DUE PROCESS OF LAW

“ 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
Section 1, Article III, 1987 Constitution
”
“ UNDER THE CONSTITUTION, A PERSON MAY
BE DEPRIVED OF HIS LIFE, LIBERTY, OR
PROPERTY PROVIDED DUE PROCESS OF LAW

”
IS OBSERVED
 There is deprivation of life, liberty, or property;
and
 The deprivation is done with proper observance
of due process of law
 No exact and controlling meaning or definition for all purposes has been given
to the concept.
 REASON: the idea expressed therein is applicable under so many diverse
conditions as to make any attempt at precise definition impossible.

MEANING OF DUE PROCESS

ANY deprivation of life, liberty, or property by the State, acting through the
government is with due process if it is done:
a. Under the authority of a law that is valid (i.e. not contrary to the
Constitution) or of the Constitution itself; and
b. After compliance with the reasonable methods of procedure previously
established by the law.

REQUISITES FOR DEPRIVATION

Due process of law is a process or proceedings according to the law of the land.
It is not that the law shall be according to the wishes of all the inhabitants of the
state but simply means:
First, That there shall be a law prescribed in harmony with the general powers of the
legislative department of the Government;
Second, That this law shall be reasonable in its operations;
Third, That is shall be enforced according to the regular methods of procedure
prescribed; and
Fourth, That it shall be applicable alike to all citizens of a state or to all of a class.
(U.S. vs. Ling Su Fan, 10 Phil. 104 [1908].)

JUDICIAL DEFINITIONS OF DUE

PROCESS OF LAW
 A lawwhich hears before it condemns, which proceeds
upon inquiry, and renders judgment only after trial.
(Dartmouth College v. Woodward [4 Wheat 518.]
 Theembodiment of the sporting idea of fair play.
(Twinning v. New Jersey, 211 U.S. 78.)

JUDICIAL DEFINITIONS OF DUE

PROCESS OF LAW
 Due process of law implies the right of the person
affected thereby to be present before the tribunal which
pronounces judgment upon the question of life, liberty,
and property in its most comprehensive sense; to be
heard, by testimony or otherwise, and to have the right
of controverting by proof, every material fact which
bears on the question of the right in the matter involved.
(Medenilla vs. CSC, 194 SCRA 278 [1991.]

JUDICIAL DEFINITIONS OF DUE

PROCESS OF LAW
 Procedural Due Process
 Substantive Due Process

ASPECTS OF DUE PROCESS OF LAW

 Refers to the method or manner by which the law is enforced. Its
basic elements are notice, opportunity to be heard, and
jurisdiction.
 Its essence is simply the opportunity to be heard or, as applied to
administrative proceedings, an opportunity to explain one’s side
or to seek a reconsideration of the action or ruling complained
of before judgment is rendered.

PROCEDURAL DUE PROCESS

 There is no particular form of procedure required for the proper
observance of due process of law but it does not mean that any
procedure laid by law will do. The procedure should be one that
assures adequate protection to a person’s life, liberty, and
property.

PROCEDURAL DUE PROCESS

 Nor does due process necessarily mean a judicial proceeding in
the regular courts, but an indispensable requisite or basic tenet
of this aspect of due process is the requirement of notice and
hearing; or at least, a reasonable opportunity to be heard. A
judgement rendered without such opportunity is null and void
from its inception and may be attacked, directly or collaterally.
In legal contemplation, it is no judgment at all. (David vs.
Aquilizan, 94 SCRA 707 [1979].)

PROCEDURAL DUE PROCESS

 Requires that the law itself, not merely the procedures
by which the law would be enforced, is fair,
reasonable, and just. (Corona vs. United Harbor Pilots
Ass’n of the Phils. 283 SCRA 31 [1997.]

SUBSTANTIVE DUE PROCESS

 It connotes that there is an adequate reason or sufficient
justification for governmental action taking away or interfering
with the right of a provision to his life, liberty, or property.
 No person shall be deprived of his life, liberty, or property for
arbitrary reasons or on flimsy grounds.

SUBSTANTIVE DUE PROCESS

 It must appear that the interests of the public justify State’s
interference and furthermore, the means employed are reasonably
necessary for the accomplishment of the purpose. A desirable end
cannot be promoted by oppressive or prohibited means.
 A law that suffers from such vagueness or uncertainty that men “of
common intelligence must necessarily guess at its meaning and
differ as to its application” violates due process. (People vs.
Nazareno, 165 SCRA 186 [1988].)

SUBSTANTIVE DUE PROCESS

 Applies to violation by the government and also
by private persons.
 Applies to all kind of government proceedings.
 Accorded to all persons, and even to the State.

SCOPE OF THE GUARANTEE

 A safeguard of the highest order
 Primary and indispensable foundation of individual
freedoms.
 A flexible concept adaptable to changing times and
conditions.
 A mandate of reason and a guarantee of justice and
fairness.

NATURE OF THE GUARANTEE

 The term “person” as used in the above constitutional
provisions, embraces all individuals within the territorial
jurisdiction of the Philippines, without regard to any
difference of race, status, or nationality, including aliens. 
 Private corporations, likewise, are persons within the scope
of the guarantee but only in so far as their property is
concerned.

PERSONS PROTECTED
 Life, as protected by due process of law, means
something more than mere animal existence. The
prohibition against its deprivation without due process
extends to all the limbs and facilities by which life is
enjoyed.
 The right to life includes the right to live a decent life
worthy of human dignity.

MEANING OF LIFE
 Liberty, as protected by due process of law, denotes
not merely freedom from physical restraint. It also
embraces the right of man to use his faculties with
which he has been endowed by his Creator as his
judgment may dictate subject only to the limitation that
he does not violate the law or the rights of others.

MEANING OF LIBERTY
 Property, as protected by due process of law, may refer to
the thing itself with respect to which legal relations
between persons exist, or it may refer to the rights with
respect to the thing. The constitutional provision,
however, has reference more to the rights over the
thing. It includes the right to own, possess, use, alienate
and even to destroy, subject to the right of the State and of
other persons.

MEANING OF PROPERTY
 In mentioning “life and liberty” ahead of “property,” the Constitution
underscores a certain hierarchy of importance in the order of enumeration.
While property is accorded the same basic protection given to life and liberty,
the Constitution recognizes the superior position of “life and liberty,”
including the “security or safety” or freedom from danger of a person more
particularly known as “human rights,” over property rights.

PRIMACY OF HUMAN RIGHTS OVER

PROPERTY RIGHTS.
WHAT CONSTITUTES DEPRIVATION.
 It refers not merely to the extinction of human existence. It
includes the loss of any of the various physical and mental
attributes (e.g., limbs, eyes, brain, power of reproduction,
etc.) which man must have to live as a human being. To be
sure, some people would prefer death to living without
eyesight or as a bedridden invalid.
 The right to life begins from the conception of the fetus.

DEPRIVATION OF LIFE
 To constitute deprivation of liberty, it is not necessary that
a person be detained or confined. Liberty need to be lost
in its entirety. To the extent that one is unduly prevented
from acting the way he wishes to do, there is a diminution
of liberty.

DEPRIVATION OF LIBERTY
 It is not necessary that it be physically taken away
from one entitled to it. There is also deprivation,
when its value is destroyed or its adaptability to some
particular use, or its capability for enjoyment is
impaired.

DEPRIVATION OF PROPERTY
PROCEDURAL DUE PROCESS
 The guarantee of due process of law, as previously
stated, extends to every governmental proceeding which
may interfere with personal or property rights whether
the proceedings be legislative, judicial, administrative,
or executive, but they relate specially to that class of
rights the protection of which is peculiarly within the
province of the judicial branch of the government.

DUE PROCESS IN JUDICIAL

PROCEEDINGS
 An impartial and disinterested court clothed by law with authority to hear
and determine the matter before it;
 Jurisdiction lawfully acquired over the person of the party or property
which is the subject matter before it;
 Notice and opportunity to be heard given to the parties to adduce
evidence in their behalf; and
 Judgment to be rendered after lawful hearing and consideration of such
evidence by the tribunal deciding the case.

JUDICIAL DUE PROCESS, REQUIREMENTS

 Due process of law, as a constitutional precept,
guarantees no particular form of procedure and its
requirements are not technical. (Velez vs. De Vera, 496
SCRA [2006].)

DUE PROCESS IN ADMINISTRATIVE

PROCEEDINGS
1. Strict Observance not indispensable – Due process is not always a
judicial process. While a day in court is a matter of right in judicial
proceedings, it is otherwise in administrative proceedings, since the
latter rest upon different principles. (Cornejo vs. Gabriel, 41 Phil. 188
[1992.])
 In certain proceedings of an administrative character, due process, in the
strict legal sense, is not indispensable. The rigid requirements of procedural
law are not strictly observed as long as fairness is not compromised. A trial-
type proceeding is not always and in all situations required.

DUE PROCESS IN ADMINISTRATIVE

PROCEEDINGS
2. Necessity of Notice and Hearing– As applied to administrative
proceedings, the minimum requirements of due process are satisfied
when a party is afforded a fair and reasonable opportunity to explain
his side or to seek a reconsideration of the ruling or action complained
of.
 As a general rule, notice and hearing, as a fundamental requirements of
procedural due process are essential only when an administrative body
exercises its quasi-judicial functions, but in the performance of its executive
or legislative functions, such as issuing rules and regulations, an
administrative body need not comply with said requirements. (Corona vs.
United Harbor Pilots Ass’n. of the Phils., 283 SCRA 312 [1997].)
DUE PROCESS IN ADMINISTRATIVE
PROCEEDINGS
3. Requirement for discipline of civil service officers and employees –
The prohibition in Article IX, B-Section 2(3) against suspension or
dismissal of an officer or employee of the Civil Service “except for
cause provided by law” is a guarantee of both procedural and
substantive due process.
 Notice to enable the respondent to be heard and present evidence is not a
mere technicality or trivial matter in any administrative proceedings but an
indispensable requirement of due process. (Pablo Borbon, etc. vs. Albistor,
468 SCRA 128 [2005])

DUE PROCESS IN ADMINISTRATIVE

PROCEEDINGS
3. Requirement for discipline of civil service officers and employees –
xxx…
 But a respondent in an administrative case is not entitled to be informed of
the preliminary findings and recommendations. It is the administrative order
not the preliminary report, which is the basis of any further remedies of
losing party in an administrative case may pursue. (VIVA Footwear
Manufacturing Corp. vs. SEC, SCRA 609 [2007].)

DUE PROCESS IN ADMINISTRATIVE

PROCEEDINGS
4. Right to Counsel – a party in an administrative inquiry may or may
not be assisted by counsel, irrespective of the nature of the charges and
of the respondent’s capacity to represent himself, and no duty rests on
such a body to furnish the person being investigated with counsel.
 The right to counsel is not imperative in administrative investigations
because such inquiries are conducted merely to determine whether there are
facts that merit disciplinary measures against erring public officers and
employees, with the purpose of maintaining the dignity of government
service. (Carbonel vs. Civil Service Commission, 630 SCRA 202 [2010].)

DUE PROCESS IN ADMINISTRATIVE

PROCEEDINGS
LIBERAL JUDICIAL POLICY ON
RULES OF PROCEDURE
 The purpose is no to thwart justice. Its proper aim is to
facilitate the application of justice to the rival claims of
the contending parties. It was created not to hinder and
delay but to facilitate and promote the administration of
justice.

PURPOSE OF RULES OF PROCEDURE

 Procedural due process is not based solely on a mechanistic
and literal application of a rule such that any deviation is
inexorably fatal. Lapses in the literal observance of a rule of
procedure may be overlooked when they have not
prejudiced the adverse party and have not deprived the court
of its authority.

LAPSES IN LITERAL OBSERVANCE OF A RULE

OF PROCEDURE
 Courts have the prerogative to relax procedural rules of
even the most mandatory character mindful of the duty to
reconcile both the need to speedily put an end to litigation
and the parties’ right to due process. Liberal construction is
attained when to do so would serve the demands of
substantial justice and equity.

RELAXATION OF PROCEDURAL RULES

An action in personam is one the object of which is to bind a
particular person although the suit may concern the right to, or
possession of, a tangible thing, such as an action for the
rescission of a contract of, sale or the recovery of a parcel of
land.
1. Need for notice
2. Form of notice

RIGHT TO NOTICE WHERE PROCEEDING IN

PERSONAM
In an action in rem, the object is to bar indifferently all who might
be minded to make an objection of any sort against the right
sought to be established. An action quasi in rem while not strictly
speaking an action in rem partakes of that nature and is
substantially such.
1. Need for notice
2. Form of notice

RIGHT TO NOTICE WHERE PROCEEDING IN

REM OR QUASI IN REM
1. Stranger to a case not bound by any judgment thereon
2. Previous notice not always necessary
3. Presence of party not always essential
4. Formal hearing not always required
5. Party made admission in pleadings

OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD
6. Submission of additional proof unnecessary
7. Motion for reconsideration considered
8. Full-dress hearing would result in another protracted trial
9. Right to due process waived
10. Lack of due process cured

OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD
11. Motion to dismiss denied
12. Party not notified in advance of promulgation of decision as
required by the rules
13. Hearing before an officer, determination by another
14. Decision reviewed on appeal by the same officer who rendered the
same
15. Hearing required in case of indirect contempt

OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD
1. The conclusive presumption, for example, bars the admission of contrary evidence
as long as such presumption is based on human experience or there is a rational
connection between the fact proved and the act ultimately presumed therefrom.
2. There are instances when the need for expeditious action will justify omission of
these requisites, as in the summary abatement of a nuisance per se, like a mad dog
on the loose, which may be killed on sight because of the immediate danger it
poses to the safety and lives of the people.

EXCEPTIONS TO REQUIREMENTS OF NOTICE

AND HEARING
3. Pornographic materials, contaminated meat and narcotic drugs are inherently
pernicious and may be summarily destroyed.
4. The passport of a person sought for a criminal offense may be cancelled without
hearing, to compel his return to the country he has fled.
5. The immobilization of illegally parked vehicles by clamping the tires was
necessary because the transgressors were not around at the time of apprehension.
Under such circumstances, notice and hearing would be superfluous.

EXCEPTIONS TO REQUIREMENTS OF NOTICE

AND HEARING
6. Filthy restaurants may be summarily padlocked in the interest of the public
health and bawdy houses to protect the public morals.
7. Ex parte cease and desist orders are permitted by law and regulation to be
issued by and enforced by administrative agencies in the exercise of its
pervasive, sovereign power.
8. In attachment cases, the absence of notice or hearing is allowed on the
ground that the defendant might dispose of his property before a writ of
attachment is issued. As a matter of fact, a hearing would defeat the principle
of this provisional remedy.

EXCEPTIONS TO REQUIREMENTS OF NOTICE

AND HEARING
9. In applications for preliminary injunction, the requirement of notice
and hearing before injunction may issue has been relaxed to the point
that not all petitions for preliminary injunction must undergo trial-type
hearing.

EXCEPTIONS TO REQUIREMENTS OF NOTICE

AND HEARING
 There is no deprivation of due process where the employer becomes
ipso facto subsidiarily liable upon his employee (e.g. driver’s)
conviction and upon proof of the latter’s insolvency, in the same way
that acquittal wipes out not only the employee’s primary civil liability,
but also his employer’s subsidiary liability for criminal negligence.
 The application of the rule is merely the enforcement of a procedural
remedy designed to ease the burden of litigation for recovery or
indemnity by the victim of judicially declared criminal negligent act.
(Alvarez vs. CA, 158 SCRA 57 [1988].)

SUBSIDIARY LIABILITY OF EMPLOYER

 Statutory, not a natural right – The right to appeal to a higher court, or
from administrative agencies to the courts, is not a natural right nor
embraced in the right to be heard, except where it is granted by the
Constitution or by statute in which case it becomes demandable, and so
comes under the protection of the due process guarantee.
 Remedies available in lieu of appeal – The fact that a law does not
specifically provide for judicial review of decisions of an administrative
agency affirmed or reversed by the President, does not necessarily
preclude judicial review.

RIGHT TO APPEAL OF LOSING PARTY AS PART OF

DUE PROCESS
1. The right to a hearing which includes the right to present one’s case and
submit evidence in support thereof;
2. The tribunal must consider the evidence presented;
3. The decision must have something to support itself;
4. The evidence must be substantial, and “substantial evidence” means such
evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a
conclusion;

CARDINAL PRIMARY REQUIREMENTS OF DUE

PROCESS IN ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS.
5. The decision must be based on the evidence presented at hearing, or at
least contained in the record and disclosed to the parties affected;
6. The tribunal or body or any of its judges must act on its or on his own
independent consideration of the law and facts of the controversy, and
not simply accept the views of a subordinate ; and

CARDINAL PRIMARY REQUIREMENTS OF DUE

PROCESS IN ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS.
7. The board or body should, in all controversial questions, render its
decisions in such a manner that the parties to the proceeding can know
the various issues involved, and the reason for the decision rendered.

CARDINAL PRIMARY REQUIREMENTS OF DUE

PROCESS IN ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS.
DUE PROCESS IN ACADEMIC
INSTITUTIONS
 The rule now is that a school, after having accepted a student
for enrollment in a given course, may not expel him or
refuse to enroll him until he completes his course, except
when he is academically deficient or has violated rules of
discipline.

DURATION OF CONTRACTS OF SCHOOLS

WITH COLLEGE STUDENTS AND TEACHERS
1. Procedural due process not strictly observed. – Such proceedings
may be summary and cross-examination is not even an essential part
thereof.
2. Minimum standards to satisfy procedural due process – as cited in
ADMU vs. Capulong, 222 SCRA 706 [1986]:
a) The students must be informed in writing of the nature and cause of any
accusation against them;
b) They shall have the right to answer the charges against them, with the
assistance of counsel, if desired;
c) They shall be informed of the evidence against them;

DISCIPLINARY CASES INVOLVING STUDENTS

2. Minimum standards to satisfy procedural due process – as cited in ADMU vs.
Capulong, 222 SCRA 706 [1986]:
d) They shall be informed of the evidence against them;
e) They shall have the right to adduce evidence on their own behalf; and
f) The evidence must be duly considered by the investigating committee or official designated by
the school authorities to hear and decide the case.
3. Penalty to be imposed – must be proportionate to the offense committed.

DISCIPLINARY CASES INVOLVING STUDENTS

SUBSTANTIVE DUE PROCESS
 Due process is both a procedural and a substantive
guarantee. Viewed in its substantive aspect, due process of
law requires that the law in question affecting life, liberty,
or property be valid and is reasonable and not arbitrary in
its operation.

REQUIREMENT OF VALID LAW OR ACT

 Preliminary investigation is an inquiry or proceeding to determine
whether there is sufficient ground to engender a well-founded belief that
a crime has been committed and the respondent is probably guilty
thereof, and should be held for trial. It is thus merely inquisitorial to
determine whether there is a probable cause. The prosecutor does not
determine the guilt or innocence of the accused, but whether the offender
should be held for trial or be released.

RIGHT TO PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION AS

PART OF DUE PROCESS
1. Right purely statutory – The right to preliminary investigation before being bound
over to trial for an offense is also purely statutory, rather than constitutional, and
like the right to appeal, the law may validly prescribe limitations or qualifications
thereto.
2. Waiver of right – The rule is that the right to preliminary investigation is waived
when the accused fails to invoke it before or at the time of entering a plea at
arraignment. It is waived by the posting of bail but not where the accused claimed
also the right, and the arraignment and trial proceeded against his objection.

RIGHT TO PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION AS

PART OF DUE PROCESS
1. Existing law subject to amendment or repeal
2. Judicial doctrine subject to modification or reversal by
Supreme Court
3. Judicial relief not a right but a mere statutory privilege

NO VESTED PROPERTY RIGHT IN EXISTING LAW,

JUDICIAL DOCTRINE, OR JUDICIAL RELIEF
To justify the State in thus interposing its authority in behalf of the
public, in the exercise of police power, requires the concurrence of
a lawful subject or objective and a lawful method accomplishing
the goal.

REQUISITES TO JUSTIFY STATE’S

INTERFERENCE IN BEHALF OF THE PUBLIC
1. Requirement of public interest – First, that the interests of the public
generally, as distinguished from those of a particular class, require such
interference.
2. Requirement of reasonableness – Second, that the means are
reasonably necessary for the accomplishment of the purpose, and not
unduly oppressive upon individuals. This requirement implies that the
interference is neither arbitrary nor reasonable in its consequences.

REQUISITES TO JUSTIFY STATE’S

INTERFERENCE IN BEHALF OF THE PUBLIC