SC reminds cops: Follow rules on warrantless arrests

MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC) reminded law enforcers to make sure lawful arrests precede a search, or the evidence they gather will be deemed inadmissible in court.

The High Court’s First Division has acquitted Gerrjan Manago of drug charges, reversing a 2013 Court of Appeals decision that had affirmed a guilty conviction by a regional trial court.

The decision, dated August 17, was publicized on Monday, September 19.

Manago was found guilty beyond reasonable doubt by a Cebu City Regional Trial Court in 2009 for violating Section 11, Article 2, of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Acts of 2002.

In an 11-page decision penned by Justice Estela Perlas Bernabe, the High Court noted that the 1987 Constitution states that “evidence obtained from unreasonable searches and seizures shall be inadmissible in evidence for any purpose in any proceeding.”

The SC added that a lawful arrest must happen first before a search is made. “The process cannot be reversed,” the SC noted.

Manago was arrested in 2007, after he was found with a plastic sachet containing shabu at a checkpoint in Cebu City, according to court records. The check point had been set up two days after Police Officer 3 Antonio Din witnessed a robbery just as he was waiting for his turn to get a haircut.

The police’s probe into the incident revealed that the armed robbers were staying at Barangay Del Rio Pit-os. The getaway vehicles, meanwhile, were traced to Manago.

After being asked to stop at the checkpoint, Manago was told to disembark the car. Police then searched the vehicle and the body of Manago, which led to the discovery of the shabu sachet. Manago was then arrested.

The SC acquitted Manago because the evidence that led to his conviction was inadmissible.

“In fine, Manago’s warrantless arrest, and the search incidental thereto, including that of his moving vehicle, were all unreasonable and unlawful. In consequence, the shabu seized from him is rendered inadmissible in evidence pursuant to the exclusionary rule under Section 3 (2), Article III of the 1987 Constitution. Since the confiscated shabu is the very corpus delicti of the crime charged, Manago must necessarily be acquitted and exonerated from criminal liability,” the Court held.

There are only 3 instances when warrantless arrests are allowed:

• If suspects are caught in the act of committing the crime
• If the arresting officer, based on personal knowledge, has probable cause to believe that the suspect committed the crime
• If the person fled from prison or jail

“In view of the finding that there was no lawful arrest in this case, the CA likewise erred in ruling that the incidental search on Manago’s vehicle and body was valid. In fact, the said search was made even before he was arrested and thus, violated the cardinal rule on searches incidental to lawful arrests that there first be a lawful arrest before a search can be made,” said the SC.

Routine inspections – checkpoints included – do not give police “carte blanche discretion to conduct warrantless searches in the absence of probable cause,” said the High Court.

The number of police and military checkpoints have increased around the country following President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of state of national emergency after a blast hit Davao City. More police and military personnel have been deployed on the stress as a result of the measure.

Police have assured the public that their rights will be observed at checkpoints and that personnel are expected to follow proper procedure. (READ: Police checkpoints: What is and isn’t allowed) – Rappler.com