SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
SENATE 
Senate Bill No. 975 
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INTRODUCED BY SEN. JINGGOY EJERCITO ESTRADA 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
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It has been several decades since the restoration of the democratic form 
of government yet, the nation seems to be manifesting palpable and ostentatious 
symptoms of deterioration in our freedom of speech, press and assembly, which 
are the harbingers and hallmarks of ali our democratic rights and privileges. 
It is for this reason that the constitutional provisions guaranteeing free 
speech, free press and right to public assembly has to be fortified by enacting a 
measure enshrining such liberties vital to our nation's democratic survival. The 
Public Assembly Act is hereby revitalized to include: efficient means in 
institutionalizing the creation of freedom parks in the entire archipelago; more 
rigid penalties for violations of the provisions of this Act not only against erring 
peacekeeping contingent in the conduct of dispersal but against public officials, 
as well, and providing clear-cut rules in the issuance of rally permits, 
For these compelling reasons, immediate passage of this proposed bill is 
therefor sought. 
Senator 


SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
SENATE 
Senate Bill No. 
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INTRODUCED BY SEN. JINGGOY EJERCITO ESTRADA 
THE PUBLIC ASSEMBLY ACT OF 2013 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. 
Short Title. This Act shall be known as the "Public 
Assembly Act of 2013". 
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. It is hereby declared the policy of the 
State to extend the highest deference to the right of the people to peaceably 
assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances as enshrined in 
the Constitution. It is further declared the policy of the State that the free exercise 
of such right without prejudice to the right of others to life, liberty and equal 
protection of the law is essential and is considered as one of the hallmarks of a 
democratic society. 
SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. For the purpose of this Act: 
(a) 
Freedom Park shall mean any place or location such as parks, 
roads, public buildings and premises where public assemblies 
are usually held in which no permit shall be required for the 
holding of the same; 
(b) 
Maximum tolerance means the highest degree of restraint that 
the military, police and other peace keeping authorities shall 
observe during a public assembly or in the dispersal thereof; 
(c) 
ModificatiQn of permit shall inc;llIde the change of the pl?ce 
and time of the public assembly, rerouting of the parade or 
street march, the volume of loudspeakers or sound system and 
other similar changes; 
(d) 
Lawful cause shall mean the legitimate justification for the 
refusal of any chief executive officer of a particular local 
government unit, or any officer acting in his behalf, to issue a 
permit due to the fact that the mass action presents a clear and 
present danger of substantial evil that endangers the public 
welfare; 
(e) 
Public assembly means any rally, demonstration, march, 
parade, procession or any other form of mass or concerted 
action held in a public place for the purpose of presenting a 
lawful cause; or expressing an opinion to the general public on 
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any particular issue; or protesting or influencing any state of 
affairs whether political, economic or social; or petitioning the 
government for redress of grievances. 
The procession, rallies, parades, demonstrations, public meetings and 
assemblages for religious purposes shall be governed by local ordinances: 
Provided however, That such ordinances shall only regulate the time, place and 
location of the proposed mass action and shall not in any way deny the lawful 
exercise of such right. 
Mass action governed by the Labor Code of the Philippines, as amended, 
and other labor-related laws, rules and regulations are not included in this Act; 
(f) 
Public place shall inClude any highway, boulevard, avenue, 
road, street, bridge or other thoroughfare, park, plaza, square, 
and/or any open space of public ownership where the people 
are allowed access; 
(g) 
Repression shall be any act that restrains, subdues or prevents 
the holding of any public assembly committed by any member of 
the military, police, peace officer, barangay tanod or any public 
officer performing police duties upon orders of their superior 
officers or any local official or the locality, which would include 
refusal of the local chief executive or his official representative 
to issue any permit without any lawful and justifiable cause; and 
(h) 
Suppression shall mean the stoppage, termination, abatement 
of any existing or ongoing peaceful public assembly by any 
member of the military, police, peace officer, barangay tanod or 
any public officer performing police duties upon orders of their 
superior officers or any local official of the locality. 
SEC. 4. Permit When Required And When not Required. A written 
permit shall be required for any person or persons to organize and hold a public 
assembly in a public place. However, no permit shall be required if the public 
assembly shall be done or made in a freedom park duly established by law, 
ordinance, implementing rules and regulation or in private property, in which case 
only the consent of the owner or the one entitled to its legal possession is 
required, or in the campus of a government-owned and operated educational 
institution which shall be subject to the rules and regulations of said educational 
institution; Provided however, That mass action or activities that are election-
related shall not be covered by the provision of this Act but by the Omnibus 
Election Code of the Philippines and pertinent election laws, rules and 
regulations. 
SEC. 5. Application Requirement. All application of permit shall comply 
with the following guidelines: 
(a) 
the application shall be in writing stating the names of the 
leaders or organizers; their duties and responsibilities in relation 
to the conduct of the mass action; the purpose; date, time and 
duration; places or street to be utilized; estimated number of 
participants; vehicles; public address systems; and other 
paraphernalia and equipment that wiJI be used in connection to 
the conduct of the public assembly. 
(b) 
The application shall be filed with the office of the chief 
executive of the local government unit having jurisdiction over 
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the location where the mass action or activity will take place at 
least three (3) working days prior to the said activity; and 
(c) 
Said application shall immediately be posted in at least three (3) 
conspicuous places. 
SEC. 6. Action to be taken on the Application. 
(a) 
It shall be the duty of the chief executive of the local 
government unit or his official representative to issue or grant a 
permit unless there is clear and convincing evidence that the 
public assembly will create a clear and present danger to public 
welfare; 
(0) 
The chief executive of the official representative shall act on the 
application within two (2) working days from the date of 
application was filed, failing which, the permit shall be deemed 
granted. Should for any reason, the chief executive or any of his 
official representative refuse to accept the application for a 
permit, said application shall be posted by the applicant on the 
premises of the office of the chief executive and shall be 
deemed to have been filed; 
(c) 
If there is imminent and grave danger of a substantive evil 
warranting the denial or modification of the permit, the local 
chief executive shall immediately inform the applicant who must 
be heard on the matter. 
(d) 
The action on the permit shall be in writing and served on the 
application within twenty-four (24) hours; 
(e) 
If the local chief executive or his official representative denies 
the application or modifies the terms thereof in his permit, the 
applicant may consent the decision through a summary 
proceeding before the Regional Trial Court having cognizance 
over the same; 
(f) 
All cases shall be decided within twenty-four (24) hours from the 
date of filing. Cases filed hereunder shall be immediately 
endorsed to the executive judge for disposition or, in his 
absence, to the one next in rank; and 
(g) 
The resolution of the case by the Regional Trial Court shall 
immediately be executory even pending appeal. 
SEC. 7. Modification of Proposed Location or Routes. Should the 
proposed public assembly involve the use, for an appreciable length of time, of 
any public highway, boulevard, avenue, road or street, the local chief executive 
or his official representative may, to prevent grave public inconvenience, 
designate the route thereof which is convenient to the participants or reroute the 
vehicular traffic to another direction so that there will be no serious or undue 
interference with the free flow of commerce and trade; Provided however, That 
the proposed rerouting or modification in the itinerary stated in the application 
shall not diminish or render ineffective the purpose for which the mass action was 
originally intended. 
SEC. 8. 
Responsibility of Organizers. It shall be the duty and 
responsibility of the leaders and organizers of a public assembly or mass action 
to taka all reasonable measures so that the intended public assembly or mass 
action shall be conducted peacefully in accordance with the terms of the permit 
and the rule of law. These shall include but not limited to the following: 
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(a) To inform the participants of their responsibility under the permit; 
(b) To police the ranks of the demonstrators in order to prevent non-
demonstrators from disrupting the lawful activities of the public 
assembly; 
(c) To maintain a constant dialogue with local government officials and law 
enforcement entities to ensure the safe and peaceful conduct of said 
mass action. 
(d) To comply with the terms and conditions stated in the permit; and 
(e) To institute safeguards that the mass action shall not unduly interfere 
with other people's rights and the exercise thereof. 
SEC. 9. Presence of Law Enforcement Contingent. Law enforcement 
entities shall not interfere with the holding of a public assembly. However, to 
adequately ensure public safety, a law enforcement contingent under the 
command of a responsible police officer shall be detailed and stationed in a place 
at least one hundred (100) meters away from the area of activity ready to 
maintain peace and order-at all times. 
SEC. 10. Police Action. It shall be imperative for law enforcement 
agencies, when their assistance is requested by the leaders or organizers, to 
perform their duties always mindful that their responsibility to provide proper 
protection is primordial. 
Towards this end, law enforcement agencies shall observe the following 
guidelines: 
(a) 
Members of the law enforcement contingent who deal with the 
demonstrators shall be in complete uniform with their 
nameplates and units to which they belong displayed 
prominently on the front and dorsal parts of their uniform and 
must observe the policy of "maximum tolerance" as defined 
under this Act; 
(b) 
The members of the law enforcement contingent shall not carry 
any kind of firearms within a one hundred (100) meter distance 
from the area of activity; within this range, members of said law 
enforcement contingent shall be armed only with prescribed 
and authorized uniform armor, paraphernalia and eqUipment; 
(c) 
Authorized and prescribed anti-riot or mass dispersal devices 
and mechanisms shall only be used as a last resort when said 
mass action presents a clear and present danger of a 
SUbstantive evil that threatens public welfare. 
SEC. 11. Dispersal of Public Assembly with Permit. No public 
assembly or mass action with valid permit shall be dispersed. However, when an 
assembly becomes violent, law enforcement entities may disperse such public 
assembly as follows: 
(a) 
(b) 
at the first sign of impending violence, the ranking officer of the 
law enforcement contingent shall call the attention of the leader 
of the public assembly and ask the latter to prevent any 
possible disturbance; 
if actual violence starts to a point where rocks or other harmful 
objects from the partiCipants are thrown at the police or at non 
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participants, or causes any damage to property, the ranking 
officer of th~ law enforcement contingent shall audibly warn the 
participants thai if the disturbance persists, the public assembly 
will be dispersed; 
(c) 
if the violence or disturbance prevailing as stated in the 
preceding subparagraph should not stop or abate, the ranking 
officer of the law enforcement contingent shall audibly issue a 
warning to the participants of the public assembly, and after 
allowing a reasonable period of time to lapse, shall immediately 
order it to forthwith disperse; 
(d) 
no excessive force shall be used by law enforcement units in 
the dispersal; 
(e) 
no arrest of any leader, organizer or participants shall also be 
made during the public assembly unless he violates during the 
public assembly a law, statute, ordinance or any provision of 
this act. Such arrest shall be governed by Article 125 of the 
Revised Penal Code, as amended; and 
(f) 
isolated acts or incidents of disorder or breach of the peace 
during the public assembly shall not constitute a ground for 
dispersal. 
SEC. 12. Dispersal of Public Assembly without Permit. When the 
public assembly is held without a permit where a permit is required, the said 
public assembly may be peacefully dispersed. 
acts: 
SEC. 13. Additional Prohibition. The following are additional prohibited 
(a) 
the holding of any assembly by any leader or organizer without 
having first secured that written permit where a permit is 
required from the appropriate office concerned, or the use of 
such permit for such purpose in any place other than those set 
out in said permit: Provided however, That no person can be 
punished or held criminally liable for participating in or attending 
an otherwise peaceful assembly; 
(b) 
Arbitrary and unjustified denial or modification of a permit in 
violation of the provisions of this Act by the local chief executive 
or his official representative; 
(c) 
The unjustified and arbitrary refusal to accept or acknowledge 
receipt of the application for a permit by the local chief executive 
or his official representative; 
(d) 
Repressing, suppressing, obstructing, impeding, disrupting or 
otherwise denying the exercise of the right to peacefully 
assemble; 
(e) 
The unjustified discharge of firearms by a member of any law 
enforcement agency or any person in an attempt to disperse the 
public assembly; 
(f) 
The carrying of a deadly or offensive weapon or device such as 
firearm, bladed weapon, pillbox, bomb, and the like; 
(g) 
The malicious destruction of public and private property in 
connection with the conduct of the public assembly; and 
(h) 
The interfering with or intentionally disturbing the holding of a 
publiC assembly by the use of a motor vehicle, its horns and 
loud sound systems. 
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SEC. 14. Penalties. Any person found guilty and convinced of violating 
any provision of this Act shall be punished with imprisonment ranging from six (6) 
years and one (1) day to twelve (12) years or fine not less than Fifty Thousand 
(P50,OOO.OO) but not more that One Hundred Thousand Pesos (P100,OOO.OO) or 
both at the discretion of the court. This penalty shall equally apply to public 
officials and employees found guilty for violating the provisions of this Act without 
prejudice to the filing of any administrative or civil suits against them. 
SEC. 15. Freedom Parks. There is hereby created at least one (1) 
freedom park in every municipality, city and province throughout the nation to be 
designated under the Implementing Rules and Regulations of this Act. 
The designation of the said freedom parks shall take into consideration 
places or locations that have traditionally hosted mass actions of public 
assemblies, its historical significance to the political life of the locality, and other 
considerations such as safety, convenience and accessibility to the public. Local 
sanggunians of local government units may designate additional freedom parks. 
SEC. 16. Implementing Rules and Regulations. The Department of 
Local and Interior Government, in consultation with local government units shall 
promulgate the implementing rules and regulations within six (6) months from tfie 
effectivity of th is Act. 
SEC. 17. Separability Clause. Should any provIsion of this Act be 
declared invalid or unconstitutional, the validity or constitutionality of other 
provisions shall not be affected thereby. 
SEC. 18. Repealing Clause. Batas Pambansa Bilang 880 is hereby 
repealed, all other laws, decrees, letters of instructions, resolutions, orders 
ordinances, or parts thereof which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act 
are likewise hereby repealed amended, or modified accordingly. 
SEC. 19. Effectivity Clause. This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) 
days following the complete publication either in the Official Gazette or in at least 
two (2) newspapers of general Circulation. 
Approved, 
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