Are ‘24-hour curfews’ legal?

Several local government units (LGU) have imposed curfews in line with the national government's measures to minimize the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which has so far infected 501 people in the Philippines.

Muntinlupa City, for one, has passed an ordinance on what it called a "24-hour curfew," in which no one is allowed to go out of the house "unless he/she falls under the exemptions provided by law or ordinance."

For the first offense, violators stand to be placed on the barangay blotter and lose benefits from the city government, like scholarships and zero-interest loans. For the "last offense," violators' "relief goods and other assistance" during the quarantine period will be withheld.

Is this allowed?

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, a member of the Inter-Agency Task Force on top of the government response to COVID-19, said: "The total lockdown in Luzon is in effect a 24-hour curfew. No one leaves the house, unless covered by the exceptions/exemptions."

He is referring to the "enhanced community quarantine" that President Rodrigo Duterte declared over the Philippines' largest island, effective until midnight of April 13.

Under the Luzon quarantine, mass gatherings are prohibited, public transportation is suspended, and only one person per household is allowed to go out to access basic necessities, among several other provisions.

Human rights lawyers have warned against the imposition of "24-hour curfews."

"Siyempre nakikiusap tayong manatili lahat sa bahay, pero labag na sa Konstitusyon ang ordinansang ito. Ang "24-hour curfew" ay outright denial of the right to travel and freedom of movement," lawyer Chel Diokno said of Muntinlupa's ordinance.

Diokno, the national chairperson of the Free Legal Assistance Group, also said minors cannot be penalized for curfew violations under the Comprehensive Juvenile Justice Act.

"Dapat dalhin sila sa kanilang bahay o i-turn over sa kanilang mga magulang," he said in a Facebook post.

For its part, the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers (NUPL) said curfews "cannot be arbitrary, excessive or disproportionate."

"Measured by these standards, the 24-hour blanket curfews with vague or no exceptions or exemptions issued through ordinances by some local government units are open to serious legal challenge," the NUPL said.

The 1987 Constitution prohibits the impairment of the right to travel but provides some exceptions.

Section 6 of the Bill of Rights says: "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."

The NUPL said penalties for curfew violators must be "proportionate, specific and definite," and cannot be "arbitrary" or amounting to "cruel, degrading or unusual treatment or punishment."

"If these are not observed, the penalties can be legally challenged. Most of all, the penalties must be just and humane. In this context, the ordinance issued by some local government units cancelling for instance scholarship benefits are legally infirm," an NUPL bulletin states.

According to the NUPL, the following can impose curfews in the exercise of police power: Sangguniang Barangay, Municipal or City Councils, or Provincial Boards through valid ordinances in their territories, Congress through a valid law in defined areas, or the president through an executive issuance in defined territories or specific areas.

"The Cabinet secretaries, appointive (i.e. not elected) presidential advisers, local government unit (LGU) heads, MMDA, PNP, AFP are not empowered by themselves and do not have the unilateral authority to impose curfews," the NUPL said. 

"They can generally only enforce valid curfews imposed by the proper authorities above through issuances that comply with procedural and substantive requirements," they added.

In Manila, which has a curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., inquest prosecutors have as of last week ordered the release of at least 20 people who were arrested for violating the city's curfew ordinance and for other offenses, mostly serious disobedience of authorities.

As for specific periods of time in which residents can go out, the Department of the Interior and Local Government has said it has set no policy on window hours, but the Philippine National Police said LGUs may implement their own. — RSJ, GMA News