Self-incrimination Clause Flashcards
Sec. 17, Art. III.
No person shall be compelled to be a __________________
witness against himself.
What is the purpose of the self-incrimination clause?
The self-incrimination clause is meant to avoid:
- Placing the witness against the strongest temptation to commit perjury; and
- Extorting a confession by force.
What is the scope of the self-incrimination clause?
The kernel of the right is not against all compulsion, but against testimonial compulsion. The right against self-incrimination is simply against the legal process of extracting from the lips of the accused an admission of guilt. It does not apply where the evidence sought to be excluded is not an incrimination but as part of object evidence
[Agustin v. CA, G.R. No. 162571 (2005)].
What are excluded from the realm of self-incriminatIon?
Over the years, the Court has expressly excluded several kinds of object evidence taken from the person of the accused from the realm of selfincrimination. These include photographs, hair, and other bodily substances. The Court has also declared as constitutional several procedures performed on the accused such as pregnancy tests for women accused of adultery, expulsion of morphine from one’s mouth and the tracing of ones foot to determine its identity with bloody footprints. The Court has even authorized the examination of a woman’s genitalia, in an action for annulment filed by her husband, to verify his claim that she was impotent, her orifice being too small for his penis. Some of these procedures were, to be sure, rather invasive and involuntary, but all of them were constitutionally sound. DNA testing and its results are now similarly acceptable
[Agustin v. CA, supra].
What are other exclusions from the realm of self-incrimination?
- Handwriting in connection with a prosecution for falsification is not allowed [Beltran v. Samson, G.R. No. 32025 (1929); Bermudez v. Castillo, Per. Rec. No. 714-A (1937)]
- Accused may be made to take off her garments and shoes and be photographed [People v. Otadura, G.R. No. L-2154 (1950)]; compelled to show her body for physical investigation to see if she is pregnant by an adulterous relation [Villaflor v. Summers G.R. No. 16444 (1920)]
Note: Re-enactment of the crime by the accused is not allowed.
When can the right against self-incrimination be claimed?
The right can be claimed only when the specific question, incriminatory in character, is actually put to the witness. It cannot be claimed at any other time. It does not give a witness the right to disregard a subpoena, to decline to appear before the court at the time appointed, or to refuse to testify altogether. The witness receiving a subpoena must obey it, appear as required, take the stand, be sworn and answer questions. It is only when a particular question is addressed to him, the answer to which may incriminate him for some offense, that he may refuse to answer on the strength of the constitutional guaranty
[People v. Ayson G.R. No. 85215 (1989)].
Is the right against self-incrimination self-executing or automatically operational?
NO.
The right against self-incrimination is not selfexecuting or automatically operational. It must be claimed. If not claimed by or in behalf of the witness, the protection does not come into play. It follows that the right may be waived, expressly, or impliedly, as by a failure to claim it at the appropriate time [People v. Ayson, supra]
What is the general rule on the application of the right against self-incrimination?
The privilege is available in any proceedings, even outside the court, for they may eventually lead to a criminal prosecution.
What is the expanded application of the right against self-incrimination?
- The right of the accused against selfincrimination is extended to respondents in administrative investigations that partake of the nature of or are analogous to criminal proceedings. The privilege has consistently been held to extend to all proceedings sanctioned by law; and to all cases in which punishment is sought to be visited upon a witness, whether a party or not [Standard Chartered Bank v. Senate Committee on Banks G.R. No. 167173 (2007)].
- Administrative proceedings with penal aspect i.e. medical board investigation [Pascual v. Board of Medical Examiners, G.R. No. L-25018 (1969)], forfeiture proceeding [Cabal v. Kapunan Jr., G.R. No. L-19052 (1962)]
- Fact-Finding investigation by an ad hoc body [Galman v. Pamaran G.R. Nos. 71208-09 (1985)]
What are the effects of the denial of the right against self-incrimination?
- Exclusionary Rule (under Sec. 17, Art. III in relation to Sec. 12): When the privilege against selfincrimination is violated outside of court (e.g. police), then the testimony, as already noted, is not admissible.
- Ousted of Jurisdiction: When the privilege is violated by the Court itself, that is, by the judge, the court is ousted of its jurisdiction, and all its proceedings, and even judgment are null and void [Chavez v. CA G.R. No. L-29169 (1968)].
What are Immunity Statutes?
[It is the response of the State] to the constitutional exception (i.e., the right against self-incrimination) to its vast powers, especially in the field of ordinary criminal prosecution and in law enforcement and administration. Immunity statutes seek a rational accommodation between the imperatives of an individual’s constitutional right against selfincrimination (considered the fountain from which all statutes granting immunity emanate) and the legitimate governmental
testimony. By voluntarily offering to give information on the commission of a crime and to testify against the culprits, a person opens himself to investigation and prosecution if he himself had participated in the criminal act. To secure his testimony without exposing him to the risk of prosecution, the law recognizes that the witness can be given immunity from prosecution. In this manner, the state interest is satisfied while respecting the individual’s constitutional right against self-incrimination
[Quarto v. Ombudsman G.R. No. 169042 (2011)].
What are the immunity statutes included in the footnote 59 of Quarto v. Hon. Ombudsman:
a. PD No. 749 (Granting Immunity from Prosecution to Givers of Bribes and Other Gifts and to their Accomplices in Bribery and Other Graft Cases against Public Officers, July 18, 1975);
b. PD No. 1731 (Providing for Rewards and Incentives to Government Witnesses and Informants and other Purposes, October 8, 1980);
c. PD No. 1732 (Providing Immunity from Criminal Prosecution to Government Witnesses and for other Purposes, October 8, 1980);
d. PD No. 1886 (creating the Agrava Fact-Finding Board, October 22, 1983);
e. 1987 Constitution, Article XIII, Section 18(8) (empowering the Commission on Human Rights to grant immunity);
f. RA No. 6646 (An Act Introducing Additional Reforms in the Electoral System and for other Purposes, January 5, 1988);
g. Executive Order No. 14, August 18, 1986; h. RA No. 6770 (Ombudsman Act of 1989, November 17, 1989);
i. RA No. 6981 (Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Act, April 24, 1991);
j. RA No. 7916 (The Special Economic Zone Act of 1995, July 25, 1994);
k. RA No. 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, June 7, 2002);
l. RA No. 9416 (An Act Declaring as Unlawful Any Form of Cheating in Civil Service Examinations, etc., March 25, 2007); and
m. RA No. 9485 (Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007, June 2, 2007).
What is Transactional Immunity?
“Transactional immunity” grants immunity to witness from prosecution for an offense to which his compelled testimony relates
[Galman v. Pamaran, supra].
What is Use Immunity?
“Use immunity” prohibits use of a witness’ compelled
testimony and its fruits in any manner in connection with the criminal prosecution of the witness.
What is the basis of Transactional Immunity in the Constitution?
Sec. 18, Art. XIII.
The Commission on Human Rights shall have the following powers and functions: xxx
(8) Grant immunity from prosecution to any person whose testimony or whose possession of documents or other evidence is necessary or convenient to determine the truth in any investigation conducted by it or under its authority;
