BICOL UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND LETTERS

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
OF
LEGAL TEXTS
BASED ON LANGUAGE

BY:
BARCENAS, PATRICIA KEMRIE B.
BOGNALBAL, EARL JOSEPH B.
BORNALO, KRIZA MAE
BONGON, MARK OWEN
BUENCONSEJO, SEAN ANDREA B.

AB ENGLISH LANGUAGE 4A
 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF LEGAL TEXTS
RA 7877 + RA 11313 + The 1987 Constitution, Article 3

REPUBLIC ACT 7877

Individual Analysis

Introduction:
Republic Act 7877, also known as the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995,
marked a significant milestone in advocating for the equality of rights for women
and children in the Philippines. Enacted on February 14, 1995, amidst a
challenging period in the country's history, it emerged as one of the noteworthy
legislative victories during the 1990s.

Brief History:
The 1990s posed various challenges for the Philippines, including the
aftermath of dictatorship, military issues, natural disasters, and controversies
involving sexual harassment. Notable incidents such as the "Kissing Lolo" scandal
and allegations against talent manager Jojo Veloso heightened awareness and led to
advocacy for legislation addressing sexual harassment.
Despite criticisms regarding the perceived leniency of penalties and the
general nature of its provisions, Republic Act 7877 remained a pivotal legislation.
However, it was further refined and expanded 24 years later with the enactment of
Republic Act 11313, known as the Safe Spaces Act of 2019, to address ongoing
concerns and provide clearer definitions and guidelines.

Text-related Analysis:
Grammatical Errors:
- There are no Grammatical Errors.
Archaisms:
- Archaism is shown in the usage of “Be it enacted”, which is an act
declaring.
Acronyms/Abbreviations:
- The use of common abbreviations such as "SEC." for "Section",
“P" for "Pesos”, and “H” for “House”.
Punctuations:
- Used appropriately throughout the text.
Nominalizations:
- The nominalizations present are: Employment, Education, and
Training
Latin Terms and Translations:
- There are no Latin Terms used
Plain Language:
- The language used is straightforward and easily understandable.

Group 2
Barcenas, Bognalbal, Bornalo, Bongon, Buenconsejo
 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF LEGAL TEXTS
RA 7877 + RA 11313 + The 1987 Constitution, Article 3

Doublets and Triplets:

- There are no Doublets and Triplets used
Vagueness and Ambiguity:
- The language used is clear, however there's still some vagueness
and ambiguity such as intimidating, hostile, offensive environment,
it also shows on the procedure, liability for damages such as
immediate action, and penalties.
Neutrality:
- It has a neutral tone and only focuses on legal definitions and
procedures.
Impersonality and Objectivization:
- It was written in an objective manner, and focuses on the legal
framework rather than personal opinions.
Conciseness and Clarity:
- It is concise and clear, it also provides a precise definition of
sexual harassment and outlining procedures for addressing it.
Complex Sentences:
- While some sentences are complex due to legal language, they are
structured logically and are understandable. (Defining the scope of
sexual harassment, and responsibilities of the employers and
institution
Solemnity:
- The language used is appropriate for a legal document, maintaining
a tone of solemnity.
Patterns and Consistency:
- It follows a consistent pattern in presenting definitions, policies,
and procedures related to sexual harassment.
Tone of Language:
- The tone of the language is Authoritative, Directive, and Serious

Conclusion
Republic Act No. 7877 effectively addresses sexual harassment in the
Philippines by providing clear definitions, outlining responsibilities of employers
and educational institutions, and prescribing penalties for violations. It reflects the
commitment of the government to uphold the dignity and rights of individuals in
various environments.

Group 2
Barcenas, Bognalbal, Bornalo, Bongon, Buenconsejo
 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF LEGAL TEXTS
RA 7877 + RA 11313 + The 1987 Constitution, Article 3

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 11313

Individual Analysis

Introduction:
The Republic Act No. 11313 or the “Safe Spaces” Act, or also called the
“Bawal Bastos Act” is implemented by the Philippine Congress to address gaps in
equality, security, and safety among men and women, and the LGBTQIA+
community both in public and private spaces. This act intends to stretch and
expound on the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995 or RA no. 7877

Brief History:
This act was signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte on April 17,
2019. This act recognizes necessary measures in protecting the rights of individuals
from various forms of abuse and harassment. The law penalizes any type of sexual
harassment, as this is more rampant in society, and mandates punishment
depending on the level or severity of the offense.
This law is enacted with the aim to protect and promote safety in public and private
spaces and to maintain respect within Philippine society.

Text-Related Analysis:
Grammatical Errors:
- There are no present grammatical errors in the whole article.
Archaisms:
- There are no present Archaisms in the whole article
Acronyms:
- The act used acronyms such as;
DOH - Department of Health
PCW - Philippine Commission on Women
LGU - Local Government Unit
DSWD - Department of Social Welfare and Development
CHED - Commission on Higher Education
TESDA - Technical Education and Skills Development Authority
DepEd - Department of Education
CODI - Committee on Decorum and Investigation
PNP - Philippine National Police
GAA - General Appropriations Act
GAD - Gender and Development
IRR - Implementing Rules and Regulations

Group 2
Barcenas, Bognalbal, Bornalo, Bongon, Buenconsejo
 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF LEGAL TEXTS
RA 7877 + RA 11313 + The 1987 Constitution, Article 3

DICT - Department of Information and Communications

Technology
LTO - Land Transportation Office
CHR - Commission on Human Rights
DOLE - Department of Labor and Employment
MMDA - Metropolitan Manila Development Authority

Abbreviations:
- Abbreviations such as "SEC." for "Section" was used in the paper
Punctuations:
- The act used punctuations appropriately, including periods,
commas, colons, and semicolons.
Nominalizations:
- The act contained nominalizations because of the usage of terms
such as "prohibition" or "establishment".
Latin Terms and Translations:
- There are no present Latin terms in the whole article.
Plain Language:
- The language used in the act is straightforward and is easily
understandable.
Doublets and Triplets:
- There are no present Doublets and Triplets in the whole article.
Vagueness and Ambiguity:
- There is no present Vagueness and Ambiguity in the whole article.
Neutrality:
- The act has a neutral tone.
Impersonality and Objectivization:
- The act is written in an objective manner, which focused on legal
frameworks rather than personal opinions of the law makers.
Conciseness and Clarity:
- The act was concise and clear, the precise definitions that was
present was a big help in clarifying hard to understand
terminologies.
Solemnity:
- The act maintained a tone of Solemnity all throughout the whole
article.

Group 2
Barcenas, Bognalbal, Bornalo, Bongon, Buenconsejo
 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF LEGAL TEXTS
RA 7877 + RA 11313 + The 1987 Constitution, Article 3

Patterns and Consistency:

- The act followed a consistent pattern in presenting definitions,
policies, and procedures.
Tone of Language:
- The tone of the language is authoritative, directive, and serious.

Conclusions

Group 2
Barcenas, Bognalbal, Bornalo, Bongon, Buenconsejo
 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF LEGAL TEXTS
RA 7877 + RA 11313 + The 1987 Constitution, Article 3

THE 1987 CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE 3

Individual Analysis

Introduction
The Constitution of 1987, Article 3 consists of the bills of rights which sets
out provision with regards to the rights and principles of the state policy which
guarantees human rights and freedoms such as the right to life and liberty,
prohibition of unjust arrest and detention, prohibition of forced labor and slavery,
the privacy of home, the freedom of movement, freedom of assembly, freedom of
association, and the freedom of speech and religion.

Brief History
The 1987 Constitution was promulgated after the ousting of President
Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. when he lost the snap election in February 7, 1896 and
President Cory Aquino took his place as president of the Philippines. After Cory
had won and the Marcoses fled from the Philippines, Cory had three choices as to
how to go about with the constitution: first was to return to the 1935 constitution,
second was to retain some of Marcos' 1973 constitution, and lastly, which was the
one she chose, was to create a clean slate – a fresh start, and so the 1987
Constitution was put into effect in February 11, 1987.

Text-Related Analysis:
Grammatical Errors:
- There are no grammatical errors present
Archaisms:
- There is the usage of archaic adverbs like: “thereof”, “hereof”, and
“notwithstanding”
Acronyms:
- There is no usage of acronyms
Abbreviations:
- There is no usage of abbreviations
Punctuations:
- There is frequent usage of commas (,) to ensure the specificity the
sentence, and periods are placed after the end of each sentence in a
section.
Nominalizations:
- Protection, Inviolable, Examination, Affirmation, Communication,
Establishment, Discrimination, Information, Association,
Compensation, Obligation, Investigation, Punishment,
Employment

Group 2
Barcenas, Bognalbal, Bornalo, Bongon, Buenconsejo
 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF LEGAL TEXTS
RA 7877 + RA 11313 + The 1987 Constitution, Article 3

Latin Terms and Translations:

- The Latin terms that can be found include: Incommunicado which
means ‘without means of communication’, reclusion Perpetua
which means ‘permanent imprisonment’, habeas corpus ‘show me
the body’, and lastly, ex post facto which means ‘from a thing done
afterward’ in other words, it penalizes a party for taking actions
that may be illegal today but was not illegal at the time the act was
committed.
Plain Language:
- The language is straightforward and uses mostly familiar terms
aside from a few legalese and latin words. Plain language ensures
that every layperson can understand the Constitution and therefore
comprehend their respective rights.
Doublets and Triplets:
- There is none
Vagueness and Ambiguity:
- It is clear with regards to the content, however there is vagueness
with regards to whom the law pertains to be the ‘person’
Neutrality:
- It is neutral as it expounds the rights of the people. The neutrality
ensures that the constitution itself is fair to the people, and no side
it being tipped over.
Impersonality and Objectivization:
- It is written objectively with how it regards the subject of the rights
as ‘people’. The objectivization of the people's rights ensures that
there is no subjective bias present in the Bill of Rights, and it
ultimately prevents arbitrary or subjective interpretations by
authorities.
Conciseness and Clarity:
- It uses proper and accurate language by being straightforward
Complex Sentences:
- Complex sentences are present (Sec. 2, Sec. 14[2]), but the proper
use of punctuation such as commas allows for a clear construction
of thought, without them getting too complicated.
Solemnity:
- It maintains a solemnity by using proper words appropriate for a
legal text. These also include the usage of Latin terms
Patterns and Consistency:
- In terms of prohibition, a section starts off with “No law shall…”
and “No persons shall…” and when a right is stated, “All persons
shall…” is used.

Group 2
Barcenas, Bognalbal, Bornalo, Bongon, Buenconsejo
 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF LEGAL TEXTS
RA 7877 + RA 11313 + The 1987 Constitution, Article 3

Tone of Language:
- The tone of language is highly formal.

Conclusion:

Group 2
Barcenas, Bognalbal, Bornalo, Bongon, Buenconsejo
 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF LEGAL TEXTS
RA 7877 + RA 11313 + The 1987 Constitution, Article 3

REFERENCES

For Republic Act 7877:

https://prezi.com/g0td8ple3hp0/ra-7877/

https://www.google.com/search?
q=ra+7877+history+and+background&oq=RA+&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUq
BggAEEUYOzIGCAAQRRg7MgYIARBFGDkyBggCEEUYPDIGCAMQ
RRg8MgYIBBBFGDwyBggFEEUYOzIGCAYQRRg7MgcIBxAAGI8CMg
cICBAAGI8CMgcICRAAGI8C0gEIMjU4NmowajSoAgGwAgE&client=m
s-android-oppo-rev1&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-
8#vhid=zephyrhttps://pdfcoffee.com/ra-7877-historical-background-pdf-
free.html&vssid=zephyr-w-https://pdfcoffee.com/ra-7877-historical-
background-pdf-free.html

https://www.ombudsman.gov.ph/GAD/Laws%20and%20Mandates/
republic_act_7877.pdf

https://www.google.com/search?
q=ra+7877+history+and+background&oq=RA+&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUq
BggAEEUYOzIGCAAQRRg7MgYIARBFGDkyBggCEEUYPDIGCAMQ
RRg8MgYIBBBFGDwyBggFEEUYOzIGCAYQRRg7MgcIBxAAGI8CMg
cICBAAGI8CMgcICRAAGI8C0gEIMjU4NmowajSoAgGwAgE&client=m
s-android-oppo-rev1&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-
8#vhid=zephyrhttps://www.journals.upd.edu.ph/index.php/rws/article/
download/9097/8032/&vssid=zephyr-w-https://www.journals.upd.edu.ph/
index.php/rws/article/download/9097/8032/

For Republic Act 11313

https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=9cfaaff2-3a1f-4e32-8e28-
9115fa52bba4#:~:text=11313%20to%20be%20known%20as,7877.

For Article 3
https://www.fao.org/faolex/results/details/en/c/LEX-FAOC132834/
#:~:text=Article%20III%20of%20the%20constitution,labour%20and
%20slavery%2C%20the%20privacy

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/constitution-25-years/

Group 2
Barcenas, Bognalbal, Bornalo, Bongon, Buenconsejo