Constitutional Law: Article III, Section 20 Summary (De Leon)

SEC. 20. No person shall be imprisoned for debt or non-payment of a poll tax.

Meaning of debt.

Debt, as intended to be covered by the constitutional guarantee, means any liability to pay arising out of a contract, express or implied.

In other words, debt, as used in the Constitution, refers to civil debt or one not arising from a criminal offense.

Purpose of prohibition against imprisonment for debt.

(1) The prohibition was brought about by the force of public opinion which looked with abhorrence on statutes permitting the cruel imprisonment of debtors. 

The Constitution seeks to prevent the use of the power of the State to coerce the payment of debts.

(2) The control of the creditor over the person of his debtor has been abolished on humanitarian considerations. 

One should not be punished on account of his poverty. 

Moreover, the government is not a proper party to private disputes. 

It is not called upon to render its aid to one who deems himself aggrieved by imprisoning the other for failure to pay his debts.

Prohibition limited to contractual obligations only.

The inhibition was never meant to include damages arising in action ex delicto (criminal actions), for the reason that the damages recoverable therein do not arise from any contract entered into between the parties, but are imposed upon the defendant for the wrong he has done and are considered as a punishment therefor; nor fines and penalties meted out by the courts in criminal proceedings as punishments for crime; nor sanctions impose in administrative and civil cases. Thus:

(1) Subsidiary imprisonment as a penalty for failure to pay a criminal debt or fine does not amount to prohibited imprisonment for debt. 

(2) A person may be imprisoned for failure to pay tax (as it is not a debt).

        Pay Tax - BIR

        Poll Tax - Cedula

(3) An employer cannot successfully challenge as violative of the constitutional prohibition a law providing that failure of employers to pay the salaries of their employees shall be considered as prima facie evidence of fraud committed through false pretenses since what is being punished is fraud of the employer who, being able to make payment, refuses to do so without justification.

(4) Neither would suspension of a public officer for failure to pay a just and admitted debt violate the constitutional prohibition.

(5) If the debtor has property, the creditor has the right in a civil case to have such property attached (i.e., taken into legal custody) as a means of enforcing payment of the debt.

But an order for the arrest and imprisonment of the defendant, who was declared in contempt of court for failure to satisfy a judgment (ordering him to pay plaintiff past and future support), owing to his insolvency, would, in effect, authorize his imprisonment for debt in violation of the Constitution.

Meaning of poll tax.

A poll tax (or personal or capitation tax) is a tax of a fixed amount imposed on individuals residing within a specified territory, whether citizens or not, without regard to their property or the occupation which they may be engaged.

The residence tax is in the nature of a poll tax.

Purpose of prohibition against imprisonment for non-payment of poll tax.

The constitutional right is intended for the protection of the poor. It is a measure dictated by a sense of humanity and sympathy for the plight of the poorer elements of the population who cannot even afford to pay their cedula or poll taxes, now community tax-(formerly residence tax). 

There is, however no prohibition against the imposition of poll tax.

A person is subject to imprisonment for violation of the community tax law (in the Local Government Tax Code) other than for non-payment of the community tax (e.g., falsification of the community tax certificate) and for non-payment of other taxes if so expressly provided by pertinent laws.

The payment of a poll tax cannot be made a pre-requisite to the exercise of the right of suffrage. (see Art. V, Sec. 1.)