CONCEPT OF

HUMAN RIGHTS
Mary Ann Nazar
 The Philippines observes NATIONAL HUMAN
RIGHTS WEEK every December 3-10 in
accordance with Proclamation No. 177
promulgated by President Cory Aquino in 1987.
 Three Important Documents that the Philippines
recognizes as upholding human rights of individuals:
1. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR)
2. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
3. International Covenant on Economic, Social, and
Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
 Article II, Section. 11 of the 1987 Constitution states
The State values the dignity of every person and
guarantees full respect for human rights.
Article XIII, Sec. 17, creates the Commission on Human
Rights, a constitutional body tasked to
Investigate, on its own or on complaint by any party, all
forms of human rights violations involving civil and
political rights.
 HUMAN RIGHTS
Refer to things that are properly and justly
due to a person by virtue of his being human.
These are rights held equally by all human
beings, regardless of sex, race, or status in
life.
 THE BILL OF RIGHTS

a limitation on government powers in relation

to the rights of the citizens.
 THE BILL OF RIGHTS

a limitation on government powers in relation

to the rights of the citizens.
Three Great Powers of the
Government
1. Police Power
2. Power of Eminent Domain
3. Power of Taxation
 Police Power

It is the inherent power of the state to restrain

and regulate the use of liberty and property for
the comfort, safety and welfare of society.
 Police Power
Police power covers:

PUBLIC HEALTH - e.g., laws restricting

importation of harmful drugs, maternity
leave, restraining mobility of those infected
with AIDS, and others.
 Police Power
PUBLIC SAFETY - e.g., laws on driving without
license, carrying of deadly weapons, and
others.

PUBLIC WELFARE - e.g., laws on regulating

rent of apartments/ houses, price control,
and others.
 Police Power

PUBLIC MORALS - e.g., laws prohibiting

gambling, closing movie houses, exhibiting
lewd films, and others.
 Power of Eminent Domain

It is the inherent right of the state to

appropriate private lands for public purpose
upon payment of just compensation.
 Power of Taxation

It refers to the power of the state to impose

burdens on persons, properties, services, and
occupations.
CLASSES OF RIGHTS OF CITIZENS

1. Natural Rights
2. Constitutional Rights
3. Statutory Rights
 Natural Rights

These are rights inherent to a person as a

creation of God.

Examples are the right to life and the right to

love.
 Constitutional Rights

These are rights which are granted and

protected by the constitution.
 Constitutional Rights

Political Rights - Those rights that a citizen

exercises to participate in the affairs of the
government such as the right to suffrage, right
of citizenship and the right to petition the
government for redress of grievances.
 Constitutional Rights
Civil Rights - Those rights that a citizen enjoys in
pursuance of individual happiness and
development such as the right against
involuntary servitude, right to property and the
right to abode and travel. It includes the rights
of an accused like the right to counsel and
presumption of innocence unless proven guilty.
 Statutory Rights
These refer to rights provided by laws which are
granted by the legislature and may be abolished
by the same such as the right to a minimum
wage and the right to a maternity leave for
employed women and paternity leave for
married and employed men.
 Individual Rights in Relation to Society
and State Authority
Rights - refer to one's privileges to claim and do
what he is justly entitled to.

Freedom - means to be free to do anything at

will without prior restraint.
 ARTICLE III BILL OF RIGHTS
Section 1 states, "No person shall be deprived of
life, liberty, or property without due process of
law, nor shall any person be denied the equal
protection of the laws."
 ARTICLE III BILL OF RIGHTS
Right to life means not only the right to be alive
but also the right to be secure of one's limb or
any part of the body from physical harm.
Our constitution protects also the life of the unborn.
Article II, Section 12, among others, states that, "It
shall equally protect the life of the mother and the
life of the unborn from conception."
 ARTICLE III BILL OF RIGHTS
Right to Liberty means not only freedom from
physical restraint (imprisonment) but also
freedom to use one's faculties without restraint,
subject to limitations provided by law.
 ARTICLE III BILL OF RIGHTS

Right to Property refers to the things or right

over a thing which constitutes our possession.
 Due Process of Law
Procedural Due Process - This refers to the
manner or procedure which must be followed
in the enforcement or application of law.

Substantive Due Process - This means that the

law to be applied should be valid, just, and not
arbitrary.
 Equal Protection of the Law

It means equality of all persons before the law

whether he is rich or poor.
 Equal Protection of the Law
For the classification to be valid and just, it must be
based on the following (People vs Cayat, 1973):
1. It must rest on substantial distinctions.
2. It must be germane to the purpose of the law.
3. It must not be limited to existing conditions.
4. It must apply equally to all members of the same
class.
Equal Protection of Law
 Right Against Illegal Search, Seizure,
and Arrest
Section 2 reads, "The right of the people to be secure in their
persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable
searches and seizures of whatever nature and for any purpose
shall be inviolable, and no search warrant or warrant of arrest
shall issue except upon probable cause to be determined
personally by the judge after examination under oath or
affirmation of the complainant and the witnesses he may
produce, and particularly describing the place to be searched
and the persons or things to be seized."
 Right Against Illegal Search, Seizure,
and Arrest
Search Warrant - is an order in writing, issued in the name of
the people of the Philippines, signed by a judge and directed to
a peace officer, commanding him to search for certain personal
property and bring it before the court.

Warrant of Arrest- if the order in writing is issued by the judge

to arrest a person or take him into custody to make him answer
for an offense in violation of a law.
 Essential Requisites of a Valid Search
Warrant or Warrant of Arrest
1. It must be issued upon probable cause;

2. The probable cause must be determined personally by the judge

himself;

3. The determination of the existence of probable cause must be made

after examination by the judge of the complainant and the witnesses he
may produce; and

4. The warrant must particularly describe the place to be searched, and

the persons or things to be seized.
 Essential Requisites of a Valid Search
Warrant or Warrant of Arrest
Search and Seizure can be made without warrant in the following
instances:

1. When there is consent or waiver

2. When search is an incident to a lawful arrest
3. When an officer making the search has reasonable cause to conduct
it in a vehicle believed to be containing contraband or forfeited goods.
4. When the possession of articles prohibited by law is disclosed in plain
view.
 When a Warrantless Arrest is
Considered Lawful
1. When, in his presence, the person to be arrested has committed, is
actually committing, or attempting to commit, an offense;

2. When an offense has, in fact, been committed, and he has personal

knowledge of facts indicating that the person to be arrested has
committed it;

3. When the person to be arrested is a prisoner who has escaped from a

penal establishment or place where he is serving final judgement or is
temporarily confined while his case is pending, or has escaped while
being transferred from one confinement to another.