Political Law Case Digest

BLAS F. OPLE, petitioner, vs. RUBEN D.
TORRES,
ALEXANDER AGUIRRE, HECTOR VILLANUEVA, CIELITO
HABITO, ROBERT BARBERS, CARMENCITA REODICA,
CESAR SARINO, RENATO VALENCIA, TOMAS P. AFRICA,
HEAD OF THE NATIONAL COMPUTER CENTER and
CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMISSION ON AUDIT, respondents.
G.R. No. 127685 | July 23, 1998 (EB)
Facts:
Petitioner
Ople
prays
that
we
invalidate
Administrative Order No. 308 entitled "Adoption of a
National Computerized Identification Reference
System" on two important constitutional grounds,
viz: one, it is a usurpation of the power of Congress
to legislate, and two, it impermissibly intrudes on our
citizenry's protected zone of privacy.
He alleges that A.O. No. 308 establishes a system of
identification that is all-encompassing in scope,
affects the life and liberty of every Filipino citizen and
foreign resident, and more particularly, violates their
right to privacy.
Issue: Whether or not the right to privacy is a fundamental

right guaranteed by the Constitution
Held: Yes
The essence of privacy is the "right to be let

alone."
Griswold v. Connecticut gave more substance to the

right of privacy when it ruled that the right has a
constitutional foundation.
Morfe v. Mutuc adopted the Griswold ruling that there

is a constitutional right to privacy.
o
The Griswold case invalidated a Connecticut
statute
which
made
the
use
of
contraceptives a criminal offence on the
ground
of
its
amounting
to
an
unconstitutional invasion of the right of
privacy of married persons; rightfully it
stressed "a relationship lying within the
zone of privacy created by several
fundamental constitutional guarantees." It
has
wider
implications
though.
The
constitutional right to privacy has come into
its own.
So it is likewise in our jurisdiction. The right

to privacy as such is accorded recognition
independently of its identification with
liberty; in itself, it is fully deserving of
constitutional protection.
Indeed, if we extend our judicial gaze we will
find that the right of privacy is recognized and
enshrined in several provisions of our
Constitution. It is expressly recognized in section 3
(1) of the Bill of Rights:
Sec. 3. (1) The privacy of communication and
correspondence shall be inviolable except upon
lawful order of the court, or when public safety or
order requires otherwise as prescribed by law.
Other facets of the right to privacy are protectad in

various provisions of the Bill of Rights, viz:
Sec. 1. 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.
Sec. 2. The right of the people to be secure in their
persons, houses papers, and effects against
unreasonable searches and seizures of whatever
nature and for any purpose shall be inviolable, and
no search warrant or warrant of arrest shall issue
except upon probable cause to be determined
personally by the judge after examination under oath
or affirmation of the complainant and the witnesses

he may produce, and particularly describing the
place to be searched and the persons or things to be
seized.
Sec. 6. The liberty of abode and of changing the
same within the limits prescribed by law shall not be
impaired except upon lawful order of the court.
Neither shall the right to travel be impaired except in
the interest of national security, public safety, or
public health as may be provided by law.
Sec. 8. The right of the people, including those
employed in the public and private sectors, to form
unions, associations, or societies for purposes not
contrary to law shall not be abridged.
Sec. 17. No person shall be compelled to be a

witness against himself.
Zones of privacy are likewise recognized and
protected in our laws.
o
The Civil Code provides that "every person
shall respect the dignity, personality,
privacy and peace of mind of his neighbors
and other persons" and punishes as
actionable torts several acts by a person of
meddling and prying into the privacy of
another.
o
It also holds a public officer or employee or
any private individual liable for damages for
any violation of the rights and liberties of
another person, and recognizes the privacy
of letters and other private communications.
o
The Revised Penal Code makes a crime the
violation of secrets by an officer, the
revelation of trade and industrial secrets,
and trespass to dwelling.
Invasion of
privacy is an offense in special laws like the
Anti-Wiretapping Law, the Secrecy of Bank
Deposits Act and the Intellectual Property
Code.
o
The
Rules
of
Court
on
privileged
communication likewise recognize the
privacy of certain information
Issue:
Whether or not A.O. No. 308 violates the right to
privacy
Who then has the burden of proof?
Held: YES. The Government.
Unlike the dissenters, we prescind from the premise

that the right to privacy is a fundamental right
guaranteed by the Constitution, hence, it is the
burden of government to show that A.O. No. 308
is:
o
justified by some compelling state
interest and
o
that it is narrowly drawn.
A.O. No. 308 is predicated on two considerations: (1)

the need to provides our citizens and foreigners with
the facility to conveniently transact business with
basic service and social security providers and other
government instrumentalities and (2) the need to
reduce,
if
not
totally
eradicate,
fraudulent
transactions and misrepresentations by persons
seeking basic services. It is debatable whether these
interests are compelling enough to warrant the
issuance of A.O. No. 308.
o
But what is not arguable is the broadness,
the vagueness, the overbreadth of A.O. No.
308 which if implemented will put our
people's right to privacy in clear and present
danger.
The heart of A.O. No. 308 lies in its Section 4 which

provides for a Population Reference Number (PRN) as
a "common reference number to establish a linkage
Case Digests on Remedial Law Review I under Atty. Henedino M. Brondial

RIVAD, SHERINE L | AUSL, 2nd SEM AY 2015-2016
among concerned agencies" through the use of

"Biometrics Technology" and "computer application
designs."
It is plain and we hold that A.O. No. 308 falls short of
assuring that personal information which will be
gathered about our people will only be processed for
unequivocally specified purposes.
o
The lack of proper safeguards in this regard
of A.O. No. 308 may interfere with the
individual's liberty of abode and travel by
enabling authorities to track down his
movement; it may also enable unscrupulous
persons to access confidential information
and circumvent the right against selfincrimination; it may pave the way for
"fishing
expeditions"
by
government
authorities and evade the right against
unreasonable searches and seizures. The
possibilities of abuse and misuse of the PRN,
biometrics and computer technology are
accentuated when we consider that the
individual lacks control over what can be
read or placed on his ID, much less verify
the correctness of the data encoded. They
threaten the very abuses that the Bill of
Rights seeks to prevent.
Issue: Whether or not the presumption of regularity can be

applied in the implementation of AO 308
Held: No
The Solicitor General urges us to validate A.O. No.

308's abridgment of the right of privacy by using the
rational relationship test.
o
He stressed that the purposes of A.O. No.
308 are: (1) to streamline and speed up the
implementation
of
basic
government
services, (2) eradicate fraud by avoiding
duplication of services, and (3) generate
population data for development planning.
o
He concludes that these purposes justify the
incursions into the right to privacy for the
means are rationally related to the end.
We are not impressed by the argument.

o
In Morfe v. Mutuc, we upheld the
constitutionality of R.A. 3019, the Anti-Graft
and Corrupt Practices Act, as a valid police
power measure. We declared that the law,
in compelling a public officer to make an
annual report disclosing his assets and
liabilities, his sources of income and
expenses, did not infringe on the
individual's right to privacy. The law was
enacted to promote morality in public
administration by curtailing and minimizing
the opportunities for official corruption and
maintaining a standard of honesty in the
public service.
The same circumstances do not obtain in the case at

bar.
o
For one, R.A. 3019 is a statute, not an
administrative order.
o
Secondly, R.A. 3019 itself is sufficiently
detailed. The law is clear on what practices
were prohibited and penalized, and it was
narrowly drawn to avoid abuses.
o
In the case at bar, A.O. No. 308 may have
been impelled by a worthy purpose, but, it
cannot pass constitutional scrutiny for it is
not narrowly drawn. And we now hold that
when the integrity of a fundamental
right is at stake, this court will give the
challenged law, administrative order,
rule or regulation a stricter scrutiny. It
will not do for the authorities to invoke
the presumption of regularity in the
performance of official duties. Nor is it

enough for the authorities to prove
that their act is not irrational for a
basic right can be diminished, if not
defeated, even when the government
does not act irrationally. They must
satisfactorily show the presence of
compelling state interests and that the
law, rule or regulation is narrowly
drawn
to
preclude
abuses.
This
approach is demanded by the 1987
Constitution whose entire matrix is
designed to protect human rights and
to prevent authoritarianism. In case of
doubt, the least we can do is to lean
towards the stance that will not put in
danger the rights protected by the
Constitutions.
In no uncertain terms, we also underscore that the
right to privacy does not bar all incursions into
individual privacy. The right is not intended to
stifle
scientific
and
technological
advancements that enhance public service and
the common good. It merely requires that the
law be narrowly focused and a compelling
interest justifies such intrusions. Intrusions into
the right must be accompanied by proper safeguards
and
well-defined
standards
to
prevent
unconstitutional invasions. We reiterate that any law
or order that invades individual privacy will be
subjected by this Court to strict scrutiny. The reason
for this stance was laid down in Morfe v. Mutuc, to
wit:
The concept of limited government has always
included the idea that governmental powers stop
short of certain intrusions into the personal life of the
citizen. This is indeed one of the basic disctinctions
between absolute and limited government. Ultimate
and pervasive control of the individual, in all aspects
of his life, is the hallmark of the absolute state. In
contrast, a system of limited government safeguards
a private sector, which belongs to the individual,
firmly distinguishing it from the public sector, which
the state can control. Protection of this private sector
protection, in other words, of the dignity and
integrity of the individual has become increasingly
important as modern society has developed. All the
forces of a technological age industrialization,
urbanization, and organization operate to narrow
the area of privacy and facilitate intrusion into it. In
modern terms, the capacity to maintain and support
this enclave of private life marks the difference
between a democratic and a totalitarian society.
The right to privacy is one of the most threatened
rights of man living in a mass society. The threats
emanate from various sources governments,
journalists, employers, social scientists, etc.
o
In the case at bar, the threat comes from
the executive branch of government which
by issuing A.O. No. 308 pressures the people
to surrender their privacy by giving
information about themselves on the pretext
that it will facilitate delivery of basic
services.
o
Given the record-keeping power of the
computer, only the indifferent fail to
perceive the danger that A.O. No. 308 gives
the government the power to compile a
devastating dossier against unsuspecting
citizens. It is timely to take note of the wellworded warning of Kalvin, Jr., "the disturbing
result could be that everyone will live
burdened by an unerasable record of his
past and his limitations. In a way, the threat
is that because of its record-keeping, the

society will have lost its benign capacity to

forget." Oblivious to this counsel, the
dissents still say we should not be too quick
in labelling the right to privacy as a
fundamental right. We close with the
statement that the right to privacy was not
engraved in our Constitution for flattery.
SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE ENGAGEMENT NETWORK, INC.,
on behalf of the South-South Network (SSN) for Non-State
Armed Group Engagement, and ATTY. SOLIMAN M. SANTOS,
JR., Petitioners, vs. ANTI-TERRORISM COUNCIL, THE
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY, THE SECRETARY OF JUSTICE,
THE SECRETARY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, THE SECRETARY
OF NATIONAL DEFENSE, THE SECRETARY OF THE
INTERIOR AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT, THE SECRETARY
OF FINANCE, THE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER, THE
CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE
PHILIPPINES, AND THE CHIEF OF THE PHILIPPINE
NATIONAL POLICE, Respondents.
G.R. No. 178552 | October 5, 2010 (EB)
Facts:
Before the Court are six petitions challenging the

constitutionality of Republic Act No. 9372 (RA 9372),
"An Act to Secure the State and Protect our People
from Terrorism," otherwise known as the Human
Security Act of 2007, signed into law on March 6,
2007.
Petitioners assail for being intrinsically vague and
impermissibly broad the definition of the crime of
terrorism46 under RA 9372 in that terms like
"widespread and extraordinary fear and panic among
the populace" and "coerce the government to give in
to an unlawful demand" are nebulous, leaving law
enforcement agencies with no standard to measure
the prohibited acts.
Respondents, through the OSG, counter that the
doctrines of void-for-vagueness and overbreadth find
no application in the present case since these
doctrines apply only to free speech cases; and that
RA 9372 regulates conduct, not speech.
Issue: Whether or not the doctrines of void-for-vagueness and

overbreadth are applicable in invalidating RA 9372
Held: No
Respondents interpret recent jurisprudence as

slanting toward the idea of limiting the application of
the two doctrines to free speech cases. They
particularly cite Romualdez v. Hon. Sandiganbayan
and Estrada v. Sandiganbayan.
At issue in Romualdez v. Sandiganbayan was whether

the word "intervene" in Section 5 of the Anti-Graft
and Corrupt Practices Act was intrinsically vague and
impermissibly broad. The Court stated that "the
overbreadth and the vagueness doctrines have
special application only to free-speech cases," and
are "not appropriate for testing the validity of penal
statutes." It added that, at any rate, the challenged
provision, under which the therein petitioner was
charged, is not vague.
While in the subsequent case of Romualdez v.

Commission on Elections, the Court stated that a
facial invalidation of criminal statutes is not
appropriate, it nonetheless proceeded to conduct a
vagueness analysis, and concluded that the therein
subject
election
offense
under
the
Voters
Registration Act of 1996, with which the therein
petitioners were charged, is couched in precise
language.
The position taken by Justice Mendoza in Estrada

relates these two doctrines to the concept of a
"facial" invalidation as opposed to an "as-applied"
challenge. He basically postulated that allegations
that a penal statute is vague and overbroad do not

justify a facial review of its validity.
o
A facial challenge is allowed to be
made to a vague statute and to one
which is overbroad because of possible
"chilling effect" upon protected speech.
The theory is that "when statutes

regulate or proscribe speech and
no readily apparent construction
suggests itself as a vehicle for
rehabilitating the statutes in a
single
prosecution,
the
transcendent value to all society of
constitutionally
protected
expression is deemed to justify
allowing attacks on overly broad
statutes with no requirement that
the person making the attack
demonstrate that his own conduct
could not be regulated by a statute
drawn with narrow specificity." The
possible harm to society in
permitting
some
unprotected
speech to go unpunished is
outweighed by the possibility that
the protected speech of others may
be
deterred
and
perceived
grievances left to fester because of
possible inhibitory effects of overly
broad statutes.
o
This rationale does not apply to penal
statutes.
Criminal
statutes
have
general in terrorem effect resulting
from their very existence, and, if facial
challenge is allowed for this reason
alone, the State may well be prevented
from enacting laws against socially
harmful conduct. In the area of criminal
law, the law cannot take chances as in the
area of free speech.
o
The
overbreadth
and
vagueness
doctrines then have special application
only to free speech cases. They are
inapt for testing the validity of penal
statutes.
o
In sum, the doctrines of strict scrutiny,
overbreadth,
and
vagueness
are
analytical tools developed for testing
"on their faces" statutes in free speech
cases or, as they are called in American
law, First Amendment cases. They cannot
be made to do service when what is
involved is a criminal statute.
With respect to such statute, the

established rule is that "one to
whom application of a statute is
constitutional will not be heard to
attack the statute on the ground
that impliedly it might also be
taken as applying to other persons
or other situations in which its
application
might
be
unconstitutional." As has been
pointed out, "vagueness challenges
in the First Amendment context,
like
overbreadth
challenges
typically
produce
facial
invalidation, while statutes found
vague as a matter of due process
typically are invalidated [only] 'as
applied' to a particular defendant."
Consequently, there is no basis for
petitioner's claim that this Court
review the Anti-Plunder Law on its
face and in its entirety.

For these reasons, "on its face" invalidation

of statutes has been described as
"manifestly
strong
medicine,"
to
be
employed "sparingly and only as a last
resort," and is generally disfavored. In
determining the constitutionality of a
statute, therefore, its provisions which
are alleged to have been violated in a
case must be examined in the light of
the conduct with which the defendant
is charged.
The confusion apparently stems from the interlocking

relation of the overbreadth and vagueness doctrines
as grounds for a facial or as-applied challenge
against a penal statute (under a claim of violation of
due process of law) or a speech regulation (under a
claim of abridgement of the freedom of speech and
cognate rights).
To be sure, the doctrine of vagueness and the

doctrine of overbreadth do not operate on the
same plane.
o
A statute or act suffers from the defect
of
vagueness
when
it
lacks
comprehensible standards that men of
common intelligence must necessarily
guess at its meaning and differ as to
its application. It is repugnant to the
Constitution in two respects: (1) it violates
due process for failure to accord persons,
especially the parties targeted by it, fair
notice of the conduct to avoid; and (2) it
leaves law enforcers unbridled discretion in
carrying out its provisions and becomes an
arbitrary flexing of the Government muscle.
The overbreadth doctrine, meanwhile,
decrees that a governmental purpose
to
control
or
prevent
activities
constitutionally
subject
to
state
regulations may not be achieved by
means which sweep unnecessarily
broadly and thereby invade the area of
protected freedoms.
o
As distinguished from the vagueness
doctrine, the overbreadth doctrine assumes
that individuals will understand what a
statute prohibits and will accordingly refrain
from that behavior, even though some of it
is protected
A "facial" challenge is likewise different from
an "as-applied" challenge.
o
Distinguished
from
an
as-applied
challenge which considers only extant
facts affecting real litigants, a facial
invalidation is an examination of the
entire law, pinpointing its flaws and
defects, not only on the basis of its
actual operation to the parties, but
also on the assumption or prediction
that its very existence may cause
others not before the court to refrain
from constitutionally protected speech
or activities.
Justice Mendoza accurately phrased the subtitle in

his concurring opinion that the vagueness and
overbreadth doctrines, as grounds for a facial
challenge, are not applicable to penal laws. A litigant
cannot thus successfully mount a facial challenge
against a criminal statute on either vagueness or
overbreadth grounds.
The rule established in our jurisdiction is, only

statutes on free speech, religious freedom, and other
fundamental rights may be facially challenged. Under
no case may ordinary penal statutes be subjected to
a facial challenge. The rationale is obvious. If a facial
challenge to a penal statute is permitted, the
prosecution of crimes may be hampered. No
o
prosecution would be possible. A strong criticism

against employing a facial challenge in the case of
penal statutes, if the same is allowed, would
effectively go against the grain of the doctrinal
requirement of an existing and concrete controversy
before judicial power may be appropriately exercised.
A facial challenge against a penal statute is, at best,
amorphous and speculative. It would, essentially,
force the court to consider third parties who are not
before it. As I have said in my opposition to the
allowance of a facial challenge to attack penal
statutes, such a test will impair the States ability to
deal with crime. If warranted, there would be nothing
that can hinder an accused from defeating the
States power to prosecute on a mere showing that,
as applied to third parties, the penal statute is vague
or overbroad, notwithstanding that the law is clear as
applied to him.
It is settled, on the other hand, that the application of
the overbreadth doctrine is limited to a facial kind of
challenge and, owing to the given rationale of a facial
challenge, applicable only to free speech cases.
o
By its nature, the overbreadth doctrine has
to necessarily apply a facial type of
invalidation in order to plot areas of
protected speech, inevitably almost always
under situations not before the court, that
are impermissibly swept by the substantially
overbroad regulation. Otherwise stated, a
statute cannot be properly analyzed for
being substantially overbroad if the court
confines itself only to facts as applied to the
litigants.
Since a penal statute may only be assailed for
being vague as applied to petitioners, a limited
vagueness analysis of the definition of
"terrorism" in RA 9372 is legally impermissible
absent an actual or imminent charge against
them.
o
While Estrada did not apply the overbreadth
doctrine, it did not preclude the operation of
the vagueness test on the Anti-Plunder Law
as applied to the therein petitioner, finding,
however, that there was no basis to review
the law "on its face and in its entirety." It
stressed that "statutes found vague as a
matter of due process typically are
invalidated only 'as applied' to a particular
defendant."
There is no merit in the claim that RA 9372 regulates
speech so as to permit a facial analysis of its validity
o
From the definition of the crime of terrorism
in the earlier cited Section 3 of RA 9372, the
following elements may be culled: (1) the
offender commits an act punishable under
any of the cited provisions of the Revised
Penal Code, or under any of the enumerated
special penal laws; (2) the commission of
the predicate crime sows and creates a
condition of widespread and extraordinary
fear and panic among the populace; and (3)
the offender is actuated by the desire to
coerce the government to give in to an
unlawful demand.
o
In insisting on a facial challenge on the
invocation that the law penalizes speech,
petitioners contend that the element of
"unlawful demand" in the definition of
terrorism must necessarily be transmitted
through some form of expression protected
by the free speech clause.
o
The argument does not persuade. What the
law seeks to penalize is conduct, not
speech.
o
Before a charge for terrorism may be filed
under RA 9372, there must first be a

predicate crime actually committed to

trigger the operation of the key qualifying
phrases in the other elements of the crime,
including the coercion of the government to
accede to an "unlawful demand." Given the
presence of the first element, any attempt
at singling out or highlighting the
communicative
component
of
the
prohibition
cannot
recategorize
the
unprotected conduct into a protected
speech.
o
It is true that the agreements and course of
conduct here were as in most instances
brought about through speaking or writing.
But it has never been deemed an
abridgement of freedom of speech or
press to make a course of conduct
illegal merely because the conduct
was, in part, initiated, evidenced, or
carried out by means of language,
either spoken, written, or printed. Such
an expansive interpretation of the
constitutional guaranties of speech and
press
would
make
it
practically
impossible ever to enforce laws against
agreements in restraint of trade as
well as many other agreements and
conspiracies
deemed
injurious
to
society.
Certain kinds of speech have been treated as
unprotected conduct, because they merely
evidence a prohibited conduct. Since speech is
not involved here, the Court cannot heed the
call for a facial analysis.
JOSE JESUS M. DISINI, JR., ROWENA S. DISINI, LIANNE

IVY P. MEDINA, JANETTE TORAL and ERNESTO SONIDO,
JR., Petitioners, vs. THE SECRETARY OF JUSTICE, THE
SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
OF
THE
INFORMATION
AND
COMMUNICATIONS
TECHNOLOGY OFFICE, THE CHIEF OF THE PHILIPPINE
NATIONAL POLICE and THE DIRECTOR OF THE
NATIONAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, Respondents.
G.R. No. 203335 | February 11, 2014 (EB)
Facts:
These consolidated petitions seek to declare several

provisions of Republic Act (R.A.) 10175, the
Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, unconstitutional
and void.
Relevant provisions of the cybercrime law that are
assailed by petitioners:
o
Section 4(b)(3) on Identity Theft
o
Section 12 on Real-Time Collection of Traffic
Data
o
Section 13 on Preservation of Computer
Data
o
Section 19 on Restricting or Blocking Access
to Computer Data
Issue: Whether
unconstitutional
or
not
Sec.
4(b)(3)
of
RA
10175
is
Held: No
Section 4(b)(3) provides:

Section 4. Cybercrime Offenses. The following acts
constitute the offense of cybercrime punishable
under this Act: xxx
b) Computer-related Offenses: xxx
(3) Computer-related Identity Theft. The
intentional acquisition, use, misuse, transfer,
possession, alteration, or deletion of identifying
information belonging to another, whether natural or

juridical, without right: Provided: that if no damage
has yet been caused, the penalty imposable shall be
one (1) degree lower.
Petitioners claim that Section 4(b)(3) violates the

constitutional rights to due process and to privacy
and correspondence, and transgresses the freedom
of the press.
The right to privacy, or the right to be let alone, was
institutionalized in the 1987 Constitution as a facet of
the right protected by the guarantee against
unreasonable searches and seizures.13 But the Court
acknowledged its existence as early as 1968 in Morfe
v. Mutuc, it ruled that the right to privacy exists
independently of its identification with liberty;
it is in itself fully deserving of constitutional
protection.
Relevant to any discussion of the right to privacy is
the concept known as the "Zones of Privacy." The
Court explained in "In the Matter of the Petition for
Issuance of Writ of Habeas Corpus of Sabio v.
Senator Gordon" the relevance of these zones to the
right to privacy:
Zones of privacy are recognized and protected
in our laws. Within these zones, any form of
intrusion is impermissible unless excused by
law and in accordance with customary legal
process. The meticulous regard we accord to these
zones arises not only from our conviction that the
right to privacy is a "constitutional right" and "the
right most valued by civilized men," but also from our
adherence to the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights which mandates that, "no one shall be
subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy"
and "everyone has the right to the protection of the
law against such interference or attacks."
Two constitutional guarantees create these

zones of privacy: (a) the right against
unreasonable searches and seizures, which is
the basis of the right to be let alone, and (b)
the right to privacy of communication and
correspondence. In assessing the challenge that
the State has impermissibly intruded into these
zones of privacy, a court must determine whether a
person has exhibited a reasonable expectation of
privacy and, if so, whether that expectation has been
violated by unreasonable government intrusion.
The usual identifying information regarding a person
includes his name, his citizenship, his residence
address, his contact number, his place and date of
birth, the name of his spouse if any, his occupation,
and similar data. The law punishes those who acquire
or use such identifying information without right,
implicitly to cause damage. Petitioners simply fail to
show how government effort to curb computerrelated identity theft violates the right to privacy and
correspondence as well as the right to due process of
law.
Also, the charge of invalidity of this section

based on the overbreadth doctrine will not
hold water since the specific conducts
proscribed do not intrude into guaranteed
freedoms like speech. Clearly, what this section
regulates are specific actions: the acquisition, use,
misuse or deletion of personal identifying data of
another. There is no fundamental right to acquire
anothers personal data.
Further, petitioners fear that Section 4(b)(3) violates

the freedom of the press in that journalists would be
hindered from accessing the unrestricted user
account of a person in the news to secure
information about him that could be published. But
this is not the essence of identity theft that the law

seeks to prohibit and punish. Evidently, the theft of

identity information must be intended for an
illegitimate purpose. Moreover, acquiring and
disseminating information made public by the user
himself cannot be regarded as a form of theft.
The Court has defined intent to gain as an
internal act which can be established through
the overt acts of the offender, and it may be
presumed from the furtive taking of useful
property pertaining to another, unless special
circumstances reveal a different intent on the
part of the perpetrator. As such, the press,
whether in quest of news reporting or social
investigation, has nothing to fear since a special
circumstance is present to negate intent to gain
which is required by this Section.
Issue: Whether or not Sec. 12 of RA 10175 is unconstitutional

Held: Yes
Section 12 provides:
Sec. 12. Real-Time Collection of Traffic Data. Law
enforcement authorities, with due cause, shall be
authorized to collect or record by technical or
electronic means traffic data in real-time associated
with specified communications transmitted by means
of a computer system.
Traffic data refer only to the communications origin,
destination, route, time, date, size, duration, or type
of underlying service, but not content, nor identities.
All other data to be collected or seized or disclosed
will require a court warrant.
Service providers are required to cooperate and
assist law enforcement authorities in the collection
or recording of the above-stated information.
The court warrant required under this section shall

only be issued or granted upon written application
and the examination under oath or affirmation of the
applicant and the witnesses he may produce and the
showing: (1) that there are reasonable grounds to
believe that any of the crimes enumerated
hereinabove has been committed, or is being
committed, or is about to be committed; (2) that
there are reasonable grounds to believe that
evidence that will be obtained is essential to the
conviction of any person for, or to the solution of, or
to the prevention of, any such crimes; and (3) that
there are no other means readily available for
obtaining such evidence.
Petitioners of course point out that the provisions of
Section 12 are too broad and do not provide ample
safeguards against crossing legal boundaries and
invading the peoples right to privacy. The concern is
understandable. Indeed, the Court recognizes in
Morfe v. Mutuc that certain constitutional guarantees
work together to create zones of privacy wherein
governmental powers may not intrude, and that
there exists an independent constitutional right of
privacy. Such right to be left alone has been regarded
as the beginning of all freedoms.
But that right is not unqualified. In Whalen v. Roe,
the United States Supreme Court classified privacy
into two categories: decisional privacy and
informational privacy. Decisional privacy involves
the right to independence in making certain
important
decisions,
while
informational
privacy refers to the interest in avoiding
disclosure of personal matters. It is the latter
rightthe right to informational privacythat
those who oppose government collection or
recording of traffic data in real-time seek to

protect.
Informational privacy has two aspects: the right not

to have private information disclosed, and the right
to live freely without surveillance and intrusion.
o
In determining whether or not a matter is
entitled to the right to privacy, this Court
has laid down a two-fold test. The first is a
subjective test, where one claiming the
right must have an actual or legitimate
expectation of privacy over a certain
matter. The second is an objective test,
where his or her expectation of privacy
must be one society is prepared to
accept as objectively reasonable.
Since the validity of the cybercrime law is being

challenged, not in relation to its application to a
particular person or group, petitioners challenge to
Section 12 applies to all information and
communications technology (ICT) users, meaning the
large segment of the population who use all sorts of
electronic devices to communicate with one another.
Consequently, the expectation of privacy is to be
measured from the general publics point of view.
Without reasonable expectation of privacy, the right
to it would have no basis in fact.
The Court, however, agrees with Justices Carpio and
Brion that when seemingly random bits of traffic
data are gathered in bulk, pooled together, and
analyzed, they reveal patterns of activities
which can then be used to create profiles of
the persons under surveillance. With enough
traffic data, analysts may be able to determine
a persons close associations, religious views,
political affiliations, even sexual preferences.
Such information is likely beyond what the
public may expect to be disclosed, and clearly
falls within matters protected by the right to
privacy. But has the procedure that Section 12 of
the law provides been drawn narrowly enough to
protect individual rights?
Section 12 empowers law enforcement authorities,

"with due cause," to collect or record by technical or
electronic means traffic data in real-time. Petitioners
point out that the phrase "due cause" has no
precedent in law or jurisprudence and that whether
there is due cause or not is left to the discretion of
the police. Replying to this, the Solicitor General
asserts that Congress is not required to define the
meaning of every word it uses in drafting the law.
Indeed, courts are able to save vague provisions of

law through statutory construction. But the
cybercrime law, dealing with a novel situation, fails
to hint at the meaning it intends for the phrase "due
cause." The Solicitor General suggests that "due
cause" should mean "just reason or motive" and
"adherence to a lawful procedure." But the Court
cannot draw this meaning since Section 12
does not even bother to relate the collection of
data to the probable commission of a particular
crime. It just says, "with due cause," thus
justifying a general gathering of data. It is akin
to the use of a general search warrant that the
Constitution prohibits.
Due cause is also not descriptive of the

purpose for which data collection will be used.
Will the law enforcement agencies use the traffic
data to identify the perpetrator of a cyber attack? Or
will it be used to build up a case against an identified
suspect? Can the data be used to prevent
cybercrimes from happening?
The authority that Section 12 gives law

enforcement agencies is too sweeping and
lacks restraint.
o
While it says that traffic data collection
should not disclose identities or content

data, such restraint is but an illusion.

Admittedly, nothing can prevent law
enforcement agencies holding these data in
their hands from looking into the identity of
their sender or receiver and what the data
contains. This will unnecessarily expose the
citizenry to leaked information or, worse, to
extortion from certain bad elements in these
agencies.
Section 12, of course, limits the collection of traffic
data
to
those
"associated
with
specified
communications." But this supposed limitation is no
limitation at all since, evidently, it is the law
enforcement agencies that would specify the target
communications. The power is virtually limitless,
enabling law enforcement authorities to engage in
"fishing expedition," choosing whatever specified
communication they want. This evidently threatens
the right of individuals to privacy.
The Solicitor General points out that Section 12
needs to authorize collection of traffic data "in real
time" because it is not possible to get a court
warrant that would authorize the search of what is
akin to a "moving vehicle." But warrantless search is
associated with a police officers determination of
probable cause that a crime has been committed,
that there is no opportunity for getting a warrant,
and that unless the search is immediately carried
out, the thing to be searched stands to be removed.
These preconditions are not provided in Section 12.
The Solicitor General is honest enough to admit that
Section 12 provides minimal protection to internet
users and that the procedure envisioned by the law
could be better served by providing for more robust
safeguards. His bare assurance that law enforcement
authorities will not abuse the provisions of Section 12
is of course not enough. The grant of the power to
track cyberspace communications in real time and
determine their sources and destinations must be
narrowly drawn to preclude abuses.
Petitioners also ask that the Court strike down
Section 12 for being violative of the void-forvagueness doctrine and the overbreadth
doctrine. These doctrines however, have been
consistently held by this Court to apply only to
free speech cases. But Section 12 on its own
neither regulates nor punishes any type of
speech.
Therefore,
such
analysis
is
unnecessary.
This Court is mindful that advances in technology
allow the government and kindred institutions to
monitor
individuals
and
place
them
under
surveillance in ways that have previously been
impractical or even impossible. "All the forces of a
technological age x x x operate to narrow the area of
privacy and facilitate intrusions into it. In modern
terms, the capacity to maintain and support this
enclave of private life marks the difference between
a democratic and a totalitarian society." The Court
must ensure that laws seeking to take advantage of
these technologies be written with specificity and
definiteness as to ensure respect for the rights that
the Constitution guarantees.
of the order from law enforcement authorities

requiring its preservation.
Law enforcement authorities may order a one-time
extension for another six (6) months: Provided, That
once computer data preserved, transmitted or stored
by a service provider is used as evidence in a case,
the mere furnishing to such service provider of the
transmittal document to the Office of the Prosecutor
shall be deemed a notification to preserve the
computer data until the termination of the case.

Held: Yes
Section 19 of the Cybercrime Law

Section 19 empowers the Department of Justice to
restrict or block access to computer data:
Sec. 19. Restricting or Blocking Access to Computer
Data. When a computer data is prima facie found
to be in violation of the provisions of this Act, the DOJ
shall issue an order to restrict or block access to
such computer data.

Held: No
Section 13 provides:
Sec. 13. Preservation of Computer Data. The
integrity of traffic data and subscriber information
relating to communication services provided by a
service provider shall be preserved for a minimum
period of six (6) months from the date of the
transaction. Content data shall be similarly
preserved for six (6) months from the date of receipt
The service provider ordered to preserve computer

data shall keep confidential the order and its
compliance.
Petitioners in G.R. 20339197 claim that Section 13
constitutes an undue deprivation of the right to
property.
o
They liken the data preservation order that
law enforcement authorities are to issue as
a form of garnishment of personal property
in civil forfeiture proceedings. Such order
prevents internet users from accessing and
disposing of traffic data that essentially
belong to them.
No doubt, the contents of materials sent or
received through the internet belong to their
authors or recipients and are to be considered
private communications. But it is not clear that
a service provider has an obligation to
indefinitely keep a copy of the same as they
pass its system for the benefit of users.
o
By virtue of Section 13, however, the law
now requires service providers to keep
traffic data and subscriber information
relating to communication services for at
least six months from the date of the
transaction and those relating to content
data for at least six months from receipt of
the order for their preservation.
Actually, the user ought to have kept a copy of that
data when it crossed his computer if he was so
minded. The service provider has never assumed
responsibility for their loss or deletion while in its
keep.
At any rate, as the Solicitor General correctly points
out, the data that service providers preserve on
orders of law enforcement authorities are not
made inaccessible to users by reason of the
issuance of such orders. The process of
preserving data will not unduly hamper the
normal transmission or use of the same.
Petitioners contest Section 19 in that it stifles

freedom of expression and violates the right against
unreasonable searches and seizures.
o
The Solicitor General concedes that this
provision may be unconstitutional. But since
laws
enjoy
a
presumption
of
constitutionality, the Court must satisfy
itself that Section 19 indeed violates the
freedom and right mentioned.

Computer data may refer to entire programs or lines

of code, including malware, as well as files that
contain texts, images, audio, or video recordings.
Without having to go into a lengthy discussion of
property rights in the digital space, it is indisputable
that computer data, produced or created by their
writers or authors may constitute personal property.
Consequently, they are protected from unreasonable
searches and seizures, whether while stored in their
personal computers or in the service providers
systems.
Section 2, Article III of the 1987 Constitution
provides that the right to be secure in ones
papers and effects against unreasonable
searches and seizures of whatever nature and
for any purpose shall be inviolable. Further, it
states that no search warrant shall issue
except upon probable cause to be determined
personally by the judge.
o
Here, the Government, in effect, seizes and
places the computer data under its control
and disposition without a warrant. The
Department
of
Justice
order
cannot
substitute for judicial search warrant.
The content of the computer data can also constitute
speech.
o
In such a case, Section 19 operates as
a restriction on the freedom of
expression over cyberspace. Certainly
not all forms of speech are protected.
Legislature may, within constitutional
bounds, declare certain kinds of
expression as illegal. But for an
executive officer to seize content
alleged to be unprotected without any
judicial warrant, it is not enough for
him to be of the opinion that such
content violates some law, for to do so
would make him judge, jury, and
executioner all rolled into one.1
Not only does Section 19 preclude any judicial
intervention, but it also disregards jurisprudential
guidelines established to determine the validity of
restrictions on speech.
o
Restraints on free speech are generally
evaluated on one of or a combination of
three tests: the dangerous tendency
doctrine, the balancing of interest test, and
the clear and present danger rule. Section
19, however, merely requires that the data
to be blocked be found prima facie in
violation of any provision of the cybercrime
law. Taking Section 6 into consideration, this
can actually be made to apply in relation to
any penal provision. It does not take into
consideration any of the three tests
mentioned above.
The Court is therefore compelled to strike down
Section 19 for being violative of the constitutional
guarantees to freedom of expression and against
unreasonable searches and seizures.
JAMES M. IMBONG and LOVELY-ANN C. IMBONG, for

themselves and in behalf of their minor children, LUCIA
CARLOS IMBONG and BERNADETTE CARLOS IMBONG
and MAGNIFICAT CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER, INC.,
Petitioners, vs. HON. PAQUITO N. OCHOA, JR., Executive
Secretary, HON. FLORENCIO B. ABAD, Secretary,
Department of Budget and Management, HON.
ENRIQUE T. ONA, Secretary, Department of Health,
HON. ARMIN A. LUISTRO, Secretary, Department of
Education, Culture and Sports and HON. MANUELA.
ROXAS II, Secretary, Department of Interior and Local
Government, Respondents.
G.R. No. 204819 | April 8, 2014 (EB)
Consolidated Petitions
Facts:
Nothing has polarized the nation more in recent

years than the issues of population growth control,
abortion and contraception. As in every democratic
society, diametrically opposed views on the subjects
and their perceived consequences freely circulate in
various media. From television debates2 to sticker
campaigns, from rallies by socio-political activists to
mass gatherings organized by members of the
clergy4 - the clash between the seemingly
antithetical ideologies of the religious conservatives
and progressive liberals has caused a deep division
in every level of the society. Despite calls to withhold
support thereto, however, Republic Act (R.A.) No.
10354, otherwise known as the Responsible
Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 (RH
Law), was enacted by Congress on December 21,
2012.
Shortly after the President placed his imprimatur on
the said law, challengers from various sectors of
society came knocking on the doors of the Court,
beckoning it to wield the sword that strikes down
constitutional disobedience. Aware of the profound
and lasting impact that its decision may produce, the
Court now faces the iuris controversy, as presented
in fourteen (14) petitions and two (2) petitions- inintervention.
A perusal of these petitions shows that the
petitioners are assailing the constitutionality of RH
Law
Issue: Whether or not the RH law is unconstitutional:

1] Right to Life
2] Right to Health
3] Freedom of Religion and the Right to Free Speech
4] The Family
5] Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom
6] Due Process
7] Equal Protection
8] Involuntary Servitude
9] Delegation of Authority to the FDA
10] Autonomy of Local Govemments/ARMM
Held:
A. Right to Life
Petitioners Contention: RH Law violates the right to

life and health of the unborn child under Section 12,
Article II of the Constitution. The assailed legislation
allowing access to abortifacients/abortives effectively
sanctions abortion.
o
According to the petitioners, despite its
express terms prohibiting abortion, Section
4(a) of the RH Law considers contraceptives
that prevent the fertilized ovum to reach
and be implanted in the mother's womb as
an
abortifacient;
thus,
sanctioning
contraceptives that take effect after
fertilization and prior to implantation,
contrary to the intent of the Framers of the
Constitution to afford protection to the
fertilized ovum which already has life.
Courts Position:
It is a universally accepted principle that every

human being enjoys the right to life.
Majority of the Members of the Court are of the

position that the question of when life begins is a
scientific and medical issue that should not be
decided, at this stage, without proper hearing and
evidence. During the deliberation, however, it was
agreed upon that the individual members of the
Court could express their own views on this matter.

In this regard, the ponente, is of the strong

view that life begins at fertilization.
It is a canon in statutory construction that the words

of the Constitution should be interpreted in their
plain and ordinary meaning.
o
In conformity with the above principle, the
traditional
meaning
of
the
word
"conception" which, as described and
defined by all reliable and reputable
sources, means that life begins at
fertilization.
Contrary to the assertions made by the petitioners,

the Court finds that the RH Law, consistent
with the Constitution, recognizes that the
fertilized ovum already has life and that the
State has a bounden duty to protect it. The
conclusion becomes clear because the RH Law, first,
prohibits any drug or device that induces abortion
(first kind), which, as discussed exhaustively above,
refers to that which induces the killing or the
destruction of the fertilized ovum, and, second,
prohibits any drug or device the fertilized ovum to
reach and be implanted in the mother's womb (third
kind).
By expressly declaring that any drug or device that

prevents the fertilized ovum to reach and be
implanted in the mother's womb is an abortifacient
(third kind), the RH Law does not intend to mean at
all that life only begins only at implantation, as Hon.
Lagman suggests. It also does not declare either that
protection will only be given upon implantation, as
the petitioners likewise suggest. Rather, it recognizes
that: one, there is a need to protect the fertilized
ovum which already has life, and two, the fertilized
ovum must be protected the moment it becomes
existent - all the way until it reaches and implants in
the mother's womb. After all, if life is only recognized
and afforded protection from the moment the
fertilized ovum implants - there is nothing to prevent
any drug or device from killing or destroying the
fertilized ovum prior to implantation.
From the foregoing, the Court finds that inasmuch as

it affords protection to the fertilized ovum, the RH
Law does not sanction abortion. To repeat, it is the
Court's position that life begins at fertilization, not at
implantation. When a fertilized ovum is implanted in
the uterine wall , its viability is sustained but that
instance of implantation is not the point of beginning
of life. It started earlier. And as defined by the RH
Law, any drug or device that induces abortion, that
is, which kills or destroys the fertilized ovum or
prevents the fertilized ovum to reach and be
implanted in the mother's womb, is an abortifacient.
B. Right to Health
o
HEALTH
Section 11. The State shall adopt an integrated and
comprehensive approach to health development
which shall endeavor to make essential goods,
health and other social services available to all the
people at affordable cost. There shall be priority for
the needs of the underprivileged, sick, elderly,
disabled, women, and children. The State shall
endeavor to provide free medical care to paupers.
Section 12. The State shall establish and maintain an
effective food and drug regulatory system and
undertake
appropriate
health,
manpower
development, and research, responsive to the
country's health needs and problems.
Section 13. The State shall establish a special agency
for disabled person for their rehabilitation, selfdevelopment, and self-reliance, and their integration
into the mainstream of society.
Section 15. The State shall protect and promote the

right to health of the people and instill health
consciousness among them.
Finally, Section 9, Article XVI provides:

Section 9. The State shall protect consumers from
trade malpractices and from substandard or
hazardous products.
Petitioners Contention: RH Law violates the right to

health because it requires the inclusion of hormonal
contraceptives, intrauterine devices, injectables and
family products and supplies in the National Drug
Formulary and the inclusion of the same in the
regular purchase of essential medicines and supplies
of all national hospitals.
Courts Position:
A component to the right to life is the constitutional

right to health. In this regard, the Constitution is
replete with provisions protecting and promoting the
right to health. Section 15, Article II of the
Constitution provides:
A portion of Article XIII also specifically provides for

the States' duty to provide for the health of the
people.
In the distribution by the DOH of contraceptive drugs

and devices, it must consider the provisions of R.A.
No. 4729 ("An Act to Regulate the Sale, Dispensation,
and/ or Distribution of Contraceptive Drugs and
Devices"), which is still in effect, and ensure that the
contraceptives that it will procure shall be from a
duly licensed drug store or pharmaceutical company
and that the actual dispensation of these
contraceptive drugs and devices will done following a
prescription of a qualified medical practitioner. The
distribution of contraceptive drugs and devices must
not be indiscriminately done. The public health must
be protected by all possible means. As pointed out by
Justice De Castro, a heavy responsibility and burden
are assumed by the government in supplying
contraceptive drugs and devices, for it may be held
accountable for any injury, illness or loss of life
resulting from or incidental to their use.
At any rate, it bears pointing out that not a single
contraceptive has yet been submitted to the FDA
pursuant to the RH Law. It behooves the Court to
await its determination which drugs or devices are
declared by the FDA as safe, it being the agency
tasked to ensure that food and medicines available
to the public are safe for public consumption.
Consequently, the Court finds that, at this point, the
attack on the RH Law on this ground is premature.
Indeed, the various kinds of contraceptives must first
be measured up to the constitutional yardstick as
expounded herein, to be determined as the case
presents itself.
At this point, the Court is of the strong view that
Congress
cannot
legislate
that
hormonal
contraceptives and intra-uterine devices are safe and
non-abortifacient. The first sentence of Section 9 that
ordains their inclusion by the National Drug
Formulary in the EDL by using the mandatory "shall"
is to be construed as operative only after they have
been tested, evaluated, and approved by the FDA.
The FDA, not Congress, has the expertise to
determine
whether
a
particular
hormonal
contraceptive or intrauterine device is safe and nonabortifacient. The provision of the third sentence
concerning the requirements for the inclusion or

removal of a particular family planning supply from

the EDL supports this construction.
Stated differently, the provision in Section 9
covering
the
inclusion
of
hormonal
contraceptives,
intra-uterine
devices,
injectables, and other safe, legal, nonabortifacient and effective family planning
products and supplies by the National Drug
Formulary in the EDL is not mandatory. There
must first be a determination by the FDA that
they are in fact safe, legal, non-abortifacient
and effective family planning products and
supplies. There can be no predetermination by
Congress that the gamut of contraceptives are
"safe, legal, non-abortifacient and effective"
without the proper scientific examination.
C. Freedom of Religion and the Right to Free Speech
Petitioners Contention: While contraceptives and

procedures like vasectomy and tubal ligation are not
covered by the constitutional proscription, there are
those who, because of their religious education and
background, sincerely believe that contraceptives,
whether abortifacient or not, are evil. Some of these
are medical practitioners who essentially claim that
their beliefs prohibit not only the use of
contraceptives but also the willing participation and
cooperation in all things dealing with contraceptive
use. Petitioner PAX explained that "contraception is
gravely opposed to marital chastity, it is contrary to
the good of the transmission of life, and to the
reciprocal self-giving of the spouses; it harms true
love and denies the sovereign rule of God in the
transmission of Human life."
The petitioners question the State-sponsored
procurement of contraceptives, arguing that the
expenditure of their taxes on contraceptives violates
the
guarantee
of
religious
freedom
since
contraceptives contravene their religious beliefs.
Petitioners Imbong and Luat note that while the RH
Law attempts to address religious sentiments by
making provisions for a conscientious objector, the
constitutional guarantee is nonetheless violated
because the law also imposes upon the conscientious
objector the duty to refer the patient seeking
reproductive health services to another medical
practitioner who would be able to provide for the
patient's needs. For the petitioners, this amounts to
requiring the conscientious objector to cooperate
with the very thing he refuses to do without violating
his/her religious beliefs.
Petitioner CFC also argues that the requirement for a
conscientious objector to refer the person seeking
reproductive health care services to another provider
infringes on ones freedom of religion as it forces the
objector to become an unwilling participant in the
commission of a serious sin under Catholic teachings.
While the right to act on ones belief may be
regulated by the State, the acts prohibited by the RH
Law are passive acts which produce neither harm nor
injury to the public.
Courts Position:
In the case at bench, it is not within the province of

the Court to determine whether the use of
contraceptives or one's participation in the support of
modem reproductive health measures is moral from
a religious standpoint or whether the same is right or
wrong according to one's dogma or belief. For the
Court has declared that matters dealing with "faith,
practice, doctrine, form of worship, ecclesiastical law,
custom and rule of a church ... are unquestionably
ecclesiastical matters which are outside the province
of the civil courts."
The jurisdiction of the Court extends only to

public and secular morality. Whatever
pronouncement the Court makes in the case
at bench should be understood only in this
realm where it has authority. Stated
otherwise, while the Court stands
without
authority
to
rule
on
ecclesiastical matters, as vanguard of
the Constitution, it does have authority
to determine whether the RH Law
contravenes the guarantee of religious
freedom.
The Establishment Clause and Contraceptives
In the same breath that the establishment clause

restricts what the government can do with religion, it
also limits what religious sects can or cannot do with
the government. They can neither cause the
government to adopt their particular doctrines as
policy for everyone, nor can they not cause the
government to restrict other groups. To do so, in
simple terms, would cause the State to adhere to a
particular religion and, thus, establishing a state
religion.
Consequently, the petitioners are misguided in their

supposition that the State cannot enhance its
population control program through the RH Law
simply because the promotion of contraceptive use is
contrary to their religious beliefs. Indeed, the State is
not precluded to pursue its legitimate secular
objectives without being dictated upon by the
policies of any one religion. One cannot refuse to pay
his taxes simply because it will cloud his conscience.
The demarcation line between Church and State
demands that one render unto Caesar the things that
are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's.
o
The Free Exercise Clause and the Duty to Refer
While the RH Law, in espousing state policy to

promote reproductive health manifestly respects
diverse religious beliefs in line with the NonEstablishment Clause, the same conclusion cannot
be reached with respect to Sections 7, 23 and 24
thereof. The said provisions commonly mandate that
a hospital or a medical practitioner to immediately
refer a person seeking health care and services
under the law to another accessible healthcare
provider despite their conscientious objections based
on religious or ethical beliefs.
In a situation where the free exercise of

religion is allegedly burdened by government
legislation or practice, the compelling state
interest test in line with the Court's espousal
of the Doctrine of Benevolent Neutrality in
Escritor, finds application.
o
In this case, the conscientious objector's
claim to religious freedom would warrant an
exemption from obligations under the RH
Law, unless the government succeeds in
demonstrating a more compelling state
interest in the accomplishment of an
important secular objective. Necessarily so,
the plea of conscientious objectors for
exemption from the RH Law deserves no
less than strict scrutiny.
In applying the test, the first inquiry is whether

a conscientious objector's right to religious
freedom has been burdened. As in Escritor, there
is no doubt that an intense tug-of-war plagues a
conscientious objector. One side coaxes him into
obedience to the law and the abandonment of his
religious beliefs, while the other entices him to a
clean conscience yet under the pain of penalty. The
scenario is an illustration of the predicament of
medical practitioners whose religious beliefs are
incongruent with what the RH Law promotes.

10
The Court is of the view that the obligation to

refer imposed by the RH Law violates the
religious
belief
and
conviction
of
a
conscientious objector.
o
Once the medical practitioner, against his
will, refers a patient seeking information on
modem reproductive
health
products,
services, procedures and methods, his
conscience is immediately burdened as he
has been compelled to perform an act
against his beliefs. As Commissioner Joaquin
A. Bernas (Commissioner Bernas) has
written, "at the basis of the free exercise
clause is the respect for the inviolability of
the human conscience.
Though it has been said that the act of referral is an
opt-out clause, it is, however, a false compromise
because it makes pro-life health providers complicit
in the performance of an act that they find morally
repugnant or offensive. They cannot, in conscience,
do indirectly what they cannot do directly. One may
not be the principal, but he is equally guilty if he
abets the offensive act by indirect participation.
Moreover, the guarantee of religious freedom is
necessarily intertwined with the right to free speech,
it being an externalization of one's thought and
conscience. This in turn includes the right to be
silent. With the constitutional guarantee of religious
freedom follows the protection that should be
afforded to individuals in communicating their beliefs
to others as well as the protection for simply being
silent. The Bill of Rights guarantees the liberty of the
individual to utter what is in his mind and the liberty
not to utter what is not in his mind.223 While the RH
Law seeks to provide freedom of choice through
informed consent, freedom of choice guarantees the
liberty of the religious conscience and prohibits any
degree of compulsion or burden, whether direct or
indirect, in the practice of one's religion.224
In case of conflict between the religious beliefs and
moral convictions of individuals, on one hand, and
the interest of the State, on the other, to provide
access and information on reproductive health
products, services, procedures and methods to
enable the people to determine the timing, number
and spacing of the birth of their children, the Court is
of the strong view that the religious freedom of
health providers, whether public or private, should be
accorded primacy. Accordingly, a conscientious
objector should be exempt from compliance with the
mandates of the RH Law. If he would be compelled to
act contrary to his religious belief and conviction, it
would be violative of "the principle of non-coercion"
enshrined in the constitutional right to free exercise
of religion.
participating in the decision making process

regarding their common future progeny. It likewise
deprives the parents of their authority over their
minor daughter simply because she is already a
parent or had suffered a miscarriage.
The Family and Spousal Consent
Section 23(a) (2) (i) of the RH Law states:

The following acts are prohibited:
(a) Any health care service provider, whether public
or private, who shall: ...
(2) refuse to perform legal and medically-safe
reproductive health procedures on any person of
legal age on the ground of lack of consent or
authorization of the following persons in the
following instances:
D. The Family and the Right to Privacy
Petitioners Contention: Petitioner CFC assails the RH

Law because Section 23(a) (2) (i) thereof violates the
provisions of the Constitution by intruding into
marital privacy and autonomy. It argues that it
cultivates disunity and fosters animosity in the family
rather than promote its solidarity and total
development.
Courts Position:
The Court cannot but agree.
The 1987 Constitution is replete with provisions

strengthening the family as it is the basic social
institution. In fact, one article, Article XV, is devoted
entirely to the family.
In this case, the RH Law, in its not-so-hidden desire

to control population growth, contains provisions
which tend to wreck the family as a solid social
institution. It bars the husband and/or the father from
(i) Spousal consent in case of married persons:

provided, That in case of disagreement, the decision
of the one undergoing the procedures shall prevail.
The above provision refers to reproductive health
procedures like tubal litigation and vasectomy which,
by their very nature, should require mutual consent
and decision between the husband and the wife as
they affect issues intimately related to the founding
of a family.
o
Section 3, Art. XV of the Constitution
espouses that the State shall defend the
"right of the spouses to found a family." One
person cannot found a family. The right,
therefore, is shared by both spouses. In the
same Section 3, their right "to participate in
the planning and implementation of policies
and programs that affect them " is equally
recognized.
The RH Law cannot be allowed to infringe upon this
mutual decision-making. By giving absolute
authority to the spouse who would undergo a
procedure, and barring the other spouse from
participating in the decision would drive a
wedge between the husband and wife, possibly
result in bitter animosity, and endanger the
marriage and the family, all for the sake of
reducing the population. This would be a
marked departure from the policy of the State
to protect marriage as an inviolable social
institution.
Decision-making involving a reproductive health
procedure is a private matter which belongs to the
couple, not just one of them. Any decision they would
reach would affect their future as a family because
the size of the family or the number of their children
significantly matters. The decision whether or not to
undergo the procedure belongs exclusively to, and
shared by, both spouses as one cohesive unit as they
chart their own destiny. It is a constitutionally
guaranteed private right. Unless it prejudices the
State, which has not shown any compelling interest,
the State should see to it that they chart their
destiny together as one family.
As highlighted by Justice Leonardo-De Castro, Section
19( c) of R.A. No. 9710, otherwise known as the
"Magna Carta for Women," provides that women shall
have equal rights in all matters relating to marriage
and family relations, including the joint decision on
the number and spacing of their children. Indeed,
responsible parenthood, as Section 3(v) of the RH
Law states, is a shared responsibility between
parents. Section 23(a)(2)(i) of the RH Law should not
be allowed to betray the constitutional mandate to
protect and strengthen the family by giving to only
one spouse the absolute authority to decide whether
to undergo reproductive health procedure.

11
The right to chart their own destiny together

falls within the protected zone of marital
privacy and such state intervention would
encroach into the zones of spousal privacy
guaranteed by the Constitution. In our
jurisdiction, the right to privacy was first
recognized in Marje v. Mutuc, where the Court,
speaking through Chief Justice Fernando, held
that "the right to privacy as such is accorded
recognition independently of its identification
with liberty; in itself, it is fully deserving of
constitutional protection."
At any rate, in case of conflict between the couple,
the courts will decide.
The State cannot, without a compelling state
interest, take over the role of parents in the care and
custody of a minor child, whether or not the latter is
already a parent or has had a miscarriage. Only a
compelling state interest can justify a state
substitution of their parental authority.
o
First Exception: Access to Information
Whether with respect to the minor referred
to under the exception provided in the
second paragraph of Section 7 or with
respect to the consenting spouse under
Section 23(a)(2)(i), a distinction must be
made. There must be a differentiation
between access to information about family
planning services, on one hand, and access
to the reproductive health procedures and
modern
family
planning
methods
themselves, on the other. Insofar as access
to information is concerned, the Court finds
no constitutional objection to the acquisition
of information by the minor referred to
under the exception in the second
paragraph of Section 7 that would enable
her to take proper care of her own body and
that of her unborn child. After all, Section
12, Article II of the Constitution mandates
the State to protect both the life of the
mother as that of the unborn child.
Considering that information to enable a
person to make informed decisions is
essential in the protection and maintenance
of ones' health, access to such information
with respect to reproductive health must be
allowed. In this situation, the fear that
parents might be deprived of their parental
control is unfounded because they are not
prohibited to exercise parental guidance and
control over their minor child and assist her
in deciding whether to accept or reject the
information received.
o
Second Exception: Life Threatening Cases

As in the case of the conscientious objector,
an exception must be made in lifethreatening
cases
that
require
the
performance of emergency procedures. In
such cases, the life of the minor who has
already suffered a miscarriage and that of
the spouse should not be put at grave risk
simply for lack of consent. It should be
emphasized that no person should be
denied the appropriate medical care
urgently needed to preserve the primordial
right, that is, the right to life.
In this connection, the second sentence of Section

23(a)(2)(ii)249 should be struck down. By effectively
limiting the requirement of parental consent to "only
in elective surgical procedures," it denies the parents
their right of parental authority in cases where what
is involved are "non-surgical procedures." Save for

the two exceptions discussed above, and in the case
of an abused child as provided in the first sentence of
Section 23(a)(2)(ii), the parents should not be
deprived of their constitutional right of parental
authority. To deny them of this right would be an
affront to the constitutional mandate to protect and
strengthen the family.
E. Academic Freedom
Petitioners Contention: It is asserted that Section 14

of the RH Law, in relation to Section 24 thereof,
mandating the teaching of Age-and DevelopmentAppropriate Reproductive Health Education under
threat of fine and/or imprisonment violates the
principle of academic freedom . According to the
petitioners, these provisions effectively force
educational institutions to teach reproductive health
education even if they believe that the same is not
suitable to be taught to their students.
Courts Position:
At this point, suffice it to state that any attack

on the validity of Section 14 of the RH Law is
premature
because
the
Department
of
Education, Culture and Sports has yet to
formulate a curriculum on age-appropriate
reproductive health education. One can only
speculate on the content, manner and medium of
instruction that will be used to educate the
adolescents and whether they will contradict the
religious beliefs of the petitioners and validate their
apprehensions. Thus, considering the premature
nature of this particular issue, the Court declines to
rule on its constitutionality or validity.
At any rate, Section 12, Article II of the 1987

Constitution provides that the natural and primary
right and duty of parents in the rearing of the youth
for civic efficiency and development of moral
character shall receive the support of the
Government. Like the 1973 Constitution and the
1935 Constitution, the 1987 Constitution affirms the
State recognition of the invaluable role of parents in
preparing the youth to become productive members
of society. Notably, it places more importance on the
role of parents in the development of their children
by recognizing that said role shall be "primary," that
is, that the right of parents in upbringing the youth is
superior to that of the State.
It is also the inherent right of the State to act

as parens patriae to aid parents in the moral
development of the youth. Indeed, the
Constitution makes mention of the importance
of developing the youth and their important
role in nation building.
o
Considering that Section 14 provides not
only for the age-appropriate-reproductive
health education, but also for values
formation; the development of knowledge
and
skills
in
self-protection
against
discrimination; sexual abuse and violence
against women and children and other
forms of gender based violence and teen
pregnancy; physical, social and emotional
changes in adolescents; women's rights and
children's
rights;
responsible
teenage
behavior; gender and development; and
responsible parenthood, and that Rule 10,
Section 11.01 of the RH-IRR and Section 4(t)
of the RH Law itself provides for the
teaching of responsible teenage behavior,
gender
sensitivity and
physical and
emotional changes among adolescents - the
Court finds that the legal mandate provided
under the assailed provision supplements,
rather than supplants, the rights and duties

12
of the parents in the moral development of

their children.
Furthermore, as Section 14 also mandates that the
mandatory reproductive health education program
shall be developed in conjunction with parentteacher-community associations, school officials and
other interest groups, it could very well be said that it
will be in line with the religious beliefs of the
petitioners. By imposing such a condition, it becomes
apparent that the petitioners' contention that Section
14 violates Article XV, Section 3(1) of the
Constitution is without merit.254
While the Court notes the possibility that educators
might raise their objection to their participation in
the reproductive health education program provided
under Section 14 of the RH Law on the ground that
the same violates their religious beliefs, the Court
reserves its judgment should an actual case be filed
before it.
F. Due Process
Petitioners Contention: RH Law suffers from

vagueness and, thus violates the due process clause
of the Constitution. According to them, Section 23 (a)
(l) mentions a "private health service provider"
among those who may be held punishable but does
not define who is a "private health care service
provider." They argue that confusion further results
since Section 7 only makes reference to a "private
health care institution."
The petitioners also point out that Section 7 of the
assailed legislation exempts hospitals operated by
religious groups from rendering reproductive health
service and modern family planning methods. It is
unclear, however, if these institutions are also
exempt from giving reproductive health information
under
Section
23(a)(l),
or
from
rendering
reproductive health procedures under Section 23(a)
(2).
Finally, it is averred that the RH Law punishes the
withholding, restricting and providing of incorrect
information, but at the same time fails to define
"incorrect information."
Courts Position:
A statute or act suffers from the defect of

vagueness when it lacks comprehensible
standards that men of common intelligence
must necessarily guess its meaning and differ
as to its application.
o
It is repugnant to the Constitution in two
respects: (1) it violates due process for
failure to accord persons, especially
the parties targeted by it, fair notice of
the conduct to avoid; and (2) it leaves
law enforcers unbridled discretion in
carrying
out
its
provisions
and
becomes an arbitrary flexing of the
Government muscle.
o
Moreover, in determining whether the words
used in a statute are vague, words must not
only be taken in accordance with their plain
meaning alone, but also in relation to other
parts of the statute. It is a rule that every
part of the statute must be interpreted with
reference to the context, that is, every part
of it must be construed together with the
other parts and kept subservient to the
general intent of the whole enactment.
As correctly noted by the OSG, in determining the

definition of "private health care service provider,"
reference must be made to Section 4(n) of the RH
Law which defines a "public health service provider,"
viz:
(n) Public health care service provider refers to: (1)

public health care institution, which is duly licensed
and accredited and devoted primarily to the
maintenance and operation of facilities for health
promotion, disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment
and care of individuals suffering from illness, disease,
injury, disability or deformity, or in need of
obstetrical or other medical and nursing care; (2)
public health care professional, who is a doctor of
medicine, a nurse or a midvvife; (3) public health
worker engaged in the delivery of health care
services; or (4) barangay health worker who has
undergone training programs under any accredited
government and NGO and who voluntarily renders
primarily health care services in the community after
having been accredited to function as such by the
local health board in accordance with the guidelines
promulgated by the Department of Health (DOH) .
Further, the use of the term "private health care

institution" in Section 7 of the law, instead of "private
health care service provider," should not be a cause
of confusion for the obvious reason that they are
used synonymously.
G. Equal Protection
Petitioners Contention: RH Law violates the equal

protection clause under the Constitution as it
discriminates against the poor because it makes
them the primary target of the government program
that promotes contraceptive use. They argue that,
rather than promoting reproductive health among
the poor, the RH Law introduces contraceptives that
would effectively reduce the number of the poor.
Their bases are the various provisions in the RH Law
dealing with the poor, especially those mentioned in
the guiding principles and definition of terms of the
law.
They add that the exclusion of private educational
institutions from the mandatory reproductive health
education program imposed by the RH Law renders it
unconstitutional.
Courts Position:
Biraogo v. Philippine Truth Commission: One of the

basic principles on which this government was
founded is that of the equality of right which is
embodied in Section 1, Article III of the 1987
Constitution. The equal protection of the laws is
embraced in the concept of due process, as
every
unfair
discrimination
offends
the
requirements of justice and fair play. It has
been embodied in a separate clause, however,
to provide for a more specific guaranty against
any form of undue favoritism or hostility from
the government. Arbitrariness in general may
be challenged on the basis of the due process
clause. But if the particular act assailed
partakes of an unwarranted partiality or
prejudice, the sharper weapon to cut it down is
the equal protection clause.
The equal protection clause is aimed at all official

state actions, not just those of the legislature. Its
inhibitions cover all the departments of the
government including the political and executive
departments, and extend to all actions of a state
denying equal protection of the laws, through
whatever agency or whatever guise is taken.
It, however, does not require the universal

application of the laws to all persons or things
without distinction. What it simply requires is equality
among equals as determined according to a valid
classification. Indeed, the equal protection
clause
permits
classification.
Such

13
classification, however, to be valid must pass

the test of reasonableness. The test has four
requisites: (1) The classification rests on
substantial distinctions; (2) It is germane to
the purpose of the law; (3) It is not limited to
existing conditions only; and (4) It applies
equally to all members of the same class.
"Superficial differences do not make for a valid
classification."
For a classification to meet the requirements of
constitutionality, it must include or embrace all
persons who naturally belong to the class. "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;
and as long as this is achieved, all those covered by
the classification are to be treated equally. The mere
fact that an individual belonging to a class differs
from the other members, as long as that class is
substantially distinguishable from all others, does not
justify the non-application of the law to him.
The classification must not be based on existing
circumstances only, or so constituted as to preclude
addition to the number included in the class. It must
be of such a nature as to embrace all those who may
thereafter be in similar circumstances and conditions.
It must not leave out or "underinclude" those that
should otherwise fall into a certain classification.
It should be noted that Section 7 of the RH Law
prioritizes poor and marginalized couples who are
suffering from fertility issues and desire to have
children. There is, therefore, no merit to the
contention that the RH Law only seeks to target the
poor to reduce their number. While the RH Law
admits the use of contraceptives, it does not, as
elucidated above, sanction abortion. As Section 3(1)
explains, the "promotion and/or stabilization of the
population growth rate is incidental to the
advancement of reproductive health."
Moreover, the RH Law does not prescribe the number
of children a couple may have and does not impose
conditions upon couples who intend to have children.
While the petitioners surmise that the assailed law
seeks to charge couples with the duty to have
children only if they would raise them in a truly
humane way, a deeper look into its provisions shows
that what the law seeks to do is to simply provide
priority to the poor in the implementation of
government programs to promote basic reproductive
health care.
With respect to the exclusion of private educational
institutions from the mandatory reproductive health
education program under Section 14, suffice it to
state that the mere fact that the children of those
who are less fortunate attend public educational
institutions does not amount to substantial
distinction sufficient to annul the assailed provision.
On the other hand, substantial distinction rests
between public educational institutions and private
educational institutions, particularly because there is
a need to recognize the academic freedom of private
educational institutions especially with respect to
religious instruction and to consider their sensitivity
towards the teaching of reproductive health
education.
H. Involuntary Servitude
Petitioners Contention: RH Law is constitutionally

infirm as it violates the constitutional prohibition
against involuntary servitude. They posit that Section
17 of the assailed legislation requiring private and
non-government health care service providers to
render forty-eight (48) hours of pro bono

reproductive health services, actually amounts to
involuntary servitude because it requires medical
practitioners to perform acts against their will.
The OSG counters that the rendition of pro bono
services envisioned in Section 17 can hardly be
considered as forced labor analogous to slavery, as
reproductive health care service providers have the
discretion as to the manner and time of giving pro
bono services. Moreover, the OSG points out that the
imposition is within the powers of the government,
the accreditation of medical practitioners with
PhilHealth being a privilege and not a right.
Courts Position:
The point of the OSG is well-taken.
It should first be mentioned that the practice of

medicine is undeniably imbued with public interest
that it is both a power and a duty of the State to
control and regulate it in order to protect and
promote the public welfare. Like the legal profession,
the practice of medicine is not a right but a
privileged burdened with conditions as it directly
involves the very lives of the people. A fortiori, this
power includes the power of Congress263 to
prescribe the qualifications for the practice of
professions or trades which affect the public welfare,
the public health, the public morals, and the public
safety; and to regulate or control such professions or
trades, even to the point of revoking such right
altogether.
Moreover, as some petitioners put it, the notion of

involuntary servitude connotes the presence of force,
threats, intimidation or other similar means of
coercion and compulsion.265 A reading of the
assailed provision, however, reveals that it only
encourages
private
and
nongovernment
reproductive healthcare service providers to render
pro bono service. Other than non-accreditation with
PhilHealth, no penalty is imposed should they choose
to do otherwise. Private and non-government
reproductive healthcare service providers also enjoy
the liberty to choose which kind of health service
they wish to provide, when, where and how to
provide it or whether to provide it all. Clearly,
therefore, no compulsion, force or threat is made
upon them to render pro bono service against their
will. While the rendering of such service was made a
prerequisite to accreditation with PhilHealth, the
Court does not consider the same to be an
unreasonable burden, but rather, a necessary
incentive imposed by Congress in the furtherance of
a perceived legitimate state interest.
Consistent with what the Court had earlier discussed,

however, it should be emphasized that conscientious
objectors are exempt from this provision as long as
their religious beliefs and convictions do not allow
them to render reproductive health service, pro bona
or otherwise.
I. Delegation of Authority to the FDA
Petitioners Contention: The petitioners likewise

question the delegation by Congress to the FDA of
the power to determine whether or not a supply or
product is to be included in the Essential Drugs List
(EDL).
Courts Position:
The Court finds nothing wrong with the delegation.

The FDA does not only have the power but also the
competency to evaluate, register and cover health
services and methods. It is the only government
entity empowered to render such services and highly
proficient to do so. It should be understood that
health services and methods fall under the gamut of

14
terms that are associated with what is ordinarily

understood as "health products."
In this connection, Section 4 of R.A. No. 3 720, as
amended by R.A. No. 9711 reads:
SEC. 4. To carry out the provisions of this Act, there
is hereby created an office to be called the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) in the Department of
Health (DOH). Said Administration shall be under the
Office of the Secretary and shall have the following
functions, powers and duties:
"(a) To administer the effective implementation of
this Act and of the rules and regulations issued
pursuant to the same;
"(b) To assume primary jurisdiction in the collection
of samples of health products;
"(c) To analyze and inspect health products in
connection with the implementation of this Act;
"(d) To establish analytical data to serve as basis for
the preparation of health products standards, and to
recommend standards of identity, purity, safety,
efficacy, quality and fill of container;
"(e) To issue certificates of compliance with technical
requirements to serve as basis for the issuance of
appropriate authorization and spot-check for
compliance with regulations regarding operation of
manufacturers, importers, exporters, distributors,
wholesalers, drug outlets, and other establishments
and facilities of health products, as determined by
the FDA;
"x x x
"(h) To conduct appropriate tests on all applicable
health products prior to the issuance of appropriate
authorizations to ensure safety, efficacy, purity, and
quality;
"(i)
To
require
all
manufacturers,
traders,
distributors, importers, exporters, wholesalers,
retailers, consumers, and non-consumer users of
health products to report to the FDA any incident
that reasonably indicates that said product has
caused or contributed to the death, serious illness or
serious injury to a consumer, a patient, or any
person;
"(j) To issue cease and desist orders motu propio or
upon verified complaint for health products, whether
or not registered with the FDA Provided, That for
registered health products, the cease and desist
order is valid for thirty (30) days and may be
extended for sixty ( 60) days only after due process
has been observed;
"(k) After due process, to order the ban, recall,

and/or withdrawal of any health product found to
have caused death, serious illness or serious injury
to a consumer or patient, or is found to be
imminently injurious, unsafe, dangerous, or grossly
deceptive, and to require all concerned to implement
the risk management plan which is a requirement for
the issuance of the appropriate authorization;
As can be gleaned from the above, the functions,
powers and duties of the FDA are specific to enable
the agency to carry out the mandates of the law.
Being the country's premiere and sole agency that
ensures the safety of food and medicines available to
the public, the FDA was equipped with the necessary
powers and functions to make it effective. Pursuant
to the principle of necessary implication, the
mandate by Congress to the FDA to ensure public

health and safety by permitting only food and
medicines that are safe includes "service" and
"methods." From the declared policy of the RH Law, it
is clear that Congress intended that the public be
given only those medicines that are proven medically
safe, legal, non-abortifacient, and effective in
accordance with scientific and evidence-based
medical research standards. The philosophy behind
the permitted delegation was explained in Echagaray
v. Secretary of Justice, as follows:
The reason is the increasing complexity of the task of
the government and the growing inability of the
legislature to cope directly with the many problems
demanding its attention. The growth of society has
ramified its activities and created peculiar and
sophisticated problems that the legislature cannot be
expected reasonably to comprehend. Specialization
even in legislation has become necessary. To many of
the
problems
attendant
upon
present
day
undertakings, the legislature may not have the
competence, let alone the interest and the time, to
provide the required direct and efficacious, not to say
specific solutions.
J. Autonomy of Local Governments and the Autonomous
Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)
Petitioners Contention: RH Law infringes upon the

powers devolved to local government units (LGUs)
under Section 17 of the Local Government Code. Said
Section 17 vested upon the LGUs the duties and
functions pertaining to the delivery of basic services
and facilities
Courts Position:
The essence of this express reservation of power by

the national government is that, unless an LGU is
particularly designated as the implementing agency,
it has no power over a program for which funding has
been provided by the national government under the
annual general appropriations act, even if the
program involves the delivery of basic services within
the jurisdiction of the LGU.269 A complete
relinquishment of central government powers on the
matter of providing basic facilities and services
cannot be implied as the Local Government Code
itself weighs against it.
In this case, a reading of the RH Law clearly shows

that whether it pertains to the establishment of
health care facilities, the hiring of skilled health
professionals, or the training of barangay health
workers, it will be the national government that will
provide for the funding of its implementation. Local
autonomy is not absolute. The national government
still has the say when it comes to national priority
programs which the local government is called upon
to implement like the RH Law.
Moreover, from the use of the word "endeavor," the

LG Us are merely encouraged to provide these
services. There is nothing in the wording of the law
which can be construed as making the availability of
these services mandatory for the LGUs. For said
reason, it cannot be said that the RH Law amounts to
an undue encroachment by the national government
upon the autonomy enjoyed by the local
governments.
The fact that the RH Law does not intrude in the

autonomy of local governments can be equally
applied to the ARMM. The RH Law does not infringe
upon its autonomy. Moreover, Article III, Sections 6,
10 and 11 of R.A. No. 9054, or the organic act of the
ARMM, alluded to by petitioner Tillah to justify the
exemption of the operation of the RH Law in the
autonomous region, refer to the policy statements for
the guidance of the regional government. These

15
provisions relied upon by the petitioners simply

delineate the powers that may be exercised by the
regional government, which can, in no manner, be
characterized as an abdication by the State of its
power to enact legislation that would benefit the
general welfare. After all, despite the veritable
autonomy granted the ARMM, the Constitution and
the supporting jurisprudence, as they now stand,
reject the notion of imperium et imperio in the
relationship between the national and the regional
governments.274 Except for the express and implied
limitations imposed on it by the Constitution,
Congress cannot be restricted to exercise its inherent
and plenary power to legislate on all subjects which
extends to all matters of general concern or common
interest.
K. Natural Law
Petitioners Contention: RH Law violates natural law

Courts Position:
The Court does not duly recognize it as a legal basis

for upholding or invalidating a law. Our only
guidepost is the Constitution. While every law
enacted by man emanated from what is perceived as
natural law, the Court is not obliged to see if a
statute, executive issuance or ordinance is in
conformity to it. To begin with, it is not enacted by an
acceptable legitimate body. Moreover, natural laws
are mere thoughts and notions on inherent rights
espoused by theorists, philosophers and theologists.
The jurists of the philosophical school are interested
in the law as an abstraction, rather than in the actual
law of the past or present.277 Unless, a natural right
has been transformed into a written law, it cannot
serve as a basis to strike down a law. In Republic v.
Sandiganbayan,278 the very case cited by the
petitioners, it was explained that the Court is not
duty-bound to examine every law or action and
whether it conforms with both the Constitution and
natural law. Rather, natural law is to be used
sparingly only in the most peculiar of circumstances
involving rights inherent to man where no law is
applicable.
At any rate, as earlier expounded, the RH Law does

not sanction the taking away of life. It does not allow
abortion in any shape or form. It only seeks to
enhance the population control program of the
government by providing information and making
non-abortifacient
contraceptives
more
readily
available to the public, especially to the poor.
WHEREFORE, the petitions are PARTIALLY GRANTED.
Accordingly, the Court declares R.A. No. 10354 as NOT
UNCONSTITUTIONAL except with respect to the following
provisions which are declared UNCONSTITUTIONAL:
1) Section 7 and the corresponding provision in the RH-IRR

insofar as they: a) require private health facilities and nonmaternity specialty hospitals and hospitals owned and
operated by a religious group to refer patients, not in an
emergency or life-threatening case, as defined under Republic
Act No. 8344, to another health facility which is conveniently
accessible; and b) allow minor-parents or minors who have
suffered a miscarriage access to modem methods of family
planning without written consent from their parents or
guardian/s;
2) Section 23(a)(l) and the corresponding provision in the RHIRR, particularly Section 5 .24 thereof, insofar as they punish
any healthcare service provider who fails and or refuses to
disseminate information regarding programs and services on
reproductive health regardless of his or her religious beliefs.
3) Section 23(a)(2)(i) and the corresponding provision in the
RH-IRR insofar as they allow a married individual, not in an
emergency or life-threatening case, as defined under Republic
Act No. 8344, to undergo reproductive health procedures
without the consent of the spouse;
4) Section 23(a)(2)(ii) and the corresponding provision in the
RH-IRR insofar as they limit the requirement of parental
consent only to elective surgical procedures.
5) Section 23(a)(3) and the corresponding provision in the RHIRR, particularly Section 5.24 thereof, insofar as they punish
any healthcare service provider who fails and/or refuses to
refer a patient not in an emergency or life-threatening case,
as defined under Republic Act No. 8344, to another health
care service provider within the same facility or one which is
conveniently accessible regardless of his or her religious
beliefs;
6) Section 23(b) and the corresponding provision in the RHIRR, particularly Section 5 .24 thereof, insofar as they punish
any public officer who refuses to support reproductive health
programs or shall do any act that hinders the full
implementation of a reproductive health program, regardless
of his or her religious beliefs;
7) Section 17 and the corresponding prov1s10n in the RH-IRR
regarding the rendering of pro bona reproductive health
service in so far as they affect the conscientious objector in
securing PhilHealth accreditation; and
8) Section 3.0l(a) and Section 3.01 G) of the RH-IRR, which
added the qualifier "primarily" in defining abortifacients and
contraceptives, as they are ultra vires and, therefore, null and
void for contravening Section 4(a) of the RH Law and violating
Section 12, Article II of the Constitution.

16

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BLAS F. OPLE, petitioner, vs. RUBEN D.

Issue: Whether or not the right to privacy is a fundamental

The essence of privacy is the "right to be let

Griswold v. Connecticut gave more substance to the

Morfe v. Mutuc adopted the Griswold ruling that there

So it is likewise in our jurisdiction. The right

Other facets of the right to privacy are protectad in

or affirmation of the complainant and the witnesses

Sec. 17. No person shall be compelled to be a

Unlike the dissenters, we prescind from the premise

A.O. No. 308 is predicated on two considerations: (1)

The heart of A.O. No. 308 lies in its Section 4 which

Case Digests on Remedial Law Review I under Atty. Henedino M. Brondial

among concerned agencies" through the use of

Issue: Whether or not the presumption of regularity can be

The Solicitor General urges us to validate A.O. No.

We are not impressed by the argument.

The same circumstances do not obtain in the case at

performance of official duties. Nor is it

Case Digests on Remedial Law Review I under Atty. Henedino M. Brondial

society will have lost its benign capacity to

Before the Court are six petitions challenging the

Issue: Whether or not the doctrines of void-for-vagueness and

Respondents interpret recent jurisprudence as

At issue in Romualdez v. Sandiganbayan was whether

While in the subsequent case of Romualdez v.

The position taken by Justice Mendoza in Estrada

that a penal statute is vague and overbroad do not

The theory is that "when statutes

With respect to such statute, the

Case Digests on Remedial Law Review I under Atty. Henedino M. Brondial

For these reasons, "on its face" invalidation

The confusion apparently stems from the interlocking

To be sure, the doctrine of vagueness and the

Justice Mendoza accurately phrased the subtitle in

The rule established in our jurisdiction is, only

prosecution would be possible. A strong criticism

Case Digests on Remedial Law Review I under Atty. Henedino M. Brondial

predicate crime actually committed to

JOSE JESUS M. DISINI, JR., ROWENA S. DISINI, LIANNE

These consolidated petitions seek to declare several

Section 4(b)(3) provides:

information belonging to another, whether natural or

Petitioners claim that Section 4(b)(3) violates the

Two constitutional guarantees create these

Also, the charge of invalidity of this section

Further, petitioners fear that Section 4(b)(3) violates

Case Digests on Remedial Law Review I under Atty. Henedino M. Brondial

seeks to prohibit and punish. Evidently, the theft of

Issue: Whether or not Sec. 12 of RA 10175 is unconstitutional

The court warrant required under this section shall

recording of traffic data in real-time seek to

Informational privacy has two aspects: the right not

Since the validity of the cybercrime law is being

Section 12 empowers law enforcement authorities,

Indeed, courts are able to save vague provisions of

Due cause is also not descriptive of the

The authority that Section 12 gives law

Case Digests on Remedial Law Review I under Atty. Henedino M. Brondial

data, such restraint is but an illusion.