National And Individual Rights

Article 6

The following are Filipinos:

• All persons born in the Philippine territory. A vessel of Philippine registry is considered, for this purpose, as part of Philippine territory.
• Children of a Filipino father or mother, although born outside of the Philippines.
• Foreigners who have obtained certification of naturalization.
• Those who, without such certificate, have acquired a domicile in any town within Philippine territory.

Domicile is acquired by uninterrupted residence for two years in any locality within Philippine territory, with an open abode and known occupation, and contributing to all the taxes imposed by the Nation.

The condition of being a Filipino is lost in accordance with law.

Article 7

No Filipino or foreigner shall be detained nor imprisoned except for the commission of a crime and in accordance with law.

Article 8

All persons detained shall be discharged or delivered to the judicial authority within 24 hours following the act of detention. All detentions shall be without legal effect, unless the arrested person is duly prosecuted within 72 hours after delivery to a competent court. The accused shall be duly notified of such proceeding within the same period.

Article 9

No Filipino shall be imprisoned except by virtue of an order by a competent court. The order of imprisonment shall be ratified or confirmed within 72 hours following the said order, after the accused has been heard.

Article 10

No one shall enter the dwelling house of any Filipino or a foreigner residing in the Philippines without his consent except in urgent cases of fire, inundation, earthquake or similar dangers, or by reason of unlawful aggression from within, or in order to assist a person therein who cries for help.

Outside of these cases, the entry into the dwelling house of any Filipino or foreign resident in the Philippines or the search of his papers and effects can only be decreed by a competent court and executed only in the daytime.

The search of papers and effects shall be made always in the presence of the person searched or of a member of his family and, in their absence, of two witnesses resident of the same place.

However, when a criminal caught in fraganti should take refuge in his dwelling house, the authorities in pursuit may enter into it, only for the purpose of making an arrest. If a criminal should take refuge in the dwelling house of a foreigner, the consent of a latter must first be obtained.

Article 11: Change of Residence

No Filipino shall be compelled to change his residence or domicile except by virtue of a final judgment.

Article 12: Mails

Post office mails and electronic messages cannot be detained or opened by government authorities unless it is authorized by a competent court, and in the presence of the sender..

Article 13: Illegal Search or Detention

The following orders must be justified:

• imprisonment
• search of a dwelling house
• detention of messages

When an order lacks this requisite, or when the grounds on which the act was founded is proven in court to be unlawful or manifestly insufficient, the person to be detained or whose imprisonment has not been ratified within the period prescribed in Art. 9, or whose correspondence has been detained, shall have the right to recover damages.

Article 14: Due Process

Only a judge or court of proper jurisdiction, according to legal procedures, can prosecuted or sentence Filipinos

Article 15: Imprisonment

Exept in the cases provided by the Constitution, all persons detained or imprisoned not in accordance with legal formalities shall be released upon his own petition or upon petition of another person.

The law shall determine the manner of proceeding summarily in this instance, as well as the personal and pecuniary penalties which shall be imposed upon the person who ordered, executed or to be executed the illegal detention or imprisonment.

Article 16

No one shall be temporarily or permanently deprived of rights except by virtue of judicial sentence.

The officials who violates this provision shall be personally liable for the damages caused.

Article 17

No one shall be deprived of his property by expropriation except on grounds of public necessity and benefit, previously declared and justified by proper authorities.

The owner should be indemnified prior to expropriation.