FUNDAMENTAL POWERS OF THE STATE

- They belong to the very essence of government and without them no government can exist. A
constitution can only define and delimit them and allocate their exercise among various government
agencies. A constitution does not grant them.
Police power: inherent and plenary power in the State which enables it to prohibit all that is hurtful to
the comfort, safety, and welfare of the society
1. Lawful subject
2. Lawful mean
Power of eminent domain: the use of government of its coercive authority, upon just compensation, to
forcibly acquire the needed property in order to devote the same to public use
Power of taxation: method by which contributions are exacted from persons and property for the
support of government and for all public needs

PROTECTED RIGHTS
Right to life
The constitutional protection of the right to life is not just a protection of the right to be alive or to the
security of ones limb against physical harm. The right to life is the right to a good life.
Right to property
Protected property includes all kinds of property found in the Civil Code.

SECTION 1 DUE PROCESS AND EQUAL PROTECTION

Substantive due process: prohibition of arbitrary rules
Procedural due process: guarantee of procedural fairness and a law which hears before it condemns
Equal protection
** The equal protection clause is a specific constitutional guarantee of the Equality of the Person. The
equality it guarantees is legal equality or, as it is usually put, the equality of all persons before the law.
Under it, each individual is dealt with as an equal person in the law, which does not treat the person
differently because of who he is or what he is or what he possesses.

SECTION 2 WARRANTLESS SEARCHES AND SEIZURES

** The purpose of the provision is to protect the privacy and sanctity of the person and of his house and
other possessions against arbitrary intrusions by State officers
Probable cause: such facts and circumstances antecedent to the issuance of a warrant that are in
themselves sufficient to induce a cautious man to rely upon them
Probable cause for the issuance of a warrant of arrest: such facts and circumstances which would
lead a reasonably discreet and prudent man to believe that an offense has been committed by the person
sought to be arrested
Probable cause for a search: such facts and circumstances which would lead a reasonably discreet and
prudent man to believe that an offense has been committed and that the objects sought in connection
with the offense are in the place sought to be searched
** Probable cause is concerned with probability, not absolute or even moral certainty.
Personal examination
** What the Constitution underscores is the exclusive and personal responsibility of the issuing judge to
satisfy himself of the existence of probable cause. The judge is not required to personally examine the
complainant and his witnesses and on the basis thereof, issue a warrant of arrest. This means that what is
required is personal determination and not personal examination.
Particularity of description
** A search warrant may be said to be particularly describe the thing to be seized when the description
therein is as specific as the circumstances will ordinarily allow and by which the warrant officer may be
guided in making the search and seizure.
** Its purpose is to prevent abuse by the officer enforcing the warrant by leaving to him no discretion as
to who or what to search or seize.

SECTION 3 PRIVACY OF COMMUNICATION AND CORRESPONDENCE

** The privacy right is but an aspect of the right to be secured in ones person.
** The privacy right is but an aspect of the right to be secured in ones person.

SECTION 4 FREEDOM OF SPEECH

1. No prior restraint
2. No subsequent punishment
Prior restraint: official government restrictions on the press or other forms of expression in advance of
actual publication or dissemination
Subsequent punishment: have the effect of unduly curtailing expression
Chilling effect: the citizen would hesitate to speak for fear he might be provoking the vengeance of the
officials he criticized
Unprotected speech: libel and obscenity
** It has been observed that such utterances are no essential part of any exposition of ideas, and are of
slight social value as a step to truth that any benefit that may be derived from them is clearly outweighed
by the social interests in order and morality

SECTION 5 FREEDOM OF RELIGION

Non-establishment clause
** Neither the State nor the Federal Government can set up a church. Neither can pass laws which aid one
religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another. Neither can, openly or secretly, participate
in the affairs of any religious organizations or groups and vice versa. The clause against establishment of
religion by law was intended to erect a wall of separation between Church and State.
Free exercise clause
The absoluteness of the freedom to believe carries with it the corollary right that the government, while it
may look into the good faith of a person, cannot inquire into a persons religious pretensions. The
moment, however, belief flows over into action, it becomes subject to government regulation.
Prohibition of religious test
The purpose of this provision, which is but a corollary of the freedom and non-establishment clause, is to
render the government powerless to restore the historically and constitutionally discredited policy of
probing religious beliefs by test oaths or limiting public offices to persons who have, or perhaps more
properly, profess to have a belief in some particular kind of religious concept.

SECTION 6 LIBERTY OF ABODE AND TRAVEL

** The liberty of abode may be limited only upon lawful order of a court whereas the right to travel may
be limited by administrative authorities as may be provided by law in the interest of national security,
public safety or public health.

SECTION 7 RIGHT TO INFORMATION

1. Right to choose a persons abode
2. Right to travel both at home and going out of the country
** They are subject to such limitations as may be provided by law.
** The Ethical Standards Act prohibits public officials and employees from using or divulging confidential
or classified information officially known to them by reason of their office and not made available to the
public.
SECTION 8 FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
** The right to form associations shall not be impaired except through a valid exercise of police power.
** It is therefore an aspect of general right of liberty. More specifically, it is an aspect of freedom of
contract; and in so far as associations may have for their object the advancement of beliefs and ideas,
freedom of association is an aspect of freedom of expression and belief.
** Government employees do not have a constitutional right to strike.

SECTION 9 POWER OF EMINENT DOMAIN

Power of eminent domain: power of the state to take private property for public use upon payment of
just compensation.
1. there is taking of private property
2. the taking must be for needed public use
3. there must be just compensation
** The power of eminent domain is possessed by the State and is exercised by the national government.
Just compensation: the just and complete equivalent of the loss which the owner of the thing
expropriated has to suffer by reason of the expropriation

SECTION 10 CONTRACTS
** Not all impairment of the substance of a contract violates the Constitution. A valid exercise of police
power is superior to the obligation of contracts.
** The government cannot prejudice private rights without due process.

SECTION 11 FREE ACCESS TO COURTS

** This constitutional provision is the basis for the provision of Sec 17, Rule 5 of the Rules of Court
allowing litigation in forma pauperis.
** Those protected include low paid employees, domestic servants and laborers. They need not be
persons so poor that they must be supported at public expense. It suffices that the plaintiff is an indigent.

SECTION 12 MIRANDA RIGHTS

1. Right to remain silent
2. Right to competent and independent counsel preferably of his own choice
3. Right to be informed of such rights
Right to be informed
** When the Constitution requires a person under investigation to be informed of his right to remain
silent and to counsel, it must be presumed to contemplate the transmission of a meaningful information
rather than just the ceremonial and perfunctory recitation of an abstract constitutional principle.
** It is not sufficient for a police officer to just repeat to the person under investigation the provisions of
the Constitution. He is not only duty-bound to tell the person the rights to which the latter is entitled; he
must also explain their effects in practical terms.
** The right of the person under investigation to be informed implies a correlative obligation on the part
of the police investigator to explain, and contemplates an effective communication that results in
understanding what is conveyed.
Right to competent and independent counsel
** The right to counsel is intended to preclude the slightest coercion as would lead the accused to admit
something false. This constitutional right extends only to testimonial compulsion and not when the body
of the accused is proposed to be examined.
** This is a product of experience under the Marcos regime when the military authorities used to make
available to detainees only counsel of the militarys choice, and presumably working also for the interest
of the military.
Waiver of rights
** These rights cannot be waived except in writing and in the presence of counsel.
Torture, force, etc. prohibited
** Because they vitiate truth and because they are an assault on the dignity of the person.

SECTION 13 RIGHT TO BAIL

** Bail is awarded to the accused to honor the presumption of innocence until his guilt is proven beyond
reasonable doubt and to enable him to prepare his defense without being subject to punishment prior to
conviction.
Bail: mode short of confinement which would, with reasonable certainty, insure the attendance of the
accused ay his trial and usually takes the form of a deposit of money or is equivalent as a guarantee of
such attendance and which deposit is forfeited upon failure to appear.
** No constitutional right when the following conditions concur: the accused is charged with an offense
punishable by reclusion perpetua; and the evidence against him is strong.

SECTION 14 RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED

1. Due process in criminal cases
2. Presumption of innocence
3. Right to be heard
4. Right to counsel
5. Right to be informed
6. Right to speedy, impartial, and public trial
7. Right to meet witness face to face
8. Compulsory process
Presumption of innocence
** No person shall be convicted unless the prosecution has proved him guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
Right to counsel
** This is a realistic recognition of the obvious truth that the average defendant does not have the
professional skill to protect himself when brought before a tribunal with power to take his life or liberty,
wherein the prosecution is represented by an experienced and learned counsel.
Right to be informed
** The object of the written accusation is to furnish the accused with such a description of the charge
against him as will enable him to make his defense, to avail himself of his conviction or acquittal for
protection against a further prosecution for the same course, and to inform the court of the facts alleged,
so that it may decide whether they are sufficient in law to support a conviction, if one should be had.
** The complaint must contain a specific allegation of every fact and circumstance necessary to constitute
the crime charged.
Right to speedy trial
** The concept of speedy trial is necessarily relative and determination of whether the right has been
violated must be based on the balancing of various factors. Length of delay is certainly a factor to
consider; but other factors must also be considered such as the reason for the delay, the effort of the
defendant to assert his right, and the prejudice caused to the defendant,
Right to a public trial
** The purpose of this guarantee is to serve as a safeguard against any attempt to employ our courts as
instruments of persecution. The knowledge that every criminal is subject to contemporaneous review in
the forum of public opinion us an effective restraint on possible abuse of judicial power.
Right to meet witness face to face
** The right has a two-fold purpose: to afford the accused an opportunity to test the testimony of the
witness by cross-examination and to allow the judge to observe the deportation if the witness.
Waiver of rights
** Whenever a protection given by the Constitution is waived by the person entitled to that protection,
the presumption is against the waiver. Consequently, the prosecution must prove with strongly
convincing evidence to the satisfaction of this Court that indeed the accused willingly and voluntarily
submitted his confession and knowingly and deliberately manifested that he was not interested in having
a lawyer assist him during the taking of that confession.

SECTION 15 PRIVILEGE OF THE WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS

Writ of habeas corpus: a writ directed to the person detaining another, commanding him to produce the
body of the prisoner at a designated time and place, with the day and cause of his caption and detention,
to do, submit to, and receive whatever the court or judge awarding the writ shall consider in that behalf
Privilege of the writ of habeas corpus: right to have an immediate determination of legality of the
deprivation of physical liberty
Validity of the suspension
1. the existence of actual invasion or rebellion
2. public safety requires the suspension

SECTION 16 SPEEDY TRIAL

** Speedy trial in Sec 14 covers only the trial phase of criminal cases, whereas Sec 16 covers all phases of
nay judicial, quasi-judicial or administrative proceedings.

SECTION 17 RIGHT AGAINST SELF-INCRIMINATION

** It was established on the grounds of public policy and humanity.
Public policy: if the party were required to testify, it would place the witness under the strongest
temptation to commit perjury
Humanity: it would prevent the extorting of confession by duress
** Usually a crime or a criminal act may contain two or more elements and that a question would have a
tendency to incriminate, even if it tends to elicit only one of said elements. The right thus, includes a right
to refuse to testify a fact which would be a necessary link in a chain of evidence to prove the commission
of a crime by a witness.

SECTION 18 INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE

Involuntary servitude: every condition of enforced or compulsory service of one to another no matter
under what form such servitude may be disguised

SECTION 19 DEATH PENALTY

Guide
1. A punishment must not be so severe as to be degrading to the dignity of human beings.
2. It must not be applied arbitrarily.
3. It must not be unacceptable to contemporary society.
4. It must not be excessive.
Heinous crimes: being grievous, odious, and hateful offenses and which, by reason of their inherent or
manifest wickedness, viciousness, atrocity and perversity are repugnant and outrageous to the common
standards and norms of decency and morality in a just, civilized and ordered society.
** The circumstances under which a specific law may allow the death penalty may make it cruel and
unusual under such law.
** Death penalty per se is not a cruel, degrading or inhuman punishment. Punishment is so if it involves
torture or a lingering death; but the punishment of death is not cruel, within the meaning of that word as
used in the constitution. It implies there is something inhuman and barbarous, something more than the
mere extinguishment of life.

SECTION 20 DEBT AND POLL TAX

Debt: Any liability to pay money growing out of a contract, express or implied.
** A person may be imprisoned for fraudulent debt only if the fraudulent debt constitutes a crime and the
debtor has been duly convicted.
Poll tax: cedula tax or residential tax
** The Constitution does not prohibit the cedula tax but it prohibits imprisonment for non-payment of the
cedula tax.

SECTION 21 DOUBLE JEOPARDY

First jeopardy terminated
1. by acquittal
2. by final conviction
3. by dismissal without express consent of the accused
4. by dismissal on the merits

SECTION 22 EX POST FACTO LAW AND BILL OF ATTAINDER

** The ex post fcato clause prohibits only retrospective penal laws.