LESSON

Proper

What is Complaint?
 Is defined as a sworn written statement charging a person with an offense, subscribed
by the offended party, any peace officer, or other public officer charged with the
enforcement of the law violated. (Section 3,Rule 110, Rules on Criminal Procedures)

What is Information?
 Is defined as an accusation in writing charging a
person with an offense, subscribed by the prosecutor
and filed with court. (Section 4, Rule 110, Rules on
Criminal Procedures)

The term “arrest” came from the Latin word “arrestare”

which means “cause to stop” and “restare” which means
“stay behind”. This term was used as early as the 14th
century.

What is Arrest?
 Is defined as the taking of a person into custody so he
can answer for the commission of an offense.

How is Arrested Made?

 An arrest is made by an actual restraint of person to
be arrested or by his/her submission to the to the
custody of the person making the arrest.

Who are exempted from Arrest?

1.President of the Philippines;
2.Senators or members of the House of Representatives, while Congress is in session, in all
offense punishable by not more than six (6) years imprisonment; and
3.Diplomatic officials and their domestics.

Two Modes of Arrest

1.Arrest by virtue of a warrant;
 The officer shall inform the person to be arrested of the cause of the arrest and of
the fact that a warrant has been issued for his arrest, except when he flees or forcibly
resists before the officer has opportunity to inform him or when the giving of such
information will imperil the arrest. The officer need not have the warrant in his
possession at the time of the arrest but arrest but after the arrest, if the person
arrested so requires, the warrants shall be shown to him as soon as practicable.
  In case of Warrantless Arrest, it is the inherent duty of the arresting officer to detain
the person/respondent and file the proper in formation within the specified time as
provided under Article 125 of RPC which has been amended by Executive Order
No. 272 on July 25, 1897.

Take Note: It is not the physical delivery of the person that is required under the law. What
is legally required is filing the information against the arrested person in the proper court where
the judge has the authority to issue an order of release of confinement.

Executive Order No. 272 amended Article 125 of the RPC (delay in the delivery of detained
persons to proper judicial authorities). It extended the period authorized to detain a person prior
to delivery to judicial authority. The law requires a police officer to detain a person for some
legal ground and file the appropriate information to the proper judicial authority within the
following periods and conditions:

Warrant of Arrest – is an order in writing issued in the name of the People of the Philippines,
signed by a judge and directed to peace officer, commanding him to arrest a person designated
and take him into custody of the law in order that he/she may be bound to answer for the
commission of an offense and bring him before the court.

Essential Requisites of a Valid Warrant of Arrest

1.It must be issued upon probable cause which may be determined personally by a judge
after examination under oath or affirmation of the complainant and the witnesses he
may produce.

What is Probable Cause?

Probable Cause refers to the evidence that warrants a person of reasonable caution in the
belief that a crime was committed.

2.The warrant must particularly describe the person to be seized.

What is John Doe Warrant?

John Doe Warrant
 is also known as Ricard Doe and/ or Jane Doe Warrant
 is a warrant containing no specific person to be arrested but only descriptions
based on the testimonies of the victim/s or the witnesses. It contains the
physical description of the accused as well as other factors to be considered for
the identification of the accused.

Is there an Alias Warrant?

Yes.Alias warrant refers to the warrant of arrest issued by a judge to the peace officer after
returning the original warrant of arrest after the original warrant of arrest after the lapse of the
10-days validity period.

Who is a Warrant Officer?

Warrant Officer is any authorized member from the law enforcement agency usually from
the Philippine National Police (PNP) or National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) who holds a
warrant for execution within 10 days from receipt subject to renewal in case of failure to execute
the same.

Who may issue a Warrant of Arrest?

The general rule on who is authorized to issue warrant of arrest is the judge of any
competent court in the Philippines.

Period of Delivering a Person to proper Judicial Authority (Art. 125, Revised Penal
Code I):
Time/period Penalties
12 hours Light penalties and their equivalent
18 hours Correccional penalties and their equivalent
36 hours Afflictive/capital penalties and their equivalent

Execution of Warrant of Arrest

The head of office to whom the warrant of arrest was delivered for execution shall cause
the warrant to be executed within 10 days from its receipt.

Within 10 days after the expiration of the period, the

officer to whom it was assigned for execution shall make a
report to the judge who issued the warrant. In case of
failure to execute the warrant, he/she shall state the
reasons therefor (Sec. 4, Rule 113, Rules of Court).
Even if not served within the statutory period of (10 days),
a warrant of arrest remains valid. It remains valid unless:
a. The warrant was recalled by the issuing court;
b. The respondent was already arrested;
c. The respondent voluntarily submitted himself/herself
to the jurisdiction of the issuing court; or
d. The respondent died.

Note: A warrant of arrest has NO expiry date. It remains

valid until arrest is effected or warrant is lifted.

Limitations of Arrest Warrant

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) now Department of Justice (DOJ) through Circular No. 3
dated 25 September 1978 provided the following prohibitions to effect arrest during:
 Night time
 Holidays
 Weekends, unless it is a citizen’s arrest, or an arrest resulting from surveillance or
entrapment, or for crimes against national security, or for notorious and dangerous
criminals with outstanding warrant of arrest, or for escapists and fugitive.

Principles of Arrest
The following are the basic rules on arrest:
  A warrant of arrest is enforceable only within the territory of the government or state
issuing the warrant.
 In a warrantless arrest based on the commission of a crime, the crime must have been
committed within the territory of the government or state whose agents are carrying
out the arrest.
 In arrest based on a warrant of arrest, it is not essential that the arresting officer has the
warrant his possession at the time he carries out the arrest.

2. Arrest without a warrant under exceptional circumstances as may be provided by the statute
(Sec. 5 Rule 113, Rules of Court).
 The officer shall inform the person to be arrested of his authority and the cause of his
arrest, unless the person to be arrested is then engaged in the commission or after an
escape, or flees or forcibly resists before the officer has opportunity to inform him, or
when the giving of such information will imperil the arrest.

The Warrantless Arrest

As a general rule, it is a requisite that warrant should be issued in the name of the person
to be arrested. Any peace officer who arrests a person without warrant may be liable under
Article 125 of Revised Penal Code (Arbitrary Detention). The following are the situations in
which a police officer may arrest a person without warrant based on (Rule 113, Section 5, Rules
of Court).

Legality of Arrest
When is warrantless arrest lawful?
1.When, in the law enforcer’s presence, the person to be arrested has committed is actually
committing, or is attempting to commit an offense.

2.When an offense has in fact just been committed, and the officer has personal knowledge
of facts indicating that the person to be arrested has committed it.

3.When the person to be arrested is a prisoner who has escaped from a penal establishment
or place where he is serving final judgment or temporarily confined while his case is
pending, or has escaped while being transferred from one confinement to another.

4.If a person lawfully arrested escapes or is rescued, any person may immediately pursue or
retake him without a warrant at any time and in any place within the Philippines.

5.When the arrest is made by a bondsman for the purpose of surrendering the accused.

6.Where the accused released on bail attempts to leave the country without court
permission.

7.Violation of conditional pardon, punishable under Article 159 of the Revised Penal Code
as a case of Evasion of service of sentence.
8.Arrest following a Deportation Proceeding by the Immigration Commissioner against
illegal and undesirable aliens.
“Hot Pursuit” Arrest (also termed in US as Fresh Pursuit)
Shall mean an immediate, recent chase or follow-up without material interval for the
purpose of talking into custody any person wanted by virtue of a warrant or one suspected to
have committed a recent offense while fleeing from one police jurisdiction to another,
necessitating the pursuing.

Police Unit may cross jurisdiction boundaries that will normally require prior official
personal inter-unit coordination but which the pursuing unit cannot at that moment comply
with due to the ur4gency of the situation.

Team Leaders of Local Police Units operating outside their Area of Responsibility (AOR)
and National Support Units shall coordinate personally or through an official representative with
the concerned territorial Police Office within whose jurisdiction the operation to conduct using
the prescribed Coordination Form prior operation, except in cases of hot pursuit where the
inter-unit coordination through the written form cannot be made due to the nature and
urgency of the situation.

In such case, the Police Unit in pursuit shall endeavor to notify the territorial unit by any
means of appropriate communication at any time during the hot pursuit and if not possible,
shall accomplish and furnish the territorial Police Unit written incident report immediately after
the termination of that particular pursuit operation.

A hot pursuit arrest must have the following elements:

1.That an offense has been committed;
2.Offense has just been committed, and
3.That there is probable cause based on personal knowledge of facts or circumstances that
the persons to be arrested is the one who committed the crime.

Points to consider in making an arrest.

1.Use of “Reasonable Force”
2.Arrest of Suspects on board a Moving Vehicle
3.Rights of the Accused un Custodial Investigation (RA 7438)

Duties of Arresting Officer during Arrest

 It shall be the duty of the officer executing the warrant to arrest the accused and liver
him/her without delay to the nearest police station or jail for the recording of the fact of
the arrest of the accused.

 At the time of the arrest, with or without warrant, it shall be the duty of the arresting
officer to inform the person to be arrested of the cause of the arrest and the fact the a
warrant has been issued for his arrest (Section 7, Rule 113 Revised Rules Procedure), in
the dialect or language known to him, except when he flees or forcibly resists before the
officer has the opportunity to so inform him or when the giving of a such information
will imperil the arrest. The officer need not have the warrant in his possession at the time
of the arrest but after the arrest, if the person arrested so requires, the warrant shall be
shown to him as soon as practicable.
  The person arrested, with or without warrant, shall be informed of his constitutional right
to remain silent and that any statement he might make could be used against him. He
shall have the right to communicate with his lawyer or his immediate family. It shall be
the responsibility of the arresting officer to see to it that this is accomplished.

 A person arrested without a warrant shall be immediately brought to the proper police
station for investigation without unnecessary delay, and within the time prescribed in
Article 125 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended (i.e., 1218, or 36 hours, as the case
may be), shall be subjected to inquest proceedings under section 7, Rule 112 of the 200
Rules of Criminal Procedure.

 No torture, force, violence, threat, intimidation, or any other means which vitiate the free
will shall be used against an arrested person. The bringing of arrested persons to secret
detention in the presence of his counsel of choice.

 If the person arrested waives his right against self-incrimination and opts to give his
statement, the arresting officer shall ensure that the waiver shall be made in writing and
signed by the person arrested in the presence of a counsel of his own choice or
competent and independent counsel his own choice or a competent and independent
counsel provided by the government.

 When transporting the suspects/s to the police station, be sure that no weapon/s are
retained in their possessions that could be used against the arresting officer, regardless
if the person arrested is a noted criminal or not. It is also a must that the arrested person/s
be handcuffed to prevent violence.

Legal proceeding used to challenge arrest and detention

The legal remedy for defense counsels is to petition for writ of habeas corpus to contest
the legality of detention (Rule 102, Rules of Court).

Rights of a Person under Arrest

The following are the rights of a person under arrest:
 To be informed of the cause of arrest, and shown a copy of the warrant, if any, as soon
as possible (Rule 113, Sec. 7, 8 & 9);
 Not to be subjected to violence or unnecessary force during the arrest (Rule 113, Sec 2,
Par 2);
 To be visited by and confer with his/her attorney, privately, at any hour of the day or
night (Rule 113, Sec 14); and
 In general, to bail himself/herself out as a matter of right based on Rule 114, Sec 4.

What is Detention?
 Refers to the act of confinement or restraint upon persons.
 It is the process whereby a state or private citizen lawfully holds a person by removing his
or her freedom or liberty at that time. This can be due to criminal charges preferred against
the individual pursuant to a prosecution or to protect a person or property.
Detention of an Arrested person
Any person arrested could be detained through the following guidelines:
1.If he was arrested by virtue of a warrant of arrest, he shall be detained until:
a. He posts bail duly approved by competent court which then orders his release, or
b. The court issuing the warrant revokes or lift said warrant of arrest for other reasons.
(But the detainee has to be released
upon his/her acquittal or of the case even
without a bail of lifting order).

2.If he was arrested without for the commission

of a crime, he can be detained for:
a. Twelve (12) hours if the crime is
punishable by Arresto Menor (prison
term from 1 to 30 days), public censure,
fine below PHP 200.
b. Eighteen (18) hours if the crime is
punishable by Prison Correccional (prison
term 6 months and 1 day to 6 years),
Suspension, Destrierro, Fine from PHP
200 to PHP 6,000.
c. Thirty-six (36) hours if the crime is punishable by Reclusion Perpetua (Literally life
imprisonment. But pardon is provided by law after 30 years of service). Reclusion
Temporal (prison term from 12 years and 1 day to 20 years), Perpetual or Temporary
Absolute Disqualification, Prison Mayor (prison term from 6 years and 1 day to 12
years), Fine exceeding PHP 6,000 (Article 124, Revised Penal Code).

3.If he was arrested as an escapee from a place where he/she is temporarily confined while
his/her case is pending, he/she shall be reconfined until he/she posts the required bail
(Executive Order No. 272 dated July 1987) Revised Rules

4.If he was arrested attempting to leave the Philippines while on bail, he shall be confined
subject to the order of the court where the case is pending. The court may raise bail or
impose more stringent conditions for subject’s freedom.

5.If he was arrested after escaping from a place where he/she is serving final judgment,
he/she shall be reconfined to serve his/her remaining sentence, without prejudice to
his/her liability for the crime Evasion of Service of Sentence (Article 157-159, Revised
Penal Code II).

6.If he was detained for violent insanity or for ailment requiring compulsory confinement in
a hospital, it appears that hospital authorities have a say on his/her release, the same to
depend on whether he/she is no longer a threat to society ot his/her ailment is
sufficiently treated.
Drawback of being an Arresting Officer
Arresting officers are prone to the following crimes:
1. Arresting without legal grounds (Arbitrary Detention – (Article 124, RPC);

2. Carrying out justified arrest without warrant, but deta1ins the subject beyond 12/18/36
hours without an inquest or without
a valid waiver of detention (Delay in
the Delivery of Detained Person to
the Proper Judicial Authorities –
Articles 125, RPC).

3. Delaying any proceedings upon a

petition for the liberation of such
detainee (Article 126, RPC).

4. Pocketing arrested person’s money

or other valuables (Robbery- Article
294, RPC)

5. Investing or taking the sworn

statement of any person arrested, detained or under custodial investigation without
informing him/her of his/her right to remain silent, and to have competent and
independent counsel, preferably of his/her own choice, or without providing him/her
such counsel free of charge if he/she cannot afford one (Violation of Sec 4 (a) RA 7438).

6. Obstructing, preventing or prohibiting any lawyer, any member of the immediate family
of a person arrested, detained or under custodial investigation, or any medical doctor or
priest or religious minister chosen by the subject or by any member of his/her immediate
family or counsel, from visiting and conferring privately with him/her, or from examining
and treating him/her, or from ministering to the spiritual needs, at any hour of the day
or, in urgent cases, of the night (Violation of Sec4 (b), RA. 7438).

7. Refraining from arresting an offender in a crime punishable by life imprisonment and/or

death, in consideration of any offer, promise, gift or present (Art 211-A RPC on Qualified
Bribery, a crime inserted by RA. 7659 effective 31 January 1994).