Dear __________,

You asked about the possible criminal liability of children living in your compound who may be
found playing card games where bets consisting of money are at stake or being made.

Sec. 1(a)(1) of P.D. No. 1602 prohibits any person from directly or indirectly taking part of any
illegal or unauthorized card game, which includes but are not limited to black jack, lucky nine,
poker and its derivatives, monte, baccarat, cuajao, pangguingue, wherein wagers consisting of
money, articles of value or representative of value are at stake or made. That being the case,
those who may be found playing card games as described above in your compound may be
held liable under this special law. This is notwithstanding that their bets made were merely
“piso-piso.”

Kindly note, however, that R.A. No. 10630 EXEMPTS from criminal liability: [a] a child who is
fifteen (15) years of age or under; and [b] a child who is above fifteen (15) years but below
eighteen (18) years of age who has acted without discernment at the time of the commission of
the offense, subject to intervention or diversionary programs. As a consequence, if the children
in your compound are fifteen (15) years of age or below, they are absolutely FREE from criminal
liability, although they may be subject to a community-based intervention program supervised
by the local social welfare and development officer in your area.

As to the authority of a person, whether he is a policeman or not, to carry out the arrest of those
people found in your compound caught gambling, be informed that it is LAWFUL to arrest a
person even WITHOUT a warrant if in his presence, the person to be arrested has committed, is
actually committing, or is attempting to commit an offense, among others (Sec. 5[a], Rule 113,
Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure). In other words, if a person witnesses the commission
and/or the attempt to commit an offense, he may arrest the violators even without a warrant of
arrest.

Since the arrest will be valid in the case described above, a seizure or confiscation of the
gambling paraphernalia may be made, as the items will be used as evidence in court. This is
especially proper since the “policeman” was invited inside your compound by one of the
residents therein, which means that [a] he has a prior justification for an intrusion—siya ay
nakapasok sa inyong compound ng walang nilalabag na batas; [b] his discovery in plain view is
accidental or unintentional; and [c] it is obvious that the things he observed may be evidence of
a crime [1]. Considering that the arrest and seizure of the gambling items are lawful, the police
officer or private person cannot be held criminally liable for unlawful arrest (Art. 269, Revised
Penal Code) and trespass to dwelling (Art. 281, Revised Penal Code).

We hope we were able to answer your question.

Please note that our answer is based solely on the question and details that you provided. Thus,
our advice may change upon your elaboration.

Please also understand that our answer shall only be for your information and the public’s
education. Nothing in this exchange establishes an attorney-client relationship between you and
VALOR-19 or any of its lawyers. Consequently, no attorney-client privilege applies.

We wish you and your family health and safety in these trying times.

Thank you.
[1] Miclat, Jr. vs. People, G.R. No. 176077, August 31, 2011. Can be accessed at
https://lawphil.net/judjuris/juri2011/aug2011/gr_176077_2011.html