The phrase "no person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense without due process of law" is explicitly found in Section 14, Article III of the Bill of Rights in the Philippine Constitution. This section guarantees that no person can be prosecuted for a criminal offense without the proper legal procedures being followed, ensuring fairness and justice in criminal proceedings
. In the context of the U.S. Constitution, this guarantee is found in the Due Process Clauses of both the Fifth Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment. The Fifth Amendment states that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, applying to the federal government. The Fourteenth Amendment extends this protection to actions by state governments, ensuring that states also cannot deprive any person of these rights without due process
. Thus, the concept is enshrined in:
- Philippine Bill of Rights, Article III, Section 14
- U.S. Constitution, Fifth Amendment (federal level)
- U.S. Constitution, Fourteenth Amendment, Section 1 (state level)
All these provisions confirm the fundamental right to due process before answering for a criminal offense.
