DUE PROCESS OF LAW Person
-due process protects all persons: natural (citizens &
No man shall be taken or imprisoned or dissiezed or
outlawed, or in any manner destroyed; nor shall we
go upon him, but by the lawful judgment of his peers
or by the law of the land.
No man, of what state or condition whoever he be,
shall be put out of his lands, or tenements, nor taken,
nor imprisoned, nor indicted, nor put to death,
without he be brought in to answer by due process of
law.
Dartmouth College Case:
The law of the land meant the general law, a law
which hears before it condemns, which proceeds
upon inquiry and renders judgment only after trial.
>only calls for the observance of the procedure laid
down by the law, regardless of its intrinsic validity
>as long as the legislature willed it, it was the law of
the land and therefore had to be obeyed
American view of due process
-the judiciary has the power not only to see to it that
the executive was enforcing the law properly but also
to determine whether or not the law as enacted by
the Congress was valid in the first place
The due process of law in our country also has a dual
aspect: the substantive and the procedural
Constitutional safeguard of due process – Art. III, §1
No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or
property without due process of law
-no exact meaning
-Jose Laurel: a precise definition of due process might
prove constricting and prevent the judiciary from
adjusting it to the circumstances of particular cases
and to the ever-changing conditions of the society
-due process continues to be dynamic and resilient
>this enlarges the rights of the individual to
his life, liberty and property
-SC: gradually ascertained by the process of inclusion
and exclusion in the course of decisions of cases as
they arise
-Justice Fernando: responsiveness to the supremacy
of reason, obedience to the dictates of justice
-Justice Frankfurter: the embodiment of the sporting
idea of fair play
*Due process is a guaranty against any arbitrariness
on the part of the government, whether committed by
the legislature, the executive, or the judiciary
aliens) and artificial
*artificial persons are covered by the protection but
only insofar as their property is concerned
>as a creature of law, its life and liberty are
derived from and therefore subject to the
control of the legislature
Deprivation
-to take away forcibly, to prevent from possessing,
enjoying or using of something
-not necessarily unconstitutional; what is prohibited
is the deprivation of life, liberty or property without
due process of law
Life
-connotes the integrity of the physical person
-it is not permissible for the government to deprive
the individual of any part of his body, and this is true
even if it be a punishment for crime
-SC: it should not be dwarfed into a mere animal
existence; the word should embrace the enjoyment
by the individual of all the God-given faculties that
can make his life worth living
Liberty
-Mabini: freedom to do right and never wrong
-not unbridled license; it is liberty regulated by law
*the individual, as a creature of society, should be
prepared to surrender part of his freedom for the
benefit of the greater number (salus populi est
suprema lex – the voice of the people is the supreme
law)
-a person can do anything he wants as long as it does
not offend the public welfare
Property
-anything that can come under the right of ownership
and be subject of contract
**mere privileges are not property rights and are
therefore revocable at will
Substantive Due Process
-requires the intrinsic validity of the law in
interfering with the rights of a person to his life,
liberty and property
**whether or not it is a proper exercise of legislative
power
-the law must have a valid governmental
objective
-this objective must be pursued in a lawful
manner
 *the means employed must be reasonably
related to the accomplishment of the purpose
and not unduly oppressive
Procedural Due Process
SC: the twin requirements of notice and hearing
constitute the essential elements of due process and
neither of these elements can be eliminated without
running afoul of the constitutional guaranty
Judicial Due Process
-there must be an impartial court or tribunal clothed
with judicial power to hear and determine the matter
before it
-jurisdiction must be lawfully acquired over the
person of the defendant and over the property which
is the subject matter of the proceeding
-the defendant must be given an opportunity to be
heard
-judgment must be rendered upon lawful hearing
Impartial and Competent Court
**every litigant is entitled to the cold neutrality of an
impartial judge
Ynot vs IAC
…the other half must also be considered if an
impartial verdict is to be reached based on an
informed appreciation of the issues in contention. It
is indispensable that the two sides complement each
other… in leading to the correct ruling after
examination of the problem not from one or the other
perspective only but in its totality. A judgement based
on less than this full appraisal, on the pretext that a
hearing is unnecessary or useless, is tainted with the
view of bias or intolerance or ignorance…
Javier vs COMELEC
…cold neutrality of an impartial judge as the
indispensable imperative of due process… the judge
must not only be impartial but must also appear to be
impartial as an added assurance to the parties that
his decision will be just.
Due process is intended to insure that confidence by
requiring compliance with the rudiments of fair play.
Fair play calls for equal justice… The judge will reach
his conclusions only after all the evidence is in and all
the arguments are filed, on the basis of the
established facts and the pertinent law.
Rule 137 of Rules of Court
Section 1. Disqualification of judges – not judge or
judicial officer shall sit in any case in which he or his
wife or child is pecuniarily interested as heir, legatee,
creditor, or otherwise, or in which he is related to
either party within the sixth degree of consanguinity
or affinity, or to counsel within the fourth degree,
computed according to the rules of civil law, or in
which he has been executor, administrator, guardian,
trustee or counsel, or in which he has presided in any
inferior court when his ruling or decision is subject of
review, without written consent of all parties in
interest, signed by them and entered upon record.
A judge may, in the exercise of his sound discretion,
disqualify himself from sitting in a case, for just or
valid reasons other than those mentioned above.
Competent court – one vested with jurisdiction over a
case as conferred upon it by law
Jurisdiction
Actions in personam – jurisdiction over the defendant
is acquired by the court by his voluntary appearance
or through service of summons upon him
>may be effected personally, or by
substituted service, or, in exceptional cases,
by publication
Actions in rem or quasi in rem – jurisdiction of the
court is derived from the power it may exercise over
the property
>notice by publication is sufficient
*jurisdiction over the person is not essential,
provided the relief granted by the court is limited to
such as can be enforced against the property itself.
Property is always presumed to be in the possession
of the owner or his agent, who may be safely held
under certain conditions to know that proceedings
have been instituted against it.
Hearing
Notice to the party is essential to enable it to adduce
its own evidence and to meet and refute the evidence
submitted by the other party
David vs Aquilizan
A decision rendered without a hearing is null and
void ab initio and may be attacked directly or
collaterally
Lobete vs Sundiam
The right to appeal was held not unlawfully withheld
where it was lost as a result of the appellant’s neglect
Marvel Bldg Corporation vs Ople
Due process was not denied the petitioner who
received notice of the scheduled hearing the day
before but failed to present evidence
Cordero vs Public Service Commission
Mere notice by publication of a hearing conducted by
an administrative agency was held insufficient and so
violative of due process
People vs Beriales
Serious irregularity committed by the trial judge was
repugnant to the due process clause of the
constitution
Due process is not violated where a person is not
heard because he has chosen, for whatever reason,
not to be heard.
**Zaldivar vs Sandiganbayan
Due process as a constitutional precept does not,
always and in all situations, require trial-type
proceedings. The essence of due process is to be
found in the reasonable opportunity to be heard and
to submit any evidence one may have in support of
one’s defense. To be heard does not only mean verbal
arguments in court. One may be heard also through
pleadings. Where opportunity to be heard, either
through oral arguments or pleadings, is accorded,
there is no denial or procedural due process.
Appeal
The right to appeal is not essential to the right to a
hearing.
A person cannot demand as a matter of right another
day in the appellate court
Appeal may be allowed or denied by the legislature in
its own discretion (except in cases where it is allowed
by the Constitution)
The legislature cannot deprive a person of the right
to appeal in those cases coming under the minimum
appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court – Art. VIII,
§5 (2):
Review, revise, reverse, modify, or affirm on appeal
or certiorari, as the law or the Rules of Court may
provide, final judgments and orders of lower courts
in:
(a) All cases in which the constitutionality or validity
of any treaty, international or executive agreement,
law, presidential decree, proclamation, order,
instruction, ordinance, or regulation is in question.
(b) All cases involving the legality of any tax, impost,
assessment, or toll, or any penalty imposed in
relation thereto.
(c) All cases in which the jurisdiction of any lower
court is in issue.
(d) All criminal cases in which the penalty imposed is
reclusion perpetua or higher.
(e) All cases in which only an error or question of law
is involved.
Exceptions (requisites of notice and hearing may be
omitted)
-cancellation of passport
-preventive suspension of a civil servant facing
administrative charges
-distraint of properties for tax delinquency
-padlocking of restaurants found to be insanitary
-theaters showing obscene movies
-abatement of nuisance (trouble/annoyance) per se
>it is objectionable under any and all
circumstances because it presents an
immediate danger to the welfare of the
community
>may be abated summarily, without the
necessity of judicial authorization
*nuisance per accidens – objectionable only under
some but not all circumstances, there being situations
when it is perfectly legitimate and acceptable
-“right thing in the wrong place”
-may be abated only upon judicial authorization as it
is difficult to ascertain or identity this kind of
nuisance
Presumptions
Would a statutory presumption deny the right to a
hearing insofar as the person affected is precluded
from introducing evidence to rebut the presumption?
-no, provided there is a rational or natural connection
between the fact proved and the fact ultimately
presumed from such fact
-as long as the presumption is based on human
experience, it will be deemed not violative of due
process
Judgment
-should be based upon the lawful hearing previously
conducted
Art. VIII, §14
No decision shall be rendered by any court without
expressing therein clearly and distinctly the facts and
the law on which it is based.
Administrative Due Process Requisites
-the right to a hearing, which includes the right to
present one’s case and submit evidence in support
thereof
-the tribunal must consider the evidence presented
-the decision must have something to support itself
-the decision must be rendered on evidence
presented at the hearing, or at least contained in the
record and disclosed to the parties affected
-the tribunal or body of any of its judges must act on
its own or his own independent consideration of the
law and facts of the controversy and not simply
accept the views of a subordinate in arriving at a
decision
-the board or body should, in all controversial
questions, render its decision in such a manner that
the parties to the proceeding can know the various
issues involved, and the reason for the decision
rendered