Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Sections 2,3,4
Sections 2,3,4
The right to 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 search warrant or 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 the witnesses he may produce, and particularly describing the place to be
searched and the persons or things to be seized.
General Rule: Search and seizures are unreasonable UNLESS authorized by a validly issued
search warrant or warrant of arrest
Probable Cause:
Facts and circumstances antecedent to the issuance of a warrant and sufficient to induce a
cautious man to rely upon them.
NOTE: Probable cause for the issuance of a search warrant does NOT require that the probable
guilt of a specific offender be established, unlike in the case of a warrant of arrest. Existence of
probable cause DETERMINED PERSONALLY BY THE JUDGE
GENERAL WARRANT
A general warrant is one that does not allege any specific acts or omissions constituting the
offense charged in the application for the issuance of the warrant. It contravenes the explicit
demand of the Bill of Rights that the things to be seized be particularly described
Requisites:
1. Prior valid intrusion
2. Evidence was inadvertently discovered by the police
3. Illegality of the evidence is immediately apparent; and
4. Noticed without further search.
iv. Consent/Waiver
Requisites:
1.It must appear that the right exists.
2. The person involved had knowledge, either actual or constructive, of the existence of the right.
3. The person had actual intention to relinquish the right.
v. Customs Search
Papa v. Mago, 22 SCRA 857
The Bureau of Customs acquires exclusive jurisdiction over imported goods, for the purposes of
enforcement of the customs laws, from the moment the goods are actually in possession or
control, even if no warrant of seizure or detention had previously been issued by the Collector of
Customs in connection with seizure and forfeiture proceedings.
Malacat (1997): Probable cause is not required. However, mere suspicion or a hunch is not enough.
Rather, a genuine reason must exist, in light of the police officers experience and surrounding
conditions, to warrant the belief that the person detained has weapons concealed about him.
Warrantless Arrests
Rule 113, Section 5. 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
attempting to commit an offense;
b. When an offense has in fact 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
place where he is serving final judgment or temporarily confined while his case is pending or has
escaped while being transferred from one confinement to another
A. In Flagrante Delicto
Umil v. Fidel Ramos, GR 81567, July 9, 1990
Petitioner was arrested for being a member of NPA which is an outlaw subversive organization
and subversion being a continuing offense against state, the arrest without warrant is justified
since such crime, together with rebellion, piracy are continuing offense of direct assault against
the state, requirement of warrant is not needed.
B. Hot Pursuit
Two Requisites:
1. An offense had just been committed.
2. The person making the arrest has probable cause to believe, based on his personal knowledge
of facts and circumstances, that the person to be arrested committed it.
*There must be immediacy between the time the offense is committed and the time of the arrest.
C. Escaped Prisoner
Section 3. (1) The privacy of communication and correspondence shall be inviolable except
upon lawful order of the court, or when public safety or order requires otherwise as
prescribed by law.
(2) Any evidence obtained in violation of this or the preceding section shall be inadmissible
for any purpose in any proceeding.
The forms of correspondence and communication are covered by this provision are the letters,
messages, telephone calls, telegrams, and the like
Constitutional right against unreasonable search and seizure CANNOT be invoked against the
State for acts committed by PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS
An application for bail by accused is not considered a waiver of his right to assail the warrant. Any
objection must be made BEFORE ACCUSED ENTERS PLEA, otherwise, objection is deemed
waived.
Upon what grounds may a court allow intrusion = upon probable cause
Should the order particularly describe the communication or correspondence sought to be seized:
For WRITTEN CORRESPONDENCE = must particularly describe
For COMMUNICATION = not required to be particularly describe; identity of persons can
be specified
Section 4. No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the
press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for
redress of grievances.
Content-based Regulation
Restraint is aimed at the message or idea of the expression. Apply the Strict Scrutiny Test and the
challenged act must overcome the clear and present danger rule.
Content-neutral Regulation
Restraint is aimed to regulate the time, place or manner of the expression in public place without
any restraint on the content of the expression. Apply the Intermediate Approach Test wherein a
regulation is justified if it is : within the constitutional power of government, furthers an important
or substantial government interest, government interest is unrelated to the suppression of free
expression, and the incident restriction on the alleged freedom of speech and expression is no
greater than is essential to the furtherance of that interest. Here, it only requires substantial
government interest for validity.
Overbreadth Doctrine
A ground to declare a statute void when it offends the constitutional principle that a government
purpose to control or prevent activities constitutionally subject to state regulations may not be
achieved by means which sweep unnecessarily broadly and thereby invade the area of protected
freedoms.
3. Balancing of Interest Test - The courts should BALANCE the PUBLIC INTEREST served
by legislation on one hand and the FREEDOM OF SPEECH (or any other constitutional right)
on the other. The courts will then decide where the greater weight should be placed. (Focus on
weighing Government and Private interest)
- if on balance it appears that public interest served by restrictive legislation is of such character
that it outweighs the abridgment of freedom, then the Court will find the legislation valid
The freedom of television and radio broadcasting is lesser in scope that the freedom accorded to
newspapers and print media. (Eastern Broadcasting Corp v. Dans Jr)
Hecklers Veto:
This involves situations in which the government attempts to ban protected speech because it might
provoke a violent response.
Prior Restraint:
Refers to official governmental restrictions on the press or other forms of expression in advance
of actual publication or dissemination.
Commercial Speech
Communication which no more than proposes a commercial transaction.
To enjoy protection:
1. It must not be false or misleading; and
2. It should not propose an illegal transaction.
Central Hudson Gas v. Public Service Commission of New York, 447 US 557
The court instituted a four-step analysis for commercial speech to the Commission's arguments
in support of its ban on promotional advertising:
1. Is the expression protected by the First Amendment? For speech to come within that
provision, it must concern lawful activity and not be misleading.
2. Is the asserted governmental interest substantial?
3. Does the regulation directly advance the governmental interest asserted?
4. Is the regulation more extensive than is necessary to serve that interest?
FAIR COMMENT (U.S. Rule). These are statements of OPINION, not of fact, and are not
considered actionable, even if the words used are neither mild nor temperate. What is important
is that the opinion is the true and honest opinion of the person. The statements are not used to
attack personalities but to give ones opinion on decisions and actions.
Rules on assembly in PRIVATE properties: Only the consent of the owner of the property or
person entitled to possession thereof is required.