De Lima worries about 'problematic' guideline on warrantless arrest

De Lima worries about 'problematic' guideline on warrantless arrest


Sen. Leila de Lima on Thursday expressed reservations about the guidelines on warrantless arrests contained in President Rodrigo Duterte's proclamation of a state of national emergency.

In an interview with Senate reporters, De Lima said while she has no problem with the first three instances when a warrantless arrest can be made, it's the fourth instance that worries her.

Under the first three instances, warrantless arrests can be made when:

the person, has committed, is actually committing, or about to commit an offense in the presence of the arresting officer;
when an offense has just been committed and the arresting officer has personal knowledge that the person committed the offense, and
when the person to be arrested has escaped from jail or detention.
The fourth instance, which does not sit well with De Lima, is when the person to be arrested has voluntarily waived his right against warrantless arrest.

"Yung pang-apat ang medyo problematic po sa akin... We’re talking here about warrantless arrest, na dapat, kapag warrantless arrest, iyong tatlo lang na situations yan. So bakit dadagdagan ng ganito?" asked the senator.

De Lima admitted that the fourth instance can easily be taken to mean a voluntary surrender "pero, ang pagkakaalam ko po, kapag sinabing voluntary surrender, karamihan ng mga kaso ng voluntary surrender ay kapag meron nang warrant of arrest."

De Lima said there's no way of telling if a person had indeed waived his right against warrantless arrest.

"Siyempre, kapag inaaresto ka na, papalag ka pa ba, di ba? At saka madali namang pilitin ang isang inaaresto na, ‘O, inaaresto ka namin. Wala kaming warrant... Inaaresto ka na namin ngayon kasi nakita ka namin ngayon. O, waive na ha, waive.’ Papalag pa ba yun?" said De Lima.

The senator said the fourth instance for warrantless arrest may be prone to abuse, since it does not fall under the "context" of voluntary surrender under the law.

As for the seven guidelines for warrantless search, De Lima took exception to one of them.

"Iyong ‘search arising from exigent and emergency circumstances,’ again, mukhang bago na naman ito. Sino magde-define? I think they should first define itong ‘exigent and emergency circumstances’. Baka maging prone to abuse rin po ito," she said.

Meanwhile, De Lima admitted Duterte's proclamation of a state of national emergency may be "defensible" in court, citing the time when former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo placed Maguindanao under martial law in December 2009 due to the Maguindanao massacre.

More than 50 people, including 32 journalists, were killed in the Maguindanao massacre, said to be orchestrated by the Ampatuan clan of Maguindanao.

Prominent clan members and their alleged private army, as well as local policemen, are currently on trial for the killings.

"If it is not shown na mali pala yung factual basis or there is no showing na the factual basis is wrong, ay hindi puwedeng pakialamanan ng [Korte Suprema] ang ganyang desisyon o hakbang ng isang pangulo," said De Lima.

"As long as ma-justify nila iyan, yung mga factual basis na yan... iyong mga ganitong insidente, nababalita naman yung mga iba dito, hen okay lang iyon," said the neophyte lawmaker.

De Lima, however, said the state of emergency should have only covered Mindanao since the apparent "lawlessness" - that involved the Davao City night market bombing, abductions, and the bombing of transmission lines - was only confined to the region.

"Pero we can also give them the benefit of the doubt when they say that these acts of terrorism are expected or may spill over the rest of the country, lalo na sa mga metropolitan areas like the National Capital Region," De Lima added. — VVP, GMA News