b. Distinction

Regular v. Special Session

• Under the 1935 Constitution, the distinction between regular and special sessions was significant because during a special session, the legislature could consider only the subject matter designated by the President.
• Under the present law, which leaves discretion to Congress as to the number of regular session days, the distinction is no longer significant for the purpose of determining what the legislature may consider. (Bernas, The 1987 Philippine Constitution: A Comprehensive Reviewer, 2011)

In general, IHL defines the following obligations:

• Persons hors de combat and those who do not take a direct part in hostilities are entitled to respect for their lives and their moral and physical integrity. They shall in all circumstances be protected and treated humanely without any adverse distinction.
• It is forbidden to kill or injure an enemy who surrenders or who is hors de combat.
• The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for by the party to the conflict which has them in its power. Protection also covers medical personnel, establishments, transports and equipment. The emblem of the red cross or the red crescent is the sign of such protection and must be respected.
• Captured combatants and civilians under the authority of an adverse party are entitled to respect for their lives, dignity, personal rights and convictions. They shall be protected against all acts of violence and reprisals. They shall have the right to correspond with their families and to receive relief.
• Everyone shall be entitled to benefit from fundamental judicial guarantees. No one shall be held responsible for an act he has not committed. No one shall be subjected to physical or mental torture, corporal punishment or cruel or degrading treatment.
• Parties to a conflict and members of their armed forces do not have an unlimited choice of methods and means of warfare. It is prohibited to employ weapons or methods of warfare of a nature to cause unnecessary losses or excessive suffering.
• Parties to a conflict shall at all times distinguish between the civilian population and combatants in order to spare civilian population and property. Neither the civilian population as such nor civilian persons shall be the object of attack. Attacks shall be directed solely against military objectives. (Basic Rules of International Humanitarian Law in Armed Conflicts, ICRC, Dec. 31, 1988)

The ICCPR, particularly its protection on the right to life, does not determine the legality of the use of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict. What applies is the lex specialis, which is the IHL. It determines whether the taking of life in times of war has been arbitrary.

Print v. Broadcast Media

While all forms of communication are entitled to the broad protection of freedom of expression clause, the freedom of film, television and radio broadcasting is somewhat lesser in scope than the freedom accorded to newspapers and other print media.

According to U.S. Courts, the three major reasons why broadcast media stands apart from print media are:

• The scarcity of the frequencies by which the medium operates [i.e., airwaves are physically limited while print medium may be limitless];
• Its "pervasiveness" as a medium; and
• Its unique accessibility to children.

According to Philippine jurisprudence, first, the difference in treatment, in the main, is in the regulatory scheme applied to broadcast media that is not imposed on traditional print media, and narrowly confined to unprotected speech (e.g., obscenity, pornography, seditious and inciting speech), or is based on a compelling government interest that also has constitutional protection, such as national security or the electoral process.

Second, regardless of the regulatory schemes that broadcast media is subjected to, the Court has consistently held that the clear and present danger test applies to content-based restrictions on media, without making a distinction as to traditional print or broadcast media. (Chavez v. Gonzales, G.R. No. 168338, Feb. 15, 2008)