Evolution of Due Process Deprivation

"the general law, a law which hears before it condemns, To deprive is to take away forcibly, to prevent from
which proceeds upon inquiry and renders judgment only possessing, enjoying or using something. As applied to
after trial." due process, deprivation connotes denial of the right to
• the observance of the procedure laid down by the life, liberty or property.
law, regardless of its intrinsic validity. • Deprivation per se is not necessarily
due process of law in our country has a dual aspect: the unconstitutional. What is prohibited is deprivation of
substantive and the procedural. life, liberty or property without due process of law.
• A person's life may be validly claimed by the law, as
Meaning of Due Process when he is required to render services in defense of
“No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property the State or when it is declared forfeited for
without due process of law” commission of a heinous offense. On the other hand,
"responsiveness to the supremacy of reason, obedience there would be unlawful deprivation if he were
to the dictates of justice." sentenced to death for conviction of a petty offense
as the disparity between crime and punishment
a precise definition of due process might prove would make the law unreasonable.
constricting and prevent the judiciary from adjusting it to
the circumstances of particular cases and to the ever- Life
changing conditions of society. Life as understood under the due process clause
Due process therefore continues to be dynamic and connotes in the first place the integrity of the physical
resilient, adaptable to every situation calling for its person. The meaning is that it is not permissible for the
application. The very elasticity of the provision makes this government to deprive the individual of any part of his
possible and thus enlarges the rights of the individual to body, and this is true even if it be as punishment for
his life, liberty and property. crime.
• The right of reproduction and the resultant savoring
Due process is a guaranty against any arbitrariness on of the joys of parenthood, are part of the life
the part of the government, whether committed by the vouchsafed to the individual under due process of
legislature, the executive, or the judiciary. law.

Violations of Due Process: Liberty

• unreasonably deprives a person of his life or his "liberty is the freedom to do right and never wrong."
liberty or his property
• enjoyment of his rights is conditioned on an Liberty, as guaranteed under the due process clause, is
unreason able requirement not unbridled license; it is liberty regulated by law. A
• Unjustified withholding of rights person is free to act but he may exercise his rights only in
• Any government act that militates against the such manner as not to injure the rights of others.
ordinary norms of justice or fair play • the individual, as a creature of society, should be
prepared to surrender part of his freedom for the
Person benefit of the greater number in recognition of the
The due process clause protects all persons, natural as time honored principle of "salus populi est suprema
well as artificial. Natural persons include both the citizen lex."
and the alien. • Subject only to the reasonable restrictions of the law,
Artificial persons like corporations and partnerships are a person is free to do as he pleases.
also covered by the protection but only insofar as their • do anything that does not offend the public welfare
property is concerned.
Property 2. jurisdiction must be lawfully acquired over the
Property is anything that can come under the right of person of the defendant and over the property which
ownership and be the subject of contract. This will is the subject matter of the proceeding
include all things—real, personal, tangible and 3. the defendant must be given an opportunity to be
intangible—that are within the commerce of man, like heard
lands, jewelry, automobiles, buildings, goodwill, 4. judgment must be rendered upon lawful hearing
inheritance, intellectual creations, future earnings, works
of art, animals, mort gages, insurance proceeds, etc. A. Impartial and Competent Court
• one cannot have a vested right to a public office, as A court affected by bias or prejudice cannot be expected
this is not regarded as property. If created by statute, to render a fair and impartial decision. Every litigant is
it may be abolished by the legislature at any time, entitled to the cold neutrality of an impartial judge.
even if the term of the incumbent therein has not yet
expired. Disqualification of judges is provided for under Rule 137
• It has also been held that mere privileges, such as a of the Rules of Court as follows:
license to operate a cockpit or a liquor store are not
property rights and are therefore revocable at will No judge or judicial officer shall sit in any case in which
he or his wife or child is pecuniarily interested as heir,
Substantive Due Process legatee, creditor, or otherwise, or in which he is related
Substantive due process requires the intrinsic validity of to either party within the sixth degree of consanguinity
the law in interfering with the rights of the person to his or affinity, or to counsel within the fourth degree,
life, liberty or property. computed according to the rules of the civil law, or in
• The inquiry in this regard is not whether or not the which he has been executor, administrator, guardian,
law is being enforced in accordance with the trustee or counsel, or in which he has presided in any
prescribed manner but whether or not, to begin inferior court when his ruling or decision is the subject of
with, it is a proper exercise of legislative power. review, without the written consent of all parties in
• the law must have a valid governmental objective, interest, signed by them and entered upon the record.
i.e., the interests of the public generally as
distinguished from those of a particular class require B. Jurisdiction
the intervention of the State. • In actions in personam, such as a complaint for
• this objective must be pursued in a lawful manner, or, recovery of a loan, jurisdiction over the defendant is
in other words, the means employed must be acquired by the court by his voluntary appearance or
reasonably related to the accomplishment of the through service of summons upon him.
purpose and not unduly oppressive. • In actions in rem or quasi in rem such as land
registration proceedings or the foreclosure of a real
Procedural Due Process estate mortgage, the jurisdiction of the court is
the one "which hears before it condemns, which derived from the power it may exercise over the
proceeds upon inquiry and renders judgment only after property. Jurisdiction over the person is not
trial." essential, provided the relief granted by the court is
"the twin requirements of notice and hearing constitute limited to such as can be enforced against the
the essential elements of due process and neither of property itself.
these elements can be eliminated without running afoul
of the constitutional guaranty." The reason is that property is always presumed to be in
the possession of the owner or his agent, who may be
Judicial Due Process safely held under certain conditions to know that
Requirements: proceedings have been instituted against it.
1. there must be an impartial court or tribunal clothed
with judicial power to hear and determine the matter
before it
C. Hearing there are cases in which the essential requisites of notice
Notice to a party is essential to enable it to adduce its and hearing may be omitted without violation of due
own evidence and to meet and refute the evidence process. Among these are the cancellation of the
submit ted by the other party. Every litigant is entitled to passport of a person sought for the commission of a
his day in court. He has a right to be notified of every crime, the preventive suspension of a civil servant facing
incident of the proceeding and to be present at every administrative charges, the distraint of properties for tax
stage thereof so that he may be heard by himself and delinquency, the padlocking of restaurants found to be
counsel for the protection of his interests. insanitary or of theaters showing obscene movies, and
• decisions rendered without a hearing is null and void the abatement of nuisances per se.
ab initio and may be attacked directly or collaterally.
• Due process as a constitutional precept does not, a) Nuisances
always and in all situations, require trial-type • A nuisance per se is objectionable under any and all
proceedings. The essence of due process is to be circumstances because it presents an immediate
found in the reasonable opportunity to be heard and danger to the welfare of the community. This kind of
to submit any evidence one may have in support of nuisance may be abated summarily, that is, without
one's defense. the necessity of judicial authorization. The classic
• the right of confrontation does not necessarily mean example is that of a mad dog running loose, which
a physical face-to-face confrontation of the can be killed on sight, regardless of its value, because
adversaries in the court. The right of confrontation of the threat it poses to the safety and lives of the
merely means the right to be given an opportunity to people.
cross-examine and this right of course can be done • A nuisance per accidens is objectionable only under
through the parties' counsel some but not all circumstances, there being
situations when it is perfectly legitimate and
1) Appeal acceptable. It has been described as "the right thing
The right to appeal is not essential to the right to a in the wrong place," like a patis factory in a
hearing. Except when guaranteed by the Constitution, residential area. The rule is that it may be abated only
appeal may be allowed or denied by the legislature in its upon judicial authorization as it is difficult to
discretion. The requirements of due process are deemed ascertain or identify this kind of nuisance.
satisfied as long as the litigant is given his day in court at
the trial of his case, and he cannot demand as a matter b) Presumptions
of right another day in the appellate court. A statutory presumption does not deny the right to a
• But as long as the law allows him to appeal, denial of hearing, nor does it violate due process, even if it
that remedy is a denial of due process precludes a person from rebutting it, provided that there
is a rational or natural connection between the fact
Appealable cases: proved and the fact ultimately presumed from such fact
➢ All cases in which the constitutionality or validity of
any treaty, international or executive agreement, law, D. Judgment
presidential decree, proclamation, order, instruction, "no decision shall be rendered by any court without
ordinance, or regulation is in question. expressing therein clearly and distinctly the facts and the
➢ All cases involving the legality of any tax, impost, law on which it is based."
assessment, or toll, or any penalty imposed in • due process requires that the judgment be based
relation thereto. upon the lawful hearing previously conducted.
➢ All cases in which the jurisdiction of any lower court
is in issue.
➢ All criminal cases in which the penalty imposed is
reclusion perpetua or higher.
➢ All cases in which only an error or question of law is
involved. (2) Administrative Due Process
2) Exceptions
In administrative proceedings, the requisites of Persons Protected
procedural due process are the following: The equal protection clause is available to all persons,
1. The right to a hearing, which includes the right to natural as well as juridical. Artificial persons, however,
present one's case and submit evidence in support are entitled to the protection only insofar as their
thereof. property is concerned.
2. The tribunal must consider the evidence presented. • certain rights are enjoyable only by citizens, such as
3. The decision must have something to support itself. the rights to vote, hold public office, exploit natural
4. The evidence must be substantial. resources, and operate public utilities
5. The decision must be rendered on the evidence
presented at the hearing, or at least contained in the Classification
record and disclosed to the parties affected. The equal protection clause does not require the
6. The tribunal or body or any of its judges must act on universal application of the laws, that is, that it operate
its or his own independent consideration of the law on all the people without distinction.
and facts of the controversy and not simply accept • The law, in other words, is not required to provide for
the views of a subordinate in arriving at a decision. equality among all persons if they are not similarly
7. The board or body should, in all controversial situated. What the Constitution requires is equality
questions, render its decision in such a manner that among equals.
the parties to the proceeding can know the various • the legislature is allowed to classify the subjects of
issues in volved, and the reason for the decision legislation. If the classification is reasonable, the law
rendered. may operate only on some and not all of the people
without violating the equal protection clause.
EQUAL PROTECTION • Classification has been defined as the grouping of
persons or things similar to each other in certain
• embraced in the concept of due process, as every particulars and different from all others in these
unfair discrimination offends the requirements of same particulars.
justice and fair play.
• Arbitrariness in general may be challenged on the (1) Requirements
basis of the due process clause. But if the particular The classification must, as an indispensable requisite, not
act assailed partakes of an unwarranted partiality or be arbitrary. And this classification, to be reasonable,
prejudice, the sharper weapon to cut it down is the must conform to the following requirements:
equal protection clause. 1. It must be based upon substantial distinctions
• also couched in indefinite language. This is because 2. It must be germane to the purposes of the law.
the guaranty is also dynamic. 3. It must not be limited to existing conditions only.
4. It must apply equally to all members of the class.
Definition
all persons or things similarly situated must be similarly A. Substantial Distinctions
treated both as to rights conferred and responsibilities Superficial differences do not make for a valid
imposed. classification. The distinction, to be valid, must be
• Similar subjects, in other words, should not be substantial.
treated differently, so as to give un due favor to some • A recognized distinction between citizens and aliens
and unjustly discriminate against others. is that the former have more solicitude for the
• substantive equality is not enough. It is also required national interest than the latter, whose allegiance to
that the law be enforced and applied equally. the local state is merely transient.
• even if the law be fair and impartial on its face, it will
still violate equal protection if it is administered "with B. Relevance to Purpose of Law
an evil eye and an uneven hand," so as to unjustly The classification, even if based on substantial
benefit some and prejudice others. distinctions, will still be invalid if it is not germane to the
purpose of the law
• the accepted difference in physical stamina between
men and women will justify the prohibition of the
latter from employment as miners or stevedores or
in other heavy or strenuous work.

C. Duration
the classification must be enforced not only for the
present but as long as the problem sought to be
corrected continues to exist.
• prohibited members of the non-Christian tribes from
drinking foreign liquor, on the ground that their low
degree of culture and their unfamiliarity with this
kind of drink rendered them more susceptible to its
effects as compared to their more civilized
countrymen who were less affected by it.

D. Applicability to All
The classification will be regarded as invalid if all the
members of the class are not similarly treated, both as to
rights conferred and obligations imposed. It is not
necessary that the classification be made with absolute
symmetry, in the sense that the members of the class
should possess the same characteristics in equal degree.
Substantial similarity will suffice
• a sterile woman would still be entitled to the benefits
of a law protecting the reproductive functions of her
sex, such as one prohibiting women from work
requiring them to be continuously on their feet. Her
inability to bear children does not make her any less
a woman.