, freedom of expression,

3.SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RIGHTS – rights which are intended to insure the well being and economic security of the individual.

· Right to property

· Right to just compensation for property taken for public use.

· RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSSED – rights intended for the protection of a person accused of any crime.

· Right to presumption of the innocence

· Right to speedy, impartial and public trial

· Rights which are provided by laws promulgated by the law making body and consequently may be abolished by the same body.

· Right to receive a minimum wage

· Right to inherent property

3.Statutory rights

Constitutional rights of the accused in criminal cases

1. the right to adequate legal assistance

2. the right, when under investigation for the commission of an offense, to be informed of his right to remain silent and to have counsel

3. the right against the use of torture, force, violence, threat, intimidation or any other means which vitiates the free will

4. the right against being held in secret, incommunicado, or similar forms of solitary detention

5. the right to bail and against excessive bail

6. the right to due process of law

7. the right to presumption of innocence

8. the right to be heard by himself and counsel

9. the right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against him

10. the right to have a speedy public trial

11. the right to be confronted by the accuser

12. the right to have compulsory process to secure the attendance of witnesses and the production of evidence in his behalf

13. the right against self-incrimination

14. the right against detention by reason of political beliefs and aspirations

15. the right against cruel, degrading, or inhuman punishment

16. the right against infliction of the death penalty except for heinous crimes

17. the right against double jeopardy

MIRANDA RIGHTS

You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?”

Although the absolute prohibition of torture and ill-treatment under international law is affirmed in the Philippine Constitution, torture has not yet been defined as a crime in the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines.

Therefore, although the prohibition is now protected in the Constitution, no one can be prosecuted for acts of torture until a law is passed by the legislature and the law becomes part of the Penal Code.

At present, victims of torture and their lawyers may file cases on maltreatment, physical injuries, grave coercion, mutilation, administering injurious substances or beverages and rape which are crimes under the Revised Penal Code

Torture usually happened immediately after arrest or abduction, often at night or at a place where there are few or no witnesses.

The arresting officers may be in civilian clothes or in uniform but without nametags.

Most often, they do not have the necessary warrant of arrest. They merely "invite" the victim for questioning.

It was noted in a survey done on 309 inmates in 5 jails in Metro Manila that more common than warrant less arrests is the failure of arresting officers to inform suspects of their rights

they are handcuffed and taken for investigation.

Sec 13

Reclusión perpetua
(Spanish, from Latin: reclusio perpetua, meaning "permanent imprisonment

Reclusión perpetua is prescribed on crimes punishable by the Revised Penal Code, while life imprisonment is imposed on offences punishable by Special Laws.

Reclusión perpetua carries the "accessory penalty" where, as defined by Philippine Law, guilty parties suffer lifetime barring from holding political office. Life imprisonment does not carry this penalty.

Reclusión perpetua does not allow pardon or parole until after the first 30 years of the sentence have been served; after 40 years without pardon or parole, the sentence ends. Life imprisonment does not have any definite extent or duration of imprisonment, and prisoners serving life imprisonment can have parole at any time.

Unlike life imprisonment, the length of a sentence for reclusión perpetua is an indivisible penalty of 40 years and cannot be altered during sentencing.

BAIL

Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail (and possibly be brought up on charges of the crime of failure to appear). In some cases bail money may be returned at the end of the trial, if all court appearances are made, no matter whether the person is found guilty or not guilty of the crime accused.

WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS

Habeas corpus (Pronounced - Hay-b-as Kohr-pus)

(Latin: You (shall) have the body^[1])

is a legal action, or writ, through which a person can seek relief from their unlawful detention or that of another person. It protects individuals from harming themselves or from being harmed by the judicial system. Of English origin, the writ of habeas corpus has historically been an important instrument for the safeguarding of individual freedom against arbitrary state action.

A writ of habeas corpus ad subjiciendum, also known as "The Great Writ", is a summons with the force of a court order addressed to the custodian (such as a prison official) demanding that a prisoner be brought before the court, together with proof of authority, allowing the court to determine whether that custodian has lawful authority to hold that person; if not, the person shall be released from custody. The prisoner, or another person on his behalf (for example, where the prisoner is being held incommunicado), may petition the court or an individual judge for a writ of habeas corpus.

The right to petition for a writ of habeas corpus has long been celebrated as the most efficient safeguard of the liberty of the subject. The British jurist Albert Venn Dicey wrote that the Habeas Corpus Acts "declare no principle and define no rights, but they are for practical purposes worth a hundred constitutional articles guaranteeing individual liberty." In most countries, however, the procedure of habeas corpus can be suspended in time of national emergency. In most civil law jurisdictions, comparable provisions exist, but they may not be called "habeas corpus."

The writ of habeas corpus is one of what are called the "extraordinary", "common law", or "prerogative writs", which were historically issued by the courts in the name of the monarch to control inferior courts and public authorities within the kingdom. The most common of the other such prerogative writs are quo warranto, prohibito, mandamus, procedendo, and certiorari. When the original 13 American Colonies declared independence and became a constitutional republic in which the people are the sovereign, any person, in the name of the people, acquired authority to initiate such writs.