Arbitrary Detention

Classes of Arbitrary Detention

(1) Arbitrary detention by detaining a person without legal ground

(2) Delay in the delivery of detained persons to the proper judicial authorities

(3) Delaying release

Art. 124. Arbitrary detention. — Any public officer or employee who, without legal grounds, detains a person, shall suffer;

1. The penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in its minimum period, if the detention has not exceeded three days;

2. The penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods, if the detention has continued more than three but not more than fifteen days;

3. The penalty of prision mayor, if the detention has continued for more than fifteen days but not more than six months; and

4. That of reclusion temporal, if the detention shall have exceeded six months.

The commission of a crime, or violent insanity or any other ailment requiring the compulsory confinement of the patient in a hospital, shall be considered legal grounds for the detention of any person.

Elements:

1.   That the offender is a public officer or employee

2.   That he detains a person

3.   That the detention is without legal grounds

Public officer or employee

The offender in arbitrary detention is a public officer or employee who must be vested with authority to detain or order the detention of persons accused of a crime, but when they detain a person, they have no legal grounds.

Eg. policemen, mayors or judges

Illegal detention

If the detention is perpetrated by other public officers, the crime committed may be illegal detention, because they are acting in their private capacity.

Private individuals who conspired

Private individuals who conspired with public officers in detaining certain policemen are guilty of arbitrary detention.

When is there a detention?

When a person is placed in confinement or there is a restraint on his person.

“Without legal grounds”

1.   When he has not committed any crime or, at least, there is no reasonable ground for suspicion that he has committed a crime; OR

2.   When he is not suffering from violent insanity or any other ailment requiring compulsory confinement in a hospital.

Legal grounds for the detention of a person

1.   The commission of a crime;

2.   Violent insanity or other ailment requiring compulsory confinement in a hospital.

Arrest without a warrant – when lawful

A peace officer or a private person may, without a warrant, arrest a person:

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 in fact just been committed, and he has personal knowledge of facts indicating that the person to be arrested has committed it; and

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

  

Exceptions to the requirement of a warrant of arrest must be strictly construed. Otherwise, it would infringe upon personal liberty and set back a basic rule so often violated and so deserving of full protection.

Arrest without warrant is the usual cause of arbitrary detention.

Meaning of “in his presence”

-     Officer sees the offense being committed although at a distance, OR

-     Hears the disturbances created thereby and proceeds at once to the scene OR

-     When the offense is continuing or has not been consummated at the time the arrest is made

Personal knowledge is required

A crime must in fact or actually have been committed

In arbitrary detention, the legality of the detention does not depend upon the juridical and much less the judicial fact of a  crime, which at the time of the commission, is not and cannot definitely be determined for lack of necessary data and of jurisdiction, but upon the nature of the deed. It being sufficient that the agent or person in authority making the arrest has reasonably sufficient grounds to believe the existence of an act having the characteristic of a crime and that the same ground exist for him to believe that the person sought to be detained participated herein.

The actual commission of a crime by the person detained is not necessary to justify his detention. No reasonable ground if officer only wants to know the commission of crime.

That the police officer can make an arrest on mere complaint of the offended party is a debatable question.

When the person to be arrested is a prisoner who has escaped

Being a prisoner who has escaped, he can be arrested without a warrant of arrest not only by the authorities but also by any private person. Reason: the escapee is in the continuous act of committing a crime – by evading the serving of his sentence.

Periods of detention penalized

1.   if the detention has not exceeded three days

2.   if the detention has continued more than three days but not more than 15 days

3.   if the detention has continued more than 15 days but not more than 6 months

4.   if the detention has exceeded 6 months

The law does not fix any minimum period of detention.

read more...

Violation of Domicile

Art. 128. Violation of domicile. — The penalty of prision correccional in its minimum period shall be imposed upon any public officer or employee who, not being authorized by judicial order, shall enter any dwelling against  the will of the owner thereof, search papers or other effects found therein without the previous consent of such  owner, or having surreptitiously entered said dwelling, and being required to leave the premises, shall refuse to do so.

If the offense be committed in the night-time, or if any papers or effects not constituting evidence of a crime be  not  returned  immediately  after  the search  made  by  the  offender,  the  penalty  shall  be  prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods.

Acts punishable under Article 128

1.   By entering any dwelling against the will of the owner; OR

2.  By searching paper or other effects found therein without the previous consent of such owner; OR

3.   By refusing to leave the premises, after having surreptitiously entered said dwelling and after having required to leave the same.

Elements

1.   That the offender is a public officer or employee

2.  That he is not authorized by judicial order to enter the dwelling and/or make a search therein for papers or other effects

3.  That he commits any of the following acts:

a. entering any dwelling against the will of the owner thereof

b. searching papers or other effects found therein without the previous consent of such owner

c. refusing to leave the premises, after having surreptitiously entered said dwelling and after having been required to leave the same

The offender must be a public officer or employee. 

If the offender is a private individual, the crime committed is trespass to dwelling (Article 280).

“Not being authorized by judicial order”

A public officer or employee is authorized by judicial order when he is armed with a search warrant duly issued by the court.

“Against the will of the owner”

To constitute a violation, the entrance by the public officer or employee must be against the will of the owner of the dwelling, which presupposes opposition or prohibition by said owner, express or implied.

Right of officer to break into building or enclosure

An officer, in order to make an arrest either by virtue of a warrant, or without a warrant as provided in section 5, may break into any building or enclosure where the person to be arrested is or is reasonably believed to be, if he is refused admittance thereto, after announcing his authority and purpose. (Rule 113, Section 11 of the Rules of Court)

A peace officer without search warrant cannot lawfully enter the dwelling against the will of the owner, even if he knew that someone in the dwelling is having unlawful possession of opium. No amount if incriminating evidence, whatever its source, will supply the place of search warrant.

“Search papers, etc. without previous consent of such owner”

Silence of the owner of the dwelling before and during the search, without search warrant, by a public officer, may show implied waiver.

When one voluntarily submits to a search or consents to have it made upon his person or premises, he is precluded from later complaining thereof.

Meaning of “search” as used in this article

Owner of the house objected to the intended entrance of and search by a barrio lieutenant who entered and proceeded  to search the house, inspecting jars and baskets, there was a violation of domicile. (US v. Macaspac)

“Papers or other effects found therein”

When a public officer searched a person “outside his dwelling” without a search warrant and such person is not legally arrested for an offense, the crime committed by the public officer is grave coercion, if violence or intimidation is used (Art 286), or unjust vexation, if there is no violence or intimidation (Art 287)

Article 128 is not applicable because the papers or other effects mentioned in Article 128 must be found IN the dwelling.

Circumstances qualifying the offense

1.  If the offense is committed in nighttime

2. If any papers or effects not constituting evidence of a crime are not returned immediately after the search made by the offender

read more...

Expulsion

Art. 127. Expulsion. — The penalty of prision correccional shall be imposed upon any public officer or employee who, not being thereunto authorized by law, shall expel any person from the Philippine Islands or shall compel such person to change his residence.

Acts punishable under Article 127

1.   By expelling a person from the Philippines

2.   By compelling a person to change his residence

Elements

1. That the offender is a public officer or employee

2. That he expels any person from the Philippines, or compels a person to change his residence

3. That the authority is not authorized to do so by law

read more...

Delaying Release

Art. 126. Delaying release. — The penalties provided for in Article 124 shall be imposed upon any public officer or employee who delays for the period of time specified therein the performance of any judicial or executive order for the release of a prisoner or detention prisoner, or unduly delays the service of the notice of such order to said prisoner or the proceedings upon any petition for the liberation of such person. (Revised Penal Code)

Acts punishable under Article 126

1. By delaying the performance of a judicial or executive order for the    release of a prisoner

2. By unduly delaying the service of the notice of such order to said prisoner

3. By unduly delaying the proceedings upon any petition for the liberation of such person

Elements

1.   That the offender is a public officer or employee

2.   That there is a judicial or executive order for the release of a prisoner or detention prisoner, or that there is a proceeding upon a petition for the liberation of such person

3.   That the offender without good reason delays:

a.  The service of the notice of such order to the prisoner;

b.  The performance of such judicial or executive order for the release of the prisoner; OR

c.  The proceedings upon a petition for the release of such person

● Wardens and  jailers  are  the  public  officers  most  likely  to  violate  Article  126  since  they  are  the  officers temporarily in charge of the custody of persons or detained persons.

read more...