SAN BEDA COLLEGE OF LAW MANILA

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW II GROUP ASSIGNMENT

SECTION: 1-O
BERNARDINO, ELLAINE ANNE L.
DERECHO, PATRICIA
HILARIO, PAMELA DENISE D.
LALO, PAULINO
LUZURIAGA, IVAN CHRIS T.
OLIVA, PAULINE ANTONETTE G.

PILAR, SHIELA MARIE

RAMOS, JAN GABRIEL M.
SALLADOR, LOUIE JOHN S.
TIO, VALERIE MAE O.
UY, ERIKA DHANNA C.

JANET LIM-NAPOLES CASE

ARTICLE III: BILL OF RIGHTS
RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED
SECTION 12.
(1) Any person under investigation for the
commission of an offense shall have the
right to be informed of his right to remain
silent and to have competent and
independent counsel preferably of his own
choice. If the person cannot afford the
services of counsel, he must be provided
with one. These rights cannot be waives
except in writing and in the presence of
counsel.
SECTION 12.
(2) No torture, force, violence, threat,
intimidation, or any other means which
vitiate the free will shall be used against
him. Secret detention places, solitary,
incommunicado, or other similar forms of
detention are prohibited.
SECTION 12.
(3) Any confession or admission obtained in
violation of this or Section 17 hereof shall
be inadmissible in evidence against him.

OBSERVED

VIOLATED

Napoles camps lawyers requested from the

Court of Appeals to stop the implementation
of the arrest warrants against her clients.
(August 2013)
Source:
http://www.rappler.com/nation/36564napoles-ca-stop-warrant-arrest

SECTION 12.
(4) The law shall provide for penal and
civil sanctions for violations of this section
as well as compensation to and
rehabilitation of victims of torture or
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similar practices, and their families.

SECTION 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.

Sandiganbayan denies Senator Revillas

plea to post bail. The bail petitions of
Napoles, Richard Cambe, Ronald John Lim,
and John Raymond de Asis were likewise
denied. (December 2014)
Supreme Court grants Senator Enriles
petition for bail. (August 2015)
Sandiganbayan denies Napoles bail petition
for lack of merit. (October 2015)
Napoles and dismissed Masbate governor
Rizalina Seachon-Lanete are granted bail
from plunder. (April 2016)
Source/s:
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/779314/palaceclarifies-napoles-to-stay-in-jail-convictedin-earlier-case
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2015/08/
18/1489490/supreme-court-allows-enrilepost-bail
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2014/12/
02/1398255/sandiganbayan-denies-bongsbail-petition
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/731786/whileenrile-runs-free-napoles-denied-bail-overpork-scam

SECTION 14.
Senate issues subpoena for JLN to testify
(1) No person shall be held to answer for a before the Senate blue ribbon committee.
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criminal offense without due process of (November 2013)

law.
Ombudsman Morales issues five separate
orders directing the filing of information in
the Sandiganbayan against ex-Pampanga
Rep. Zenaida Ducut, Rozzano Biazon,
Rodolfo Valencia, Marc Douglas Cagas IV.
Arrel Olano, and Arthur Pingoy Jr. for
violation of Sec. 3 (e) of the Anti-Graft and
Corrupt Practices Act, malversation, and
direct bribery. (March 2016)
Source:
http://www.rappler.com/nation/43070napoles-senate-appearance
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/770681/6-porklawmakers-face-trial
SECTION 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 of 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
notwithstanding the absence of the accused
provided that he has been duly notified and

Makati RTC branch 150 postpones the

arraignment of JLN from September 9 to
23, 2013 due to time constraints.
(September 2013)
A marathon of hearings was held for JLNs:
(1) Motion for Judge Alameda to inhibit
himself, (2) urgent motion for Bill of
Particulars, (3) urgent motion to defer
arraignment and suspend proceedings, and
(4) motion for bail. (September 2013)
JLN pleads not guilty to plunder charges in
the 1st division of the Sandiganbayan. (June
2014)
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his failure to appear is unjustifiable.

The Supreme Court dismissed Senator
Estradas petition to void the charges filed
against him, the latter failing to prove that
the Office of the Ombudsman violated due
process and his right to equal protection.
(January 2015)
Sandiganbayan schedules the trial of
Senator Enrile for plunder and Cagayan de
Oro Representative Constantino Jaraula for
malversation, graft, and direct bribery.
(January 2016)
Source/s:
http://www.rappler.com/nation/38277-courtpostpones-napoles-arraignment
http://www.rappler.com/nation/39406napoles-motion-bail
http://www.rappler.com/nation/38011napoles-due-process-kapunan
http://www.rappler.com/nation/61661revilla-pleads-not-guilty-arraignment
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2015/01/
21/1415232/sc-backs-ombudsman-vsjinggoy-pork-raps
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/752480/sandiga
n-sets-plunder-trial-sked-of-enrile-jaraula
SECTION 16.
Napoles is convicted of serious illegal For the third time, Senator Revillas
All persons shall have the right to a speedy detention and is sentenced to life in prison. pretrial for plunder was postponed,
disposition of their cases before all judicial, (April 2015)
with the defense panels not yet done
quasi-judicial, or administrative bodies.
in the marking of evidence. (February
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Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales 2016)

orders the dismissal of twelve government
executives over the P54M PDAF scam. Source:
(December 2015)
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/761468/b
ong-revilla-plunder-pretrial-delayedSandiganbayan schedules the trial of anew
Senator Enrile for plunder and Cagayan de
Oro Representative Constantino Jaraula for
malversation, graft, and direct bribery.
(January 2016)
Sandiganbayan denies Atty. Gigi Reyes
request to suspend her plunder trial because
the Supreme Court has yet to issue a
temporary restraining order. (January 2016)
Source:
http://interaksyon.com/article/108793/janetnapoles-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-overillegal-detention-charges
http://www.rappler.com/nation/114767ombudsman-dismiss-government-officialspdaf-scam
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/752480/sandiga
n-sets-plunder-trial-sked-of-enrile-jaraula
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/753415/sandiga
n-denies-gigi-reyes-plea-to-suspendplunder-trial
SECTION 17.
According to Sen. Miriam Defensor
No person shall be compelled to be a Santiago, the State cannot turn Janet Lim
witness against himself.
Napoles into a State witness to escape
prosecution since she is the alleged

DOJ Secretary Leila De Lima

revealed that JLN finally agreed to
tell all about the PDAF scam and turn
into a State witness without any
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mastermind of the multi-billion pork barrel guarantees. The Naploes camp said
scam. (August 2013)
they are not demanding that she be
made state witness in exchange for
Source:
her testimony on the case. Her lawyer
http://www.rappler.com/nation/37620said she was sick and was due to
miriam-napoles-state-witness
undergo a major surgery when she
spoke with DOJ Secretary Leila De
Lima. (April 2014)
Source/s:
http://www.rappler.com/nation/56027
-napoles-state-witness
http://www.rappler.com/nation/56145
-napoles-witness-pork-scam
SECTION 19.
(1) Excessive fines shall not be imposed,
nor cruel, degrading or inhuman
punishment inflicted. Neither shall the
death penalty be imposed, unless, for
compelling reasons involving heinous
crimes, the Congress hereafter provides for
it. Any death penalty already imposed shall
be reduced to reclusion perpetua.
SECTION 19.
(2) The employment of physical,
psychological, or degrading punishment
against any prisoner or detainee or the use
of substandard or inadequate penal
facilities under subhuman conditions shall
be dealt with by law.

The PNP authorized Senator Enriles

transfer to the Makati Medical Center due to
pneumonia, after the latter did not respond
to the medication given to him at the PNP
General Hospital.
Such authorization is in observance of a
standing resolution of the Sandiganbayan
which gives the PNP the authority to order
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Enriles transfer in emergency situations.

(February 2015)
Court denies Senator Revillas motion to
transfer to Camp Bagong Diwa, the
prosecution having failed to give a
sufficient reason to warrant the detainees
move to another detention facility. (May
2015)
Source:
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2015/02/
26/1427840/enrile-rushed-makati-hospital
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2015/05/
21/1457216/court-denies-motion-transferbong-regular-jail
SECTION 21.
No person shall be twice put in jeopardy of
punishment for the same offense. If an act
is punished by a law and an ordinance,
conviction or acquittal under either shall
constitute a bar to another prosecution for
the same act.

BINAY CASE
DISCLAIMER: These answers are based on the assumption that if Vice President Jejomar Binay will lose his presidential bid this
coming May 2016 National Elections. Due to his position as an impeachable officer, he cannot be tried nor prosecuted for such
crimes yet due to immunity from suit. However, if he does fail to become president, the circumstances would justify our
assumption thus, he may be held liable and may be prosecuted for his offenses.
These observations are also rooted from the Senate hearings that have transpired since July 2014 regarding the overpriced multibillion peso new Makati city parking building contract. We interrelated the rights of the accused to those proceedings though not in
a judicial setting.
Needless to say, there have not been any formal judicial proceedings against Vice President Binay due to his immunity as Vice
President of the Philippines.
RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED

OBSERVED

VIOLATED

The right to free access to the

courts and adequate legal
assistance.

The right to be informed of his

right to remain silent and to have
counsel when under investigation
for the commission of an offense.
The right against the use of
torture, force, violence, threat,
intimidation, or any other means
which vitiates the free will.
The right against being held in
secret, incommunicado, or similar
forms of solitary detention;
The right to bail and against
excessive bail.
The right to due process of law.

Vice President Jejomar Binay were duly

notified and given an opportunity to be
heard on the criminal complaint filed
against them. They in fact submitted their
counter-affidavits, and their separate
rejoinders filed in response to complainants
Reply were taken into consideration in the
marshaling of facts and evaluation of the
evidence,
said
the
Ombudsman.
Respondents were duly furnished with copies
of the assailed Joint Resolution on account of
which they filed the present motions.
(http://www.rappler.com/nation/121436ombudsman-upholds-charges-binay-makati10

carpark-building )
In addition to that, a preliminary
investigation was conducted to make way for
the finding of probable cause in the
malversation and falsification complaints
filed against Vice President Jejomar Binay
giving him the benefit of the doubt and to be
presumed innocent until it is found that the
facts and circumstances surrounding the case
is deemed sufficient to warrant the
prosecutor a belief that he should be indicted.
The right to presumption of
innocence.

Senate hearings were held to give VP

Jejomar Binay an opportunity to defend his
side, present his evidences to prove his
innocence and be saved from conviction.

The right to be heard by himself

and counsel.
The right to be informed of the
nature and cause of the accusation
against him.

The right to have speedy, impartial,

and public trial.

The mere fact that he was given several

chances to attend senate proceedings in order
to be investigated and answer the queries for
such allegations are sufficient enough to
constitute as notice of the nature and causes
of accusation against him.
The Senate investigation of the alleged
overpriced Makati City Hall 2 building is
incontrovertibly in aid of the senators own
election bids. Vice President Jejomar
Binays inquisitors, Senators Alan Cayetano
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and Antonio Trillianes, have prejudged VP

Binays case obviously motivated by
political purposes to lower his stature in the
electorate.
Trillanes, for example, threatened Binay
with a new expos, new documents, and
hopefully new witnesses. He did not
specify the details of the new expos, but
plans on conducting more hearings to
scrutinize
other
anomalous
Makati
infrastructures. Cayetano also suspects Tiu
of also laundering money for the Binays.
Their methodology at hearings has been
criticized for being rude and judgmental.
In one report, Binay stated that the 2
senators aforementioned produced witnesses
that admitted to receiving kickbacks from
government projects and another who
admitted he lied in the face of justice and
also said that the testimonys statements
were of mere speculation. Those kinds of
witnesses, which may or may not sound
partial, have the tendency to be one-sided
which would, overall, lead to the downfall
of Binays defense for the investigation and
hearing seemed to be on the side of those
trying the same. This further prevents Binay
from standing a chance to be able to defend
himself assuming those witnesses, as he
stated, did admit a confession of guilt.
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To quote Binay further regarding the project

of Makati as to allegedly overpriced
building, Until now, they have not shown
any concrete evidence that the said building
is overpriced. What does the law say? In
order to prove overpricing, a comparison of
similar items has to be made. How will this
comparison be done? With an actual canvass
of every material and equipment used. Not
once have these senators and our opponents
shown that they have conducted the said
canvass. The data from the National
Statistics Office, which was the basis of the
complaint against us, has limitations.
According to NSO itself, their computations
were based on the building permit
applications and not the actual construction
cost. This is not a comparison of similar
items.
(http://www.ovp.gov.ph/index.php/24-pressrelease/what-they-say-about...esident/284vp-binay-slams-lies-speculations-in-blueribbon-hearing )
As observed from the statement above, bias
is believably present in saying that despite
the project being unproven to be overpriced
by COA officials, many of his political
aggressors aver that such is not the and that
said project is maintained to be the outcome
of corruption by Jejomar Binay and his
family.
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In relation to the statements of Cavite

Governor Jonvic Remulla, he stated that the
senators have prejudged his case regarding
the overpriced building and even pointed
out that Senator Trillanes objective is to
bring down the ratings of the Vice President.
He also stated that the 2 senators accepted
as gospel truth the statements of former
Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado for his
testimony against Vice President Binay. The
senators actions basically reinforce the
allegations of Binay in saying that the
hearings are no longer in aid of legislation
but for the furtherance of political
prosecution.
(http://www.ovp.gov.ph/index.php/24-pressrelease/what-they-say-about-...epresident/356-futile-for-vp-binay-to-attendsenate-hearing-remulla)
The right to meet the witnesses face
to face.
The right to have compulsory
process to secure the attendance of
witnesses and the production of
evidence in his behalf.
The right against selfincrimination.

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The right against detention by

reason of political beliefs and
aspirations.
The right against excessive fines.
The right against cruel, degrading
or inhuman punishment.
The right against infliction of the
death penalty except for heinous
crimes.
The right against double jeopardy.
The right against ex post facto law
and bill of attainder.

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