According to the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure, under Rule 113 Section 1, arrest is defined as the act of taking a person into custody so they may be bound to answer for the commission of an offense, essentially restraining someone’s liberty. This can be by force or by submission. Generally, no one shall be arrested without a valid warrant issued by a judge. This protects anyone from unreasonable arrests and detention. Generally, the constitution protects all citizens from arbitrary arrests as to not infringe on one’s liberty. Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution protects people from unreasonable search and seizure and from arbitrary arrests. However, there are exceptions to this general rule which are warrantless arrests, specified under Rule 113 Section 5 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure.
Warrantless Arrest Definition
Warrantless arrest is the act of taking citizens into custody without the need of a judicial warrant. These are only permissible under certain circumstances. Its concept stems from the acknowledgement that immediate action may be necessary in the prevention of a crime. This allows authorities or private persons to arrest citizens without any warrant.
Warrantless Arrest Instances
The Revised Rules Of Criminal Procedure presents three instances of warrantless arrest. It presents the: in flagrante delicto arrest, hot pursuit arrest, and the escapee arrest.
In flagrante delicto arrest is known as the arrest in the act or red-handed. This happens when an individual is caught committing or attempting to commit the crime in the presence of an arresting officer. It is important to note that mere suspicion is insufficient, and there should be a probable cause. The elements for this are: overt act indicating the commission of the crime, and done in the presence of an officer.
Hot pursuit arrest is known as the fresh or immediate pursuit. This allows an officer to arrest an individual who had just committed a crime, provided that the officer has personal knowledge of the facts and or is in immediate pursuit of the suspect. The arrest is made shortly after the act. Key elements of this are: the immediacy between the crime and arrest, and probable cause based on the arresting person’s personal knowledge. Timing and procedural considerations are important to take note of in this type of warrantless arrest.
The third type of warrantless arrest is the escapee arrest. This allows an officer to arrest any individual who has escaped from prison, while he or she is being transferred, is serving a final judgement, or a detainee with a pending case.
Furthermore, another type of arrest that can also be done without any warrant is when an individual voluntarily surrenders and or confesses to a crime before any authority. In the case of Pestilos vs Generoso, Atty. Generoso was badly assaulted and immediately called the police. Upon their arrival, the victim pointed out those who mauled him. The suspects were then invited to the station for an investigation. The supreme court ruled that despite them being “invited” to the station, it was in effect a compulsory command to submit to custody, and a submission to authorities is enough. It was also ruled that their warrantless arrest was valid since the crime had just been committed and the authorities had personal knowledge of it and the assailants1.
Remedies Against Illegal Warrant of Arrest
When one has been illegally arrested, there are remedies against illegal warrantless arrest. Arrested individuals can file a motion to quash information due to illegal arrest wherein they can question the validity of the arrest before the arraignment. However, when the accused enters a plea voluntarily during the arraignment without questioning the illegal arrest, the illegality is waived.
Another remedy is the exclusion of illegally obtained evidence, or the Fruit of the Poisonous Doctrine, wherein it provides that any evidence obtained from the illegal arrest, usually brought about by an illegal search and seizure, is inadmissible.
Third is the habeas corpus petition, as provided in Rule 102 of the Rules of Court. Its purpose is to secure immediate release from unlawful detention and is useful when one hasn’t been charged yet.
Legal Consequences
When an officer performs an illegal warrantless arrest, they may face administrative and criminal consequences. They may be held liable for arbitrary detention, grave coercion or violation of rights, and may also face administrative sanctions under RA 7438, the Rights of Persons Arrested, Detained, or Under Custodial Investigation.
- Joey M. Pestilos, et al. v. Moreno Generoso and People of the Philippines, G.R. No. 182601, November 10, 2014. https://lawphil.net/judjuris/juri2014/nov2014/gr_182601_2014.html ↩︎
