Article XIII Social Justice and Human Rights.pdf

8/11/2019 Article XIII Social Justice and Human Rights.pdf

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PAMANTASAN NG LUNGSOD NG MAYNILA

University of the City of ManilaIntramuros, Manila

College of Law

Dean Ernesto P. Maceda Jr.

Dean Ernesto P. Maceda Jr.

Report in ConstitutionalLaw 1

987 Constitution: Article XIIISocial Justice and Human

Rights

First Year Block 1Group 4

Aragon, Josefa Reina Borbon, Ma. Jennifer Lo, Francis Jonel Presnedi, Jeffrey Reyes, Chemist Villegas, Jan Alistair


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Article XIII: Social Justice and Human Rights

Section 1. The Congress shall give highest priority to the enactment of measures that protectand enhance the right of all the people to human dignity, reduce social, economic, and politicalinequalities, and remove cultural inequities by equitably diffusing wealth and political power

for the common good.

To this end, the State shall regulate the acquisition, ownership, use, and disposition of propertyand its increments.

Section 2. The promotion of social justice shall include the commitment to create economic

opportunities based on freedom of initiative and self-reliance.

Social Justice simply means protecting the poor, it also includes social political justice. It is the duty ofthe congress, as a lawmaker, to protect its people and reduce inequality in all aspects for common good.As Bernas stated that people who are less in life should have more in law. Xxx. An interpretation (oflaw) that favors the underprivileged must be favored. Also as the principle always been applied in penalstatutes, retroactivity, though conflicts with the provisions of the Civil Code, can be applied if it favorsthe accused . The provision, though it favors underprivileged, does not tolerate such act or behaviorwhich is contrary to law.

The State commanded to attend two principal activities in order to achieve the goals of social justice.They are (1) creation of more economic opportunities and more wealth and (2) closer regulation of the

acquisition, ownership, use, and disposition of property in order to achieve a more equitabledistribution of wealth and political power.

The matter of promoting the goals of social justice is of the highest priority because the very survival ofthe Republic could depend on the attainment of these goals. The most serious problems plaguing thenation can be traced to a long-standing history of injustice to the underprivileged.

The boldest example of social justice in action under earlier constitutions have been the effort of thegovernment to alter the contractual relations between landlord and farm tenant and the increasedeffort to redistribute private lands through expropriation and rescale.

The import of social justice that has developed in various decisions is than when the law is clear andvalid, it simply must be applied; but when the law can be interpreted in more ways than one, aninterpretation that favors the underprivileged must be favored. Thus, in National Federation of SugarWorkers v. Ovejera, G.R. No. 59741, May 31, 1982, the Court, against the strong plea for social justicemade by Chief Justice Fernando, interpreted the 13th month pay requirement under P.D. 851 as notapplicable to company already giving the equivalent in the form of Christmas, milling, and ameliorationbonuses because that was the clear reading of the existing law.


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In another case the Court said: . . . We are of the considered o pinion that the secondary forces to whichthe ordinary rules of procedure and evidence have been relegated by the aforementioned agrarian courtlaws do not oblige us to be unjust and unfair to employers. After all, in the eyes of all fair-minded men,injustice to the more affluent and fortunate sectors of society cannot be less condemnable andreprehensible, and should be avoided as much as injustice to labor and the poor. It is divinely

compassionate no doubt to afford more in law to those who have less in life, but clear injustice toanyone amounts definitely injustice to everyone, and all hope for judicial redress for wrongdoings wouldvanish, if the even hand of the law, justice and equity were to be made to favor anyone or any group orlevel of society, whoever they may be. . . Federation of Free Farmers v. Court of Appeals, 107 SCRA 352,362-3 (September 10, 1981).

Moreover, these provisions on social justice do not legalized squatting. The State is committedto promote social justice and to maintain adequate social services in the field of housing. ArticleII, Sections 6 and 7 (1973). But the States solicitude for the destitute and the have -nots doesnot mean it should tolerate usurpations of property, public or private. Astudillo v. Board of

Directors, PHHC, L-28066, September 22, 1976.

LABOR

Section 3. The State shall afford full protection to labor, local and overseas, organized andunorganized, and promote full employment and equality of employment opportunities for all.

It shall guarantee the rights of all workers to self-organization, collective bargaining andnegotiations, and peaceful concerted activities, including the right to strike in accordance withlaw. They shall be entitled to security of tenure, humane conditions of work, and a living wage.

They shall also participate in policy and decision-making processes affecting their rights andbenefits as may be provided by law.

The State shall promote the principle of shared responsibility between workers and employersand the preferential use of voluntary modes in settling disputes, including conciliation, andshall enforce their mutual compliance therewith to foster industrial peace.

The State shall regulate the relations between workers and employers, recognizing the right oflabor to its just share in the fruits of production and the right of enterprises to reasonable

returns to investments, and to expansion and growth.

Protection to labor.The above declaration is broad enough to cover all kinds of protection to labor, local, and overseas,organized and unorganized.

It is common knowledge that many Filipino workers abroad have been cheated and/ or subjected toabuse or maltreatment by government personnel, labor recruiters, and foreign employers. Even


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disregarding the fact that their earnings account for a sizeable portion of our total foreign exchange, It isthe duty of the government to extend protection to them.

1.) Right to ones labor deemed property. The right to labor is constitutional as well as a statutoryright. Every man has a natural right to the fruits of his own industry. A man who has been

employed to undertake certain labor and has put into it his time and effort is entitled to beprotected. The right of a person to his labor is deemed to be a property within the meaning ofconstitutional guarantees. That is his means of livelihood. He cannot be deprived of his labor orwork without due process of law.

2.) Labor, a primary social economic force. The constitutional policy of social justice has beenmade more real when it imposes upon the State the duty to give protection to labor. Itrecognizes the basic fact that human labor is not merely an article of commerce or a factor ofproduction to be similarly treated as lands, tools, or machinery. It is a primary social economicforce by reason of which the State is under obligation to give more concern to the protection ofthe rights of workers and the promotion of their welfare vis--vis the non-human factors ofproductions.

Promotion of full employment and equal work opportunities. The right to full employment and equality of employment through equal work opportunities is

not merely statutory but is elevated into a constitutional right.

1.) Creation of employment opportunities imperative. Lack of employment is one cause of socialtension, individual level, unemployment lead to distortion of personality and a life without colorand texture. It is a waste of manpower. Social services in the field of employment are, therefore,imperative. They may partly take the form of vocational guidance, personnel management,placement services, and labor organization.Full employment will enable the citizens to lift their level of life and thus, contribute their sharein the task of nation-building.

2.) State has duty to eliminate discriminatory practices. The State is mandated to adopt measuresto the end that all persons who are capable of working may be provided with employment (notnecessarily by the Government) and that job opportunities may be open to all man or woman,citizen or alien, Christian or non-Christian. The Constitution takes into account discriminatorypractices in both public and private employment relative wages and employment still oftenbased on such factors as nationality, sex, kinship, or other non-relevant factors.

3.) Useful labor essential to persona dignity and development. By useful labor, man is enabled toacquire the materials goods necessary for his growth and improvement. If work is denied him,he becomes dependent upon the charity of others a situation that is not conducive to self respect or personal development. For this reason, it is an obligation of the government to see,insofar as it is able with all the means at its disposal, that an economic environment is createdwithin which the members of society may obtain employment suitable to their capabilities.

4.) Duty of every citizen to engage in gainful work. Everyone who can work and is willing to workshould be able to fins one commensurate with his educational attainment, skills, or training and


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personal circumstances. But while the right is decent work of every citizen is recognized, it isalso his duty to exert efforts to engage in gainful work to assure himself and his family a lifeworthy of human dignity. Work is both a right and a duty on the part of ev ery citizen.

Right of workers

In relations between workers and employers, the following rights shall be assured by the State:1.) Right to self-organization2.) Right to collective bargaining3.) Right to collective negotiation4.) Right to peaceful and concerted activities including the right to strike5.) Right to security of tenure6.) Right to just and humane conditions of work7.) Right to a living wage

Principle of shared responsibility.Labor conflicts through strike and lockouts result in tremendous losses in terms of interruption

of production, disrupt public peace and order, sometimes cause loss of life and destruction of property,and effect adversely the economy of the nation as a whole. There must be a well-balanced a.) duty ofmanagement and labor and; b.) duty of the State.

Methods for resolving labor disputes.1.) Principal methods. They are:a.) Collective bargainingb.) Arbitrationb.1) Voluntaryb.2) Compulsory

2.) Supplementary methods. These two methods are supplemented by the techniques ofconciliation and mediation by a disinterested third party, usually an agency of the governmentconcerned with labor disputes.a.) By the first, the third party, after hearing each side, assist the parties in reaching an agreement.b.) By the second, the third party, after failure of negotiation and studying the respective positionsof both sides, makes proposals or suggestions designed to settle the dispute.

Reciprocal rights of labor and enterprises.1.) Rights of workers and employers under a wage system.a. Wages for services and profits for risk-takingb. Right to higher wage scalec. Right to reasonable return on capitald. Profit-sharing scheme

2.) Reconciliation of their conflicting rights.


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AGRARIAN AND NATURAL RESOURCES REFORM

Section 4. The State shall, by law, undertake an agrarian reform program founded on the rightof farmers and regular farmworkers who are landless, to own directly or collectively the landsthey till or, in the case of other farmworkers, to receive a just share of the fruits thereof. To thisend, the State shall encourage and undertake the just distribution of all agricultural lands,subject to such priorities and reasonable retention limits as the Congress may prescribe, takinginto account ecological, developmental, or equity considerations, and subject to the paymentof just compensation. In determining retention limits, the State shall respect the right of smalllandowners. The State shall further provide incentives for voluntary land-sharing.

1. The foundation of Agrarian Land Reform.

- The various aspects of Land Reform are discussed and, in separate provisions, AgriculturalLand, Urban Land, and other Natural Resources (other lands of the public domain) aresingled out for treatment as being all subject to the general sweep of regulations governing

Acquisition, ownership, use, and disposition.

- The right of farmers and regular farm workers, who are landless, to own directly orcollectively the lands they till or, in the case of other farmer workers, to receive a just

share of the fruits thereof.

o Commissioner Bacani saw no necessary and self-evident bond of ownershipbetween the tiller and the exact same piece of land he tills. His own suggestion wasto found the right of ownership upon the exigencies of the common good in theconcrete circumstances of the nation.

o Commissioner Villegas. He warned, that we cannot constitutionalize certainprovisions which are requirements of the common good today which may not beexigency of the common good in the year 2000

o The adjective basic was discarded. Commissioner Aquino put it thus: the polarstar-when we expound the principle of land reform- is that the farmer has a right tothe land he tills, but this is not an immutable right. His claim of ownership does notautomatically pertain or correspond to the same land that he is actually andphysically tilling.

- Subjection to land reform does not depend on the form of ownership. The laws on agrarian

reform simply speak of the landowner without qualification as to under what title the landis held or what rights to the land the landowner may exercise. There is no distinction madewhether the landowner holds naked title only or can exercise all the rights of ownership.P.D. No. 27 and R.A. No. 6657.


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2. Holders of the right to own land through agrarian land reform.

- Farmers and re gular farm workers, who are landless. The beneficiaries are classified intofarmers and farm workers.

o Farmers are those who have a tenancy relationship with the landowners, whichrelationship may be present or historical.

o Commissioner Aquino. basic principle of all land reform codes presently in effect that the tenancy relationship be abolished Indeed, it might be true that there canbe a beneficial tenancy

- Farm workers are sub- classified into regular and other. This is recognition of thesubstantial differences in the situations of the various farm workers. The right to claim thelands they till is recognized only in the regular farm worker, and only the right to a just sharein the fruits of production is conceded to the non-regulars.

- The scope of ownership of an agrarian reform beneficiary can be made just to limitations.

o Congress has the right to limit the beneficiarys right to sell, dispose, or evenmortgage the property.

o Congress may also take measures to prevent fragmentation resulting inuneconomical or unproductive size.

o Even the rights of the beneficiarys heirs can be effectively limited. o Economic family- size farm as embodied in past land reform laws, notably R.A. No.

3844

- Can the right of the farmers and farm worker be waived?o Commissioner Aquino: the element of compulsion works against the landowner,

but not against the farmer or the intended beneficiary of the program. The right towaive is not recognized when it amounts to a waiver in favor of another. Surely, wewill recognize the freedom of choice pertaining to the worker, on whether or not heis willing to assume the obligation.

o Commissioner Lerum: my understanding is that the provision does notcontemplat e a waiver but that the tenant may not want to exercise his right.

o The ownership by beneficiaries can be either individual or collective.o But does every kind of collective ownership satisfy the constitutional mandate?

Agrarian reform program is based on the right of farmers and regular farmworkers to own the lands they till. Essentially a land-to-the-tiller program.

Collective ownership is mentioned by the Constitution, it is submitted thatonly that kind of collective ownership which preserves control of the tillerover that land he tills satisfies the constitutional mandate.


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3. Priorities and reasonable retention limits.

- All agricultural lands

- Subject to such priorities and reasonable retention limits as Congress may prescribe, takinginto account ecological, developmental or equity considerations.

- Priorities refer to various factors which can affect the pace and scope of implementationand which can make implementation more manageable.

o Big landholdingso Ill-gotten landso Idle or abandoned lands

- Priorities could also refer to crops or to the location of the land.

- Retention Limitso Size of land an individual owner will be allowed to keep, whether he is a cultivator

or not, the general guideline is that these should be reasonable.

- Small landowners jurisprudentially refers to teachers, clerks, nurse and otherhardworking and frugal people who, in a lifetime of sacrifice, gathered their pitiful littlesavings and purchased small farms to supplement the inadequate pension from theGovernment Service Insurance System or the Social Security System.

- Reference to small landowners does not necessarily mean that they should be owner -

cultivators.

- Important Constitutional consideration in all this is that Congress is given discretion to setpriorities and retention limits. The over-riding guideline for Congress is that flexible conceptreasonableness.

- If Congress sets neither priorities nor retention limits?o It should be noted that the mandate to implement an agrarian land reform program

is addressed to the State an entity larger than Congress. And the parameters foran agrarian land reform are set down in the Constitution for the State to flow. Thus,absent priorities and retention limits set by Congress, but provided that the moneyhas been appropriated for a program, the executive department can proceed withimplementation either in cooperation with landowners voluntarily participating inthe program or through judicial expropriation.


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- Lands not devoted to agricultural activity are outside the coverage of ComprehensiveAgrarian Reform Law (CARL). These include lands previously converted to non-agriculturaluses prior to the effectively of CARL by government agencies other than respondent DAR.

- Agricultural Lands are only those lands which are arable and suitable agricultural landsAnd do not include commercial, industrial and residential lands.

- CARP statute also requires a notice of coverage to be furnished and sent to the landowner.o Notice is part of the constitutional right to due process of law.

It informs the landowner of the States intention to acquire a private landupon payment of just compensation and gives him the opportunity topresent evidence that his landholding is not covered or is otherwise excusedfrom the agrarian law.

However, one who claims to be landowner is such in virtue of a void salewhich was entered into to avoid expropriation; notice to the real ownersatisfies the laws requirement.

4. Just Compensation

- The agrarian reform program mandated by the Constitution is not a land confiscationprogram. The government acquisition of land, whether voluntary or forced, for distributionto agrarian reform beneficiaries, there is need to compensate landowners justly.

- Just Compensation is a concept that has become the subject of extensive jurisprudenceunder the Bill of Rights. Measurement devised by President Marcos in Presidential DecreeNo. 76, the measure of just compensation is the assessed value of the land or the valuedeclared by the owner in his tax-declaration, whichever is lower.

- R.A. No. 3844: the just compensation depends on the farmers ability to pay and not on thestandard of fair market value.

- Just Compensation clearly applies in agrarian reform. Sec. 4, Art. XIII of the 1987Constitution mandates that the redistribution of agricultural lands shall be subject to thepayment of just compensation. The landowners right to just compensation should bebalanced with agrarian reform. It is the duty of the court to protect the weak and theunderprivileged, but this duty should not be carried out to such an extent as to deny justiceto the landowner whenever truth and justice happen to be on his side.


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- The concept of just compensation, embraces not only the correct determination of theamount to be paid to the owners of the land, but also payment within a reasonable timefrom its taking.

o Without prompt payment, compensation cannot be considered JUST inasmuch asthe property owner is made to suffer the consequences of being immediatelydeprived of his land while being made to wait for a decade or more before actuallyreceiving the compensation.

o While prompt payment of just compensation requires the immediate deposit andrelease to the landowner of the provisional compensation as determined by theDAR. It also encompasses the payment in full of the just compensation to thelandholders as finally determined by the courts.

5. Voluntary Land Sharing

- The state must offer incentives such, for instance, as tax incentives. However, in no wayshould voluntary land sharing be allowed to become a mode of circumventing agrarianreform.

6. The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law: R.A. No 6657

- Implements the agrarian reform provisions of the constitution. Some of its key provisions

were immediately challenged as an unconstitutional form of expropriation of private lands.o The taking of private lands for redistribution is an exercise of the power of eminent

domain revolutionary in character in that it affects all private agricult ural landswherever found and of whatever kind as long as they are in excess of the maximumretention limits allowed their owners.

This kind of expropriation is intended for the benefit not only of particularcommunity or of a small segment of the population but of the entire FilipinoNation, from all levels of our society, from the impoverished farmer to theland-glutted owner.

o The discretion to determine which lands to take for early distribution is something

that is given to the wisdom of the Congress.


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Section 5. The State shall recognize the right of farmers, farmworkers, and landowners, as wellas cooperatives, and other independent farmers' organizations to participate in the planning,organization, and management of the program, and shall provide support to agriculturethrough appropriate technology and research, and adequate financial, production, marketing,

and other support services.

The right to participate in the management of program, more than just the right to be consulted, in theplanning, organization, and management of an agrarian reform should be emphasized.

Beyond redistribution of land, the State must ensure that redistributed land will be efficiently beneficialfor all concerned.

Section 6. The State shall apply the principles of agrarian reform or stewardship, whenever

applicable in accordance with law, in the disposition or utilization of other natural resources,including lands of the public domain under lease or concession suitable to agriculture, subjectto prior rights, homestead rights of small settlers, and the rights of indigenous communities to

their ancestral lands.

The State may resettle landless farmers and farmworkers in its own agricultural estates which

shall be distributed to them in the manner provided by law.

1. Agrarian Reform and Natural Resources

- This section extends the principles of agrarian reform to the disposition of other naturalresources.

- At the heart of agrarian reform is the principle capsulated in the phrase land to the tiller. o This must be applied, mutatis mutandis, to the utilization of natural resources. Thus

one may speak of natural resources reform. o Nations Principal natural resource is land of, two basic kinds: alienable and

unalienable.o Section 6 refers to utilization of lands of the public domain.

Commissioner Monsod: in the case of other natural resources, forestry ormining, the intent of this provision is merely to say that in applying theprinciple of agrarian reform, the chief beneficiaries should be the people inthe area.

The people may be entrusted with the land but these lands need not begiven to them by title. It can be the same kind of concession or rights thatare now given under the law.


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o Stewardship Commissioner Romulo: the individual would have free use or free

occupancy but he would not be given a legal title to the land. That is whatwe call in law of usufructuary.

Commissioner Nieva added: the State shall be g ive them all the supportand assistance that they would need to be successful in their utilization ofthese natural resources.

o Briefly Section 6 goes back to the scope of land reform. Commissioner Tadeo always had recourse to the broad definition of lands

articulated by Dr. Mahar Mangahas: In principle, the term lands wouldinclude all forms of natural resources, including mineral, forests and waterresources, whether public or private, whether titled or untitled, whetherpresently controlled by Filipinos or non-Filipinos, over which there is socialconflict induced by an unjust distribution.

- The second paragraph of Section 6 owes its existence to the advocacy of Commissioner Oplethat resettlement in the governments agricultural estates was the preeminent form ofagrarian reform under the Magsaysay Administration and was used in other nations as well.

o Farmers and Farm workers are not to be considered as agricultural employees of thestate, but rather as resettlers and eventual owner of the land once these estates aredissolved.

o Farm workers, includes laid-off industrial workers who might want to return to theprovinces and engage in farming.

Section 7. The State shall protect the rights of subsistence fishermen, especially of localcommunities, to the preferential use of the communal marine and fishing resources, bothinland and offshore. It shall provide support to such fishermen through appropriate technologyand research, adequate financial, production, and marketing assistance, and other services.The State shall also protect, develop, and conserve such resources. The protection shall extendto offshore fishing grounds of subsistence fishermen against foreign intrusion. Fishworkers

shall receive a just share from their labor in the utilization of marine and fishing resources.

According to Fr. Bernas, this is a first in Philippine constitution-making as this section makes specificreference to the rights of small fishermen; understandably so as the countrys archipelagic nature andapparent challenges to reach far-flung areas of the country have put these small fishermen in the centerof livelihood in these areas.


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Fr. Bernas also stated that the provision was formulated and sponsored principally against thebackground of problems created by the privatization of large portions of the Laguna de Bay area and theproblem of foreign fishing vessels allowed by treaty to conduct trawl fishing within seven kilometresfrom the Philippine shores, both of which effective deprive subsistence fishermen of their livelihood.This is the reason why government authorities like the Laguna Lake Development Authority, etc. was

established to educate fishermen into forming cooperatives for their betterment.

A perusal of the records upon the drafting of the Constitution sheds light that the right given tosubsistence fishermen is preferential but not exclusive use of communal marine fishing resources, bothinland and offshore. An attempt to have the entire marine and fishing resources communal, however,municipal fishing grounds are considered propios of the municipality, thus they exercise theirproprietary rights over these fishing grounds. Also excluded from such provision are fishponds outside oflakes and rivers as these are considered private.

This section also specifies protection against foreign intrusion in offshore fishing grounds, which shouldbe read in conjunction with Article XII, Section 2, whose second paragraph reads: The State shallprotect the nations marine wealth in its archipel agic waters, territorial sea, and exclusive economiczone, and reserve its use and enjoyment exclusively to Filipino citizens.

Lastly, fish workers are also assured the right to a just share from their labor in the use of marine andfishing resources, which admittedly, are not anywhere classified by existing labor laws as sponsored byCommissioner Delos Reyes. Their remuneration is then in the form of a share in the catch such that ifthere is no catch, they earn nothing.

Section 8. The State shall provide incentives to landowners to invest the proceeds of theagrarian reform program to promote industrialization, employment creation, and privatizationof public sector enterprises. Financial instruments used as payment for their lands shall behonored as equity in enterprises of their choice.

Bernas starts of his commentary stating that Article XII, Section 1 dictates the need to establish adynamic relationship between agricultural development and industrialization. This section sees agrarianreform as a unique instrument for releasing capital locked up in land for use in industrialization andeconomic development. This is why the government must create an atmosphere favourable toinvestment such as:

a. Providing landowners with incentives to investmentb. Placing usable capital in the hands of landowners subjected to agrarian reform


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Reeling from the memory of the Land Bank bonds used in the agrarian reform program of Marcos, thelast sentence places a constitutional guarantee on both the value and negotiability of government bondswith the government and government financial institutions.

URBAN LAND REFORM AND HOUSING

Section 9. The State shall, by law, and for the common good, undertake, in cooperation withthe private sector, a continuing program of urban land reform and housing which will makeavailable at affordable cost, decent housing and basic services to under-privileged andhomeless citizens in urban centers and resettlement areas. It shall also promote adequateemployment opportunities to such citizens. In the implementation of such program the Stateshall respect the rights of small property owners.

1. Program of Urban Land Reform and Housing.

- Commissioner Nieva: We are an ill -housed nation with a high percentage of our urbanpopulation estimated at five million squatters living in subhuman conditions.

- Commissioner Villegas added: housing programs in the country address different kinds ofmarkets.

o Open market housing program is addressed to those of the higher income sectorwho can afford to choose the kind of houses they want.

o Economic market housing program addresses the lower income bracket that are in

search of affordable housing.o Social housing program addresses those who cannot afford even low cost housing

and therefore need some form of subsidy.- The objects of concern of this Section are not just the underprivileged in general but the

underprivileged and homeless because there are underprivileged people who enjoyinherited homes.

- Urban land reform and housing are to be undertaken in cooperation with the privatesector. What is needed is not just regulation of urban land use but urban land reform

- Important elements of the program therefore should be basic services and adequateemployment opportunities.

o The use of word basic is deliberately chosen as a signal that the program does n otcall for unnecessary amenities.


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- Section 9 adds the final caution: In the implementation of such program the State shallrespect the rights of small property owners.

Section 10. Urban or rural poor dwellers shall not be evicted nor their dwelling demolished,except in accordance with law and in a just and humane manner.

No resettlement of urban or rural dwellers shall be undertaken without adequate consultationwith them and the communities where they are to be relocated.

The phrase urban or rural poor dwellers refers principally to the squatters. The intent of the provisionis to prevent the recurrence of past abuses when law enforcement agents would move in, bulldozedwellings, and even inflict violence on persons.

The protection given by the provision extends to both those who have valid claims to stay on the landand to those who do not. But evictions there must be, these must be conducted in accordance with lawand in just a humane manner. Due process must be obser ved. But due process does not necessarilymean judicial due process. In every case the law must be carried out in a just and humane manner.

Even violators of the law are entitled to humane treatment.

The second paragraph commands that every relocation process must be preceded by consultation withthe dwellers to be relocated and also with the communities where they are to be relocated. This,however, does not mean that the validity or legality of the demolition or eviction is hinged on theexistence of a resettlement area designated or earmarked by the government. Rather, it means that theperson to be evicted be accorded due process or an opportunity to controvert the allegation that his orher occupation or possession of the property involved is unlawful or against the will of the landowner;that should the illegal or unlawful occupation be proven, the occupant be sufficiently notified beforeactual eviction or demolition is done; and there be no loss of lives, physical injuries or unnecessary lossor damage to properties. (Bernas)


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HEALTH

Section 11. The State shall adopt an integrated and comprehensive approach to healthdevelopment which shall endeavor to make essential goods, health and other social servicesavailable to all the people at affordable cost. There shall be priority for the needs of the under-

privileged, sick, elderly, disabled, women, and children. The State shall endeavor to provide

free medical care to paupers.

Sections 11, 12, and 13 have to be taken in conjunction with each other. As seen under Article II, Section15, the State recognizes the right to health as we are party to the Universal Declaration of Human Rightsand the Alma Conference Declaration of 1978. Health is defined as the state of complete physical,mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Integrated and comprehensive and affordable are the operative words in of these provisions, thusCongress endeavours to continually improve and pass legislation to address this provision. Thus, thepassing of the Cheaper Medicines Bill showed the States resolution to ensure that its citizens receiveaffordable medicines.

Section 12. The State shall establish and maintain an effective food and drug regulatory systemand undertake appropriate health, manpower development, and research, responsive to the

country's health needs and problems.

Health is essential to the exercise of other rights. We are not to say that in our country, if you are poorand you get sick, you die, because of the high cost of medicines and hospitalization. Aside from thequestion of ethics or of moral obligation, our countrys leaders must recognize the political impact ofpoverty and public health issues. A country that has no healthcare system is a vulnerable anddestabilized country. Mental health is crucial dimension of overall health. Just as we care for ourphysical health, we must endeavor to maintain and improve our mental health, as well as that of ourfamilies.

Protection and promotion of the right to health.

1.) Importance of health. Health is a pre requisite to happiness and well-being. It affects socio-economic factors notably income, levels of living, and in particular, nutrition. Health and education areclosely interdependent. A childs ability to take full advantage of the schooling provided he depends onhis health, and the adults ability to use t he knowledge and skills he has acquired depends on his mentaland physical fitness.


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Health is intimately enmeshed with national development. By ensuring the health of our people, ourhuman resources will be made productive and available in the service of our country.

2.) Duty of the State. It is mandatory duty of the State to protect and promote the right to health ofevery Filipino by making quality and adequate health care available and accessible to everybody,

especially the poor and the disadvantaged. In the fulfillment of this duty, the Stat shall:

a.) Adopt in integrated and comprehensive approach to health development that will make essentialgoods, health services and other social services available to all the people at affordable cost, givingpriority for the needs of the underprivileged sick, disabled, woman and children;

b.) Endeavor to provide free medical care to paupers or the poor;

c.) Establish and maintain an effective food and drug regulatory system;

d.) Undertake appropriate health manpower development and research responsive to the coun tryshealth needs and problems; and

e.) Establish a special body for disabled persons for their rehabilitation, self-development and self-reliance and their integration to the mainstream of society.

3.) An integral and comprehensive approach to health development. The phrase integrated andcomprehensive approach to health development implies that the State must exert efforts to unify thenational health care delivery systems all government instrumentalities and personnel concerned withhealth and the private sector which includes hospitals. Private practitioners, medical association, etc.,

and even private business to make medical services available through our country.

4.) An effective food and drug regulatory system. The third constitutional mandate seeks to rationalizethe law on food and drugs to protect the public from harmful and useless but costly food and drugs. Itshall be the duty of the State to adopt measures and policies that would eliminate harmful and uselessmedicines, increase domestic production of essential drugs, encourage locally applied drug research,and institute effective drug quality control supply and delivery systems as well as program frodissemination of drug information to educate the people on the rational use of drugs.

5.) A special agency for disabled persons. The body to be created by the State for disabled persons

shall coordinate and supervise all existing governmental and non-governmental agencies concernedwith the rehabilitation and education of these persons. Its principal duty shall be to help physically andmentally disabled individuals become responsible and useful members of our society. For nothing can bemore demeaning and more hurtful to the dignity of a human being than having to beg his subsistenceand becoming totally dependent on others.


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Section 13. The State shall establish a special agency for disabled person for theirrehabilitation, self-development, and self-reliance, and their integration into the mainstreamof society.

A law was passed to give credence to this provision which entitled as REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7277- AN ACTPROVIDING FOR THE REHABILITATION, SELF-DEVELOPMENT AND SELF-RELIANCE OF DISABLED PERSONS

AND THEIR INTEGRATION INTO THE MAINSTREAM OF SOCIETY AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES or "Magna

Carta for Disabled Person". The duty of the State is also to protect and to guide those persons who havedisabilities. These persons, though not the same as the normal person also has contribution in ourcountry, some actually give us honor. Their disabilities do not bar them to give and share their otherabilities. The same as those indicated in the preceding article, right to health and other benefits shall beenjoyed by all. The State may establish agencies that will give assistance to the need and other concernsof disabled. These concepts also include those who have no source of livelihood or those who live ahand-to-mouth existence (Bernas).

WOMEN

Section 14. The State shall protect working women by providing safe and healthful workingconditions, taking into account their maternal functions, and such facilities and opportunitiesthat will enhance their welfare and enable them to realize their full potential in the service of

the nation.

This section implicitly acknowledges that between women and men, there are distinctions which makefor real differences. Thus, the DOLEs Bureau of Working Conditions aims to ensure that workplaces

provide areas for breastfeeding, Magna Carta for Women, Single Parent Act etc. are targeted towardsworking women.


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ROLE AND RIGHTS OF PEOPLE'S ORGANIZATIONS

Section 15. The State shall respect the role of independent people's organizations to enable the people to pursue and protect, within the democratic framework, their legitimate and collective

interests and aspirations through peaceful and lawful means.

People's organizations are bona fide associations of citizens with demonstrated capacity to promote the public interest and with identifiable leadership, membership, and structure.

This section talks about the function/position or responsibility of a person who belongs to a certaingroup wherein they are safe secured and free or they are self-governed in terms of legal and justifiablerights or privileges in reaching their objectives or goals through diplomatic and legal ways and means.

The State must ensure that peopl es rights protected not only from public but also from privateinterference. The duty of the state must maintain the freedom wherein it talks about the process ofinteraction of individuals and groups with the environment when the society is changing or a personmakes some changes so that there appear more opportunities of choice and realization of importantpurposes and values. There is also the presence of liberty of movement that has indispensable conditionfor the free development of a person and interacts with several other rights enshrined with goodcovenant and to be permissible, restrictions must be provided by law, must be necessary in ademocratic society for the protection of these purposes and must be consistent with all other rights.

Section 16. The right of the people and their organizations to effective and reasonable participation at all levels of social, political, and economic decision-making shall not beabridged. The State shall, by law, facilitate the establishment of adequate consultationmechanisms.

Role and right of peoples organizations.

In a democratic and republican State, sovereignty resides in the people and all the government authorityemanates from them.

1.) Birth of people power. The recent historic events in our country which saw the installationof a new government through the direct exercise of the power of the Filipino people havegiven concrete expression for exercising popular sovereignty emerged. People power.Cause- oriented groups or peoples organizations, w hich proliferated during a former regimepressing for reforms, paved the way for the birth of people power.


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2.) Responsiveness of the government to peoples needs and well-being. They continue tocompete in articulating the interests and aspirations of the people particularly various sectorsthey represents. This is beneficial to both the people and the government. For it is quite truethat a government that listens to the voice of the people and considers their views andsentiments in the decisions-making process is an effective and stable government because it

becomes responsive to their needs and well- being. Thus, peoples organizations help to makethe government one truly based on the consent of the governed.

Obligations imposed on the State.

In recog nition of the important role of the peoples organizations in reflecting the popular willand as catalyst of change, the Constitution mandates the State to listen to the citizen and theirorganizations, more specifically:

1.) To respect the role of independe nt peoples organizations to enable the people to pursue and

protect, within the democratic framework, their legitimate and collective interests andaspirations though peaceful and lawful means.

2.) Not to abridge the right of the people and their organizations to effective and reasonableparticipation at all levels of social, political and economic decision-making

3.) By law, to facilitate the establishment of adequate consultation mechanisms between thepeople and the government.

The Constitution defined what the peoples organizations are . Aliens cannot be members of suchorganizations because the rights given are political in nature.


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HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 17. (1) There is hereby created an independent office called the Commission on HumanRights.

(2) The Commission shall be composed of a Chairman and four Members who must be natural-

born citizens of the Philippines and a majority of whom shall be members of the Bar. The termof office and other qualifications and disabilities of the Members of the Commission shall be

provided by law.

(3) Until this Commission is constituted, the existing Presidential Committee on Human Rights

shall continue to exercise its present functions and powers.

(4) The approved annual appropriations of the Commission shall be automatically and regularlyreleased.

Composition of the independent office called the Commission on Human Rights:a. Chairmanb. 4 MembersQualifications:

a. Natural-born citizens of the Philippinesb. Majority must be members of the Barc. Other qualifications and disabilities as provided by lawTerm of office: shall be provided by law- Until this Commission is constituted, the existing Presidential Committee on Human Rights shallcontinue to exercise its present functions and powers.

Powers and Functions

The Commission on Human Rights shall have the following powers and functions:(1) Investigate , on its own, or on complaint by any party, all forms of human rights violations involvingcivil and political rights;(2) Adopt its operational guidelines and rules of procedure, and cite for contempt for violations thereofin accordance with the Rules of Court; (3) Provide appropriate legal measures for the protection of human rights of all persons within thePhilippines, as well as Filipinos residing abroad, and provide for preventive measures and legal aidservices to the under-privileged whose human rights have been violated or need protection;

(4) Exercise visitorial powers over jails, prisons, or detention facilities;(5) Establish a continuing program of research, education, and information to enhance respect for theprimacy of human rights; (6) Recommend to Congress effective measures to promote human rights and to provide forcompensation to victims of violations of human rights, or their families;(7) Monitor the Philippine Government's compliance with international treaty obligations on humanrights;


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(8) Grant immunity from prosecution to any person whose testimony or whose possession of documentsor other evidence is necessary or convenient to determine the truth in any investigation conducted by itor under its authority;(9) Request the assistance of any department , bureau, office, or agency in the performance of itsfunctions;

(10) Appoint its officers and employees in accordance with law; and(11) Perform such other duties and functions as may be provided by law.

Section 18. The Commission on Human Rights shall have the following powers and functions:

(1) Investigate, on its own or on complaint by any party, all forms of human rights violations

involving civil and political rights;

(2) Adopt its operational guidelines and rules of procedure, and cite for contempt for violationsthereof in accordance with the Rules of Court;

(3) Provide appropriate legal measures for the protection of human rights of all persons withinthe Philippines, as well as Filipinos residing abroad, and provide for preventive measures andlegal aid services to the under-privileged whose human rights have been violated or need

protection;

(4) Exercise visitorial powers over jails, prisons, or detention facilities;

(5) Establish a continuing program of research, education, and information to enhance respect

for the primacy of human rights;

(6) Recommend to Congress effective measures to promote human rights and to provide for

compensation to victims of violations of human rights, or their families;

(7) Monitor the Philippine Government's compliance with international treaty obligations onhuman rights;

(8) Grant immunity from prosecution to any person whose testimony or whose possession ofdocuments or other evidence is necessary or convenient to determine the truth in anyinvestigation conducted by it or under its authority;

(9) Request the assistance of any department, bureau, office, or agency in the performance ofits functions;

(10) Appoint its officers and employees in accordance with law; and

(11) Perform such other duties and functions as may be provided by law.


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Only the first of the enumerated powers and functions bears any resemblance to adjudication oradjudgment. The Constitution clearly and categorically grants to the Commission the power toinvestigate all forms of human rights violations involving civil and political rights . But it cannot try anddecide cases or hear and determine causes as courts of justice, or even quasi-judicial bodies do. Toinvestigate is not to adjudicate or adjudge. Whether in the popular or the technical sense, these terms

have well understood and quite distinct meanings. [Cario v. CHR (1991) ]

Section 19. The Congress may provide for other cases of violations of human rights that should

fall within the authority of the Commission, taking into account its recommendations.

The Commission on Human Rights was created which concerns are the matters affecting human rightsand its function is limited only on investigation, it cannot issue any writ or subpoena to any offender.The Department of Justice which has full control to prosecute such issues. The most that may beconceded to the Commission in the way of adjudicative power is that it may investigate, i.e., receiveevidence and make findings of facts as regards claimed human rights violations involving civil andpolitical rights. The proposition is made clear by the constitutional provision specifying the powers ofthe Commission on Human Rights ( Cario v CHR ).

Documents

Article XIII Social Justice and Human Rights.pdf