The Katipunan Legacy
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As all persons are held innocent until they shall have
been declared guilty, if arrest shall be deemed indispensable, all harshness not essential to the securing
of the prisoner’s person shall be severely repressed
by law.
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No one shall be disquieted on account of his opinions,
including his religious views, provided their manifestation does not disturb the public order established by law.
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The free communication of ideas and opinions is
one of the most precious of the rights of man. Every
citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with
freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of
this freedom as shall be defined by law.
The security of the rights of man and of the citizen requires public military forces. These forces are, therefore, established for the good of all and not for the
personal advantage of those to whom they shall be
entrusted.
A common contribution is essential for the maintenance of the public forces and for the cost of administration. This should be equitably distributed among
all the citizens in proportion to their means.
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All the citizens have a right to decide, either personally or by their representatives, as to the necessity of
the public contribution; to grant this freely; to know
to what uses it is put; and to fix the proportion, the
mode of assessment and of collection and the duration of the taxes.
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Society has the right to require of every public agent
an account of his administration.
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A society in which the observance of the law is not
assured, nor the separation of powers defined, has no
constitution at all.
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Property being an inviolable and sacred right, no one
can be deprived of it, unless demanded by public necessity, legally constituted, explicitly demands it, and
under the condition of a just and prior indemnity.
These core beliefs eventually found expression in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(1966).
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