Arrest W/warrant Info-Dear Pao

[Call me bubba]

Dear PAO,

There is this man who has been harassing my brother. He said that he is a police officer and that he will arrest my brother for illegal possession of drugs. Assuming that my brother gets arrested, will his arrest be valid?

Xavier

Dear Xavier,

Possession of drugs by a person who is not authorized by law or by duly constituted authorities is a crime under Section 11 of Republic Act No. 9165, otherwise known as “The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.”

A person who has violated this law may be arrested. However, in order for an arrest to be considered valid, it must be done in consonance with our laws.

As a general rule, a person may only be arrested if a warrant of arrest has been validly issued against him and the same is presented to him.

This is in consonance with Section 2, Article III of the 1987 Constitution, which provides:

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers,

and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures of whatever nature and for any purpose shall be inviolable, and no x x x warrant of arrest shall issue except upon probable cause,

to be determined personally by the judge after examination under oath or affirmation of the complainant and witnesses he may produce,

and particularly describing x x x the persons or things to be seized.”

A person who was arrested without a valid warrant may question the validity of said arrest, unless the circumstance surrounding his case is that which allows a warrantless arrest.

Under Section 5, Rule 113 of the Rules of Court, a peace officer or a private person may validly arrest a person without a warrant “

(a) When, in his presence, the person to be arrested has committed, is actually committing, or is attempting to commit an offense;

(b) When an offense has just been committed and he has probable cause to believe based on personal knowledge of facts or circumstances that the person to be arrested has committed it; and

© 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 is temporarily confined while his case is pending, or has escaped while being transferred from one confinement to another.”

Applying the foregoing in the situation of your brother,

we submit that, assuming he is arrested, his arrest may be considered valid if the same was made by virtue of a valid warrant of arrest issued by a judge as abovementioned.

A contrario, his arrest will be considered unlawful if the same has been made without the appropriate warrant of arrest and the circumstances under which his arrest was made does not fall within one of the exceptions enumerated under the aforementioned laws.

http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/dear-pao/39615-one-cannot-be-apprehended-without-a-valid-warrant-of-arrest

I started this for 2 reasons, in a past topic some expats was "citizen arrest"

and that so far nothing has been discussed about

"what if" I/you/us/them was arrested. maybe this can be "somewhat 'helpful.

the dear PAO articles has given some "good"information in the past that some FM could use,

[Mike S]

(b) When an offense has just been committed and he has probable cause to believe based on personal knowledge of facts or circumstances that the person to be arrested has committed it; and

The above in bold says it all ..... with that statement they can arrest just about anyone WITH OUT A WARRANT ..... all he has to say is I BELIEVE and that is the end of it ...... course they can always set up a check point and kill everyone and there will be no witnesses to dispute their side of the story ..... :hystery: :hystery: ..... or get one of their snitches to say he saw you do it ..... that works also ..... :mocking: :cheersty: