Sec. 13.

All persons, except those charged with

offenses punishable by reclusion perpetua when
evidence of guilt is strong, shall, before
conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, or
be released on recognizance as may be provided
by law. The right to bail shall not be impaired
even when the privilege of the writ of habeas
corpus is suspended. Excessive bail shall not be
required.

Bail
A security given to relieve an
accused from imprisonment until his
conviction and yet secure his
appearance at the trial.
May be in the form of cash deposit,
property bond, recognizance or
through a bail bondsman.

Factors to be taken into account in fixing the

bail:
Ability of the accused to give bond
Nature and penalty of the offense
Character, reputation and the health of the
accused
Character and strength of the evidence
Possibility of the accused appearing for trial
Forfeiture of other bonds if accused was a
fugitive when arrested
If accused is under bond for other offenses
in other cases

Writ of Habeas Corpus

An order issued by a competent
court, directed to a person detaining
another, commanding him to
produce the body of the prisoner at a
designated time and place, to explain
the time and cause of the caption
and detention.

Privilege of the Writ of Habeas

Corpus
Right to have immediate
determination of the legality of ones
detention or deprivation of liberty.

How the writ operates:

The prisoner or any person in his/her
behalf petitions the proper court.
Such person is then ordered to produce
the detained person in court at a
specified time, together with an
explanation of the cause of the detention.
The judge scrutinizes the return and
decides whether it shows that the
imprisonment is authorized by law.

Sec.14. (1) No person shall be held to answer for

a criminal offense without due process of law.

Right to due process of the accused requires:

The accused is brought into a court
of competent jurisdiction.
He is notified of the case.
He is given the opportunity to be
heard.
There is a valid judgment deliberated
and rendered by the court.

Sec. 14. (2) In all criminal prosecutions, the

accused shall be presumed innocent until the
contrary is proved, and shall enjoy the right to be
heard by himself and counsel, to be informed by
the nature and cause of the accusation against him,
to have a speedy, impartial, and public trial, to
meet the witnesses face to face, and to have
compulsory process to secure the attendance of
witnesses and the production of evidence in his
behalf. However, after arraignment, trial may
proceed not withstanding the absence of the
accused provided that he has been duly notified
and his failure to appear is unjustifiable.

Presumption of Innocence

No person shall be convicted of a crime except

upon confession or unless his guilt is established
by proof beyond reasonable doubt.

Right to be heard by himself and

counsel
The accused had the right to present evidence
and the right to be assisted by counsel.

Right of the accused to

counsel
Based on the reason that only a lawyer has a
substantial knowledge of the rules of evidence,
and a non-lawyer, in spite of his education in
life, may not be aware of the intricacies of law
and procedure.
Duty of the court to inform the accused of his
right to counsel before arraignment and to give
a counsel in case the accused cannot afford the
services of one.

Right to be informed of the nature

and cause of accusations against him
The criminal complaint or information should
be sufficiently clear to a person as to what the
charge is as to enable him to prepare for his
defense.

Right to have a speedy, impartial

and public trial
Right to speedy trial- unreasonable delays may
result to a prolonged suffering of an innocent
accused or an evasion of justice by a truly
guilty person.
Right to impartial trial- primarily requires that
the judge who sits in the case must be
objective and renders a decision based on the
neutrality of the evidence presented.
Right to public trial- demands that the
proceedings be conducted in such a way that
the public may know what transpires during the
trial.

Right to confrontation of
witnesses
To give the accused an opportunity to crossexamine witness against him to test their
recollection and veracity.

Right to compulsory process to

secure attendance of witnesses and
production of evidence in his behalf
The accused must provide reasonable and diligent
effort to have the witness appear and testify.
The accused can ask the court to order a person to
produce in court certain evidences and testify
with respect to them.
The accused has also the right to inspect
evidences that might be presented to prove his
guilty, provided that it is under the supervision of
the law-investigating authority.

Trial may proceed in the absence of

the accused provided that:
He has been arraigned.
He has been duly notified of the trial.
His failure to appear is unjustifiable.

Sec. 15. The privilege of the writ of habeas

corpus shall not be suspended except in cases of
invasion or rebellion when the public safety
requires it.

Only the President can suspend the

privilege of the writ of Habeas Corpus
upon the approval of the congress.

Sec. 16. All persons shall have the

right to a speedy disposition of their
cases before all judicial, quasi-judicial,
or administrative bodies.

Right to Speedy Disposition of

Cases
All courts have appropriate time frames in the
disposition of cases.

Sec. 17. No person shall be compelled to be a

witness against himself.

Right against SelfIncrimination

Inhibit the use of force in order to
extract unwilling confessions from
the prisoners, implicating them in
commission of a crime.

Sec. 18. (1) No person shall be detained solely

by reason of his political beliefs and aspirations.

Right against detention solely by

reason of his Political Beliefs
People can freely speak of what they
think is wrong with the government
and its leaders , or seek changes to
the government and its policies
which they believe to be necessary
or the removal of public officials
unworthy of their trust.

Sec. 18. (2) No involuntary servitude in any

form shall exist except as a punishment for a
crime whereof the party shall have been duly
convicted.

Involuntary Servitude
Any servitude in fact which is against the will
no matter under what form such servitude may
have been distinguished.

Types of Involuntary Servitude prohibited by the

1987 constitution:
Peonage - voluntary service in payment of
debt; prohibited because the
person is
forced to work by the
circumstances of
his indebtedness,
although not by his creditor
Slavery - ancient practice of treating man as a
commodity under the complete
power of the master

Exceptions
Involuntary servitude may be allowed
under the following instances:
As punishment for crime
In the case of personal, military or
civil service in defense of the State