CONSTITUTIONAL LAW II 3.

To promote the happiness of the individual

Transcription from the lectures of Atty. Derije (2021-2022)
Transcribed by: Erika Cristel S. Diaz The happiness of the individual and not the well-being with
the state is the criterion by which its behavior is to be judged.
Part 2: The Bill of Rights Its interest and not its power set the limits to the authority it is
entitled to exercise. Every state is known by the rights that it
Bill of Rights - Declaration and enumeration of a person's maintains. One method of judging its character lies above all
rights and privileges which the constitution is designed to in the contribution that it makes to the substance of a man’s
protect against violation by the government or by individuals happiness.
or groups of individuals. It is a charter of liberties for the
individual and a limitation upon the power of the state. Why is there a need for a bill of rights?

Basis of the Bill of Rights: 1. The people must protect their rights.

1. The Bill of Rights is the bedrock of constitutional Without the Bill of Rights, there is nothing but naked power
government. even if exerted in the name of the law. A declaration of rights
in the constitution would not necessarily make available the
If the people are stripped naked of their rights as human blessing of constitutional democracy to all unless the people
beings, democracy cannot survive, and government themselves assert and protect their liberties and immunities.
becomes meaningless. This explains why the Bill of Rights
contained as it is in Article 3 of the constitution occupies a So that their persons, their homes, their peace, their
position of primacy in the fundamental law way ahead of the livelihood, their happiness, and their freedom may be safe
articles on governmental powers. Article 3 contains the chief and secure from an ambitious ruler. The courts can lay
protection for human rights, but the body of the constitution down the ground rules for fairness, but it is the people who
guarantees other rights that are secured to all the people. must understand and abide by them if they wish to have
them preserved.
2. The importance accorded to the dignity and worth
of the individual 2. The people must guard against misguided
reformers.
A Bill of Rights embodies the basic dogma of democracy.
The transcendental importance of the individual thus in a The danger to our field institutions lies not only in those who
democracy is the preservation and enhancement of the openly defy the authority of the government and violate its
dignity and worth of the human personality. It is the central laws. The greater menace is in those who in the name of
core as well as the cardinal article of faith of our civilization. democracy destroy the very things it stands for and so
The inviolable character of a man as an individual must be undermine democracy itself where liberty is debased into
protected, the largest possible extent is his thoughts and in cruel illusion all of us are degraded and diminished.
his beliefs as the citadel of his person.
Liberty is indivisible, it is right that inheres in every one of us
3. A Bill of Rights lays out the limitation on as a member of the human family. It is not derived from the
governmental power sufferance of the government or its magnanimity or even
from the constitution itself which merely affirms but does not
The protection against arbitrary actions of government and grant it. We should realize that when this liberties in the Bill
other members of society. It reserves for the people certain of Rights is taken from one of us, it is as if it is taken from all
areas of liberty against aggression and arbitrary actions by of us. Aside from asserting and protecting these rights, we
the government and its agencies and while intended must be able to guard these rights against those who may
precisely to restrict the authority of the state, it also take it away from us.
guarantees a measure of freedom from and from
unwarranted restraints of other members of society. Classes of rights

Purpose of the Bill of Rights: 1. Natural rights

1. To preserve democratic ideas They are those rights possessed by every citizen without
being granted by the state. They are converted upon him by
The Bill of Rights is designed to preserve the ideas of liberty the creator as a human being so that he may live a happy
equality and security against assaults of opportunism, the life. These rights which belong to man by virtue of his nature
expediency of the passing hour, and the erosion of small is viewed as inherent and inalienable existing independently
encroachments. Respect for human rights is the heart of all of all human authority.
democratic values
Example: The right to life, liberty, and property and the right
2. To safeguard fundamental rights to love.

The purpose of the Bill of Rights is to withdraw certain 2. Constitutional rights

subjects from political controversy, to place them beyond the
reach of majorities and officials and to establish them as a They are those rights which are confirmed and protected by
legal principle to be applied by the courts. Once tried to life, the constitution since they are part of the fundamental law.
liberty and property, the free speech, free press, freedom of They cannot be modified or withheld by the lawmaking body.
worship in assembly and other fundamental rights may not
be submitted to a vote. They depend on the outcome of no
elections.
3. Statutory rights
4. The rights of the accused
They are those rights which are provided by laws
promulgated by lawmaking body and consequently may be Although they are also considered civil rights intended for the
abolished by the same body. protection of a person accused of any crime, like the right of
the presumption of innocence, the right to speedy an
Example: The right to receive a minimum wage, and the impartial and public trials, and the right against cruel,
right to inherit property. degrading or inhuman punishment, it is a separate
classification because the Bill of Rights provides under
Civil Rights sections 11 to 22 particularly and directly dealing with rights
intended for the protection of a person accused of any crime.
Constitutional and statutory rights are also referred to as civil
rights in the sense that they are acquired rights and are State authority and individual freedom
protected by constitutions or other laws. They are therefore
nonexistent in the absence of law. There are civil rights For every right of the people guaranteed by the constitution
which are also natural rights, and which are in the concept of and the laws, there lies a corresponding duty on the part of
human rights. It encompasses both civil rights and the those who govern to respect that right. That is the very
natural rights of an individual. essence of the Bill of Rights that governments operating
under fundamental rules, defining the limits of their power
Classification of Constitutional rights and to shield individual rights against its arbitrary exercise
can properly claim to be constitutional. Without a
1. Political rights government's acceptance of the limitation imposed upon it
by the constitution and without an acknowledgment on its
Rights of the citizens which give them power to participate part of those duties exacted by the rights pertaining to the
directly or indirectly in the establishment or administration of citizens, the Bill of Rights becomes a sophistry and liberty
the government, including the right to discuss matters of the ultimate illusion.
public interest and to criticize the government.
In every case where there arises a clash between an
Examples: The right of citizenship, the right of suffrage, the assertion of the state authority an exercise of liberty, it is the
right to information and matters of public concern, the right to Supreme Court’s high function and duty in the exercise of
form political parties, the right to seek or hold public office, the power of judicial review to locate the point of
and in general the right so pertaining to a person by virtue of accommodation and equilibrium and draw the line between
his citizenship visa-vis the management of government. permissible regulation and forbidden restraint taking into
account the nature and substantiality of the community
interest sought to be protected, in relation to the nature and
2. Civil rights importance of the freedom restricted and the character and
extent of the restrictions sought to be imposed.
Rights not connected with organization or administration of
the government which the law will enforce or redress in a When there are cases of constitutional nature that is faced to
civil action at the instance of a private individual for the the Supreme Court in the exercise of its power of judicial
purpose of securing to them. review, the court is asked to assess whether a particular
case or a particular matter is not unconstitutional or
Examples: The rights against involuntary servitude and non- constitutional.
imprisonment for nonpayment of debt or poll tax, the
constitutional rights of the accused, the social and economic In relation to the interpretation of our construction of the Bill
rights, liberty of abode and of changing the same. of Rights, the Supreme Court or the courts in the exercise of
judicial review is the one in power to interpret the constitution
Freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, the right to determine whether the state action is in violation of or is
of assembly and petition and the right to form associations consistent with the Bill of Rights. The question that will arise
are likewise civil rights however they partake of the nature of before the courts is whether or not due process has been
political rights when they are utilized as a means to given with the equal protection of the laws being violated,
participate in the government. whether there is a violation of the freedom of the press,
freedom of speech, and freedom of religion.
3. Social and Economic rights
Aside from the constitutional aspect of the violation of the Bill
They are protected mainly in other provisions of the of Rights, there is also a civil aspect when your constitutional
constitution not because of the primacy of the civil and rights are violated pursuant to Article 32 of the Civil Code.
political rights but because unlike the civil and political rights When Constitutional rights have been violated or even
which are designed to immediately be enforceable in courts merely impaired, the person is entitled to actual and moral
of law. Include those that need legislative measures for their damages and when warranted exemplary damages from the
realization. They include those rights which are intended to public officer or employee or any private individual
ensure the well-being and economic security of the responsible, therefore.
individual, the right to property and the right to just
compensation for private property taken for public use. In the legal aspect to be liable under Article 32 of the Civil
Code is it is enough that there was a violation of the
They are also provided in the articles dealing with the constitutional rights of the plaintiff and is not required that the
promotion of social justice under article 13 the conservation defendant should have acted with malice or bad faith. Aside
and utilization of natural resources, under Section 2 of article from the state action being declared as a violation of your
12 and the promotion of education under article 14, sections constitutional rights under the Bill of Rights you can also ask
1,2,3,4 and 5, science and technology and arts and culture. the court to impose against the defendant a liability for
damages because of the violation of your constitutional
rights.

The purpose of Article 32 of the Civil Code is to provide a

sanction to the deeply cherished rights and freedoms
enshrined in the constitution. Its message is clear that no
man may seek to violate those sacred rights with impunity in
times of great upheaval or of social and political stress. The
remedy in Article 32 is an exception from immunity from suit
of government officials.