C A S E S I N C O N S T I T U T I O N A L L A W II 1

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee,

vs.
RODELIO C. EXALA, RESTITUTO B. BOCALAN and JAIME P.
FERNANDEZ, accused, RESTITUTO B. BOCALAN, accused-appellant
G.R. No. 76005 – April 23, 1993

Facts
A private jeep driven by accused-appellant Bocalan was stopped at a police checkpoint in Cavite
City for routine inspection. With Bocalan were his co-accused Fernandez and Exala. Pfc.
Galang, a member of the inspection team, went near the jeep and asked the occupants if there
were firearms inside. They answered in the negative. Pfc. Galang proceeded to inspect the
vehicle by beaming a flashlight inside. He then noticed a black leather bag measuring about 1
foot wide and 2 feet long with its sides bulging. When he asked what it contained, there was
deadening silence from the 3 accused. Nobody answered. Instead, they suddenly became fidgety.
Suspicious, Pfc. Galang ordered the bag opened, which was found out to contain marijuana. The
3 accused were thereafter prosecuted and convicted of illegal transportation of marijuana.
Accused Bocalan appealed and questioned the legality of the admission of the marijuana as
evidence against him since it was seized without a valid search warrant.

Issue/s

Was the marijuana seized without warrant during the checkpoint admissible in evidence against
the accused?

Held

The Court held that Bocalan is deemed to have waived his objection to the admission of the
seized marijuana because he neither raised this issue before the trial court nor objected to the
admissibility of the marijuana when it was offered in evidence.

And even assuming that there was no such waiver, the Court held that still Bocalan’s contention
deserves scant consideration because there are instances where search and seizure can be made
without necessarily being preceded by an arrest. An illustration would be the “stop and search”
without a warrant at military or police checkpoints, the constitutionality of which has already
been upheld by this Court [in Valmonte vs. De Villa]. Vehicles are generally allowed to pass
through these checkpoints after a routine inspection and answering a few questions. If vehicles
are stopped and extensively searched it is because of some probable cause which justifies a
reasonable belief of those manning the checkpoints that either the motorist is a law-offender or
the contents of the vehicle are or have been instruments in the commission of an offense.

According to the Court, lest it be misunderstood, the foregoing doctrine is not intended to do
away with the general rule that no person shall be subjected to search of his person, personal
effects and belongings, or his residence except of virtue of a search warrant or on the occasion of

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a lawful arrest. This case, Chowever,
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at a military or police checkpoint.

The checkpoint in the instant case was established in line with “Operational Bakal,” the main
object of which was to search for unlicensed firearms and other prohibited items in the
possession of unauthorized persons passing through it. When the jeep carrying the contraband
passed through the checkpoint, it was flagged down and the occupants were asked routine
questions. In the course thereof, Pfc. Galang noticed a black leather bag the sides of which were
bulging. He asked what the contents of the bag were. None of the accused answered. At that
moment, the demeanor of the accused changed; they became suspiciously quiet and nervous as if
they were concealing something from Pfc. Galang. The accused clearly appeared to be in abject
fear of being discovered. Such peculiar apprehensiveness if not restrained reaction of the
accused, which did not appear normal, provided the probable cause justifying a more extensive
search that led to the opening of the bag and the discovery of the prohibited stuff.
ncidental to a lawful and valid arrest.

____________________________

By: Jason C. Cantay

D V O R E F C O L L E G E O F L A W – JD I - A ( A . Y . 2 0 1 9 - 20 )