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icoft
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li
ppi
nes

SUPREMECOURT

Mani
la

ENBANC

G.
R.No.
L-64261Dec
ember26,
1984

JOSEBURGOS,
SR.
,JOSEBURGOS,
JR.
,BAYANI
SORI
ANOandJ
.BURGOSMEDI
ASERVI
CES,
INC.
,
peti
ti
oner
s,

vs
.

THECHIEFOFSTAFF,ARMEDFORCESOFTHEPHI LI
PPI
NES,THECHI
EF,PHI
LIPPI
NE
CONSTABULARY,THECHIEFLEGALOFFICER,
PRESI
DENTI
ALSECURITYCOMMAND,THEJ
UDGE
ADVOCATEGENERAL, ETAL.
,res
pondents
.

Lor
enzoM.Tañada,
Wigber
toE.Tañada,Marti
nianoVi
vo,
Augus
toSanc
hez
,JokerP.
Arr
oyo,
Jej
omarBi
nayandReneSagui
sagf orpet
iti
oners.

TheSol
ici
torGener
alf
orr
espondent
s.
ESCOLI
N,J
.:

Assai
ledint hi
spet it
ionforcertiorariprohibitionandmandamuswi thpr eli
mi narymandat ory
andpr ohi
bitoryinjunc t
ionistheval idityoft wo[ 2]searchwar r
ant sissuedonDec ember7, 1982
byrespondentJ udgeEr naniCruz -
Pano, Execut i
veJ udgeoft het henCour tofFi rs
tI nstanc eof
Riz
al[Quez onCi ty],underwhic hthepr emi s
esknownasNo. 19,Road3, Proj
ec t6, Quez onCi ty,
and784Uni t
sC&D, RMSBui lding, Quez onAvenue, Quez onCi t
y, busines saddr essesoft he
"Metropoli
tanMai l"and"WeFor um"news paper s,
respectively,wer es earched, andof ficeand
pri
nti
ngmac hines ,equipment, parapher nalia,mot orvehiclesandot herar ti
clesus edi nt he
pri
nti
ng, publicationanddi st
ributionoft hes aidnews papers,aswel lasnumer ouspaper s ,
document s,booksandot herwr itt
enl iteratureal l
egedt obei nthepos ses si
onandc ontrolof
peti
ti
onerJ oseBur gos,Jr.
publ i
sher -editoroft he"WeFor um"news paper ,wer es eized.

Peti
tionersfurtherpr ayt hatawr i
tofpr eliminar ymandat or
yandpr ohibit
oryi njuncti
onbe
i
ssuedf orther eturnoft hes ei
zedar ti
cles,andt hatrespondents,"
par t
icularl
yt heChi efLegal
Off
icer,PresidentialSecur it
yCommand, theJ udgeAdvoc ateGeneral,AFP, t
heCi t
yFiscalof
Quez onCity,theirrepresent at
ives,assi
s t
ants ,subalt
erns,subor
dinates,subs t
ituteor
successors"beenj oinedfr omus i
ngt hear ti
clest husseiz
edasevidenc eagains tpetit
ionerJose
Burgos,Jr.andt heot herac cusedinCr i
mi nalCas eNo. Q-022782oft heRegi onalTr i
alCourtof
Quez onCity,entitl
edPeopl ev.JoseBur gos,Jr .
etal.1

I
nourRes oluti
ondatedJ une21,1983,
respondentswererequir
edtoans werthepetiti
on.
The
pleaforprel
iminar
ymandat oryandprohibi
toryinj
uncti
onwass etf
orhear i
ngonJ une28,1983,
laterr
esettoJuly7,1983,onmot i
onoftheSolic
itorGener
alinbehalfofrespondents
.

Atthehear i
ngonJuly7,1983, theSolic
itorGener al,
whi l
eopposingpetit
ioners'pr
ayerforawr i
t
ofpreli
minarymandatoryinjunction,manifestedthatrespondents"wil
lnotus ethe
aforementi
onedarti
clesasevidenc eintheaf orementionedcaseuntilf
inalresol
utionofthe
legali
tyofthesei
zur
eoft heaf orementionedar ti
cles..
.
."2Withthismanifestati
on,theprayer
forpreli
minarypr
ohibit
oryinjunc t
ionwasr enderedmootandac ademic.

Respondentswouldhavet
hisCour
tdismis
st hepeti
ti
onont hegroundthatpet
iti
onershad
comet othi
sCourtwit
houthavi
ngprevi
ouslysoughtthequashalofthesear
chwarrantsbef
ore
respondentj udge.Indeed, peti
tioners,beforei mpugni ngt heval i
dityofthewar rantsbefor ethis
Court,shoul dhavef i
ledamot i
ont oquas hs aidwar rantsi nthec ourtthati s
suedt hem. 3Butt hi
s
procedur alfl
awnot wi thstandi
ng, wet akec ognizanc eoft hi
spet it
ioninvi ewoft hes eri
ous ness
andur genc yofthec ons ti
tuti
onalissuesrais ednott oment i
ont hepubl i
ci nterestgenerat edby
thesear chofthe" WeFor um"offices,whichwast elevisedi nChannel7andwi delypublic
iz edin
allmet r
opol i
tandailies.Theexistenc eofthiss pecialci
r cums tancejusti
fiesthisCour ttoex ercis
e
it
sinher entpowert os us pendit
sr ules.I
nt hewor dsoft her everedMr .Jus t
iceAbadSant osin
thecas eofC. Vda.deOr dovezav. Raymundo, 4"itisalwaysi nthepoweroft hec ourt[Supr eme
Court]tos uspenditsr ulesortoexc eptapar ti
cularc asefromi t
soperation, whenevert he
purposesofj usti
cer equireit.
..
".

Respondentslikewis
eurgedi
smiss
aloft
hepet i
ti
onongroundoflaches.
Consider
ablest
ressi
s
lai
dont hefactthatwhil
esai
dsearc
hwarrantswerei
ssuedonDec ember7,1982,t
heinst
ant
peti
ti
oni mpugningthesamewasfil
edonlyonJune16,1983oraf
terthelapseofaperi
odof
morethans ix[6]months.

Lac
hesi sfai
lureornegligenceforanunr easonableandunexplainedlengthofti
met odothat
which,byexercis
ingduedi li
gence,couldors houldhavebeendoneear li
er.I
tisnegl
igenc
eor
omissiontoassertari
ghtwi thi
nar easonablet i
me,warranti
ngapr esumptionthatt
hepar t
y
ent
itledtoassertitei
therhasabandonedi tordecli
nedtoassertit.
5

Pet
iti
oners
,inthei
rCons
oli
dat
edRepl
y,expl
ainedt
her
eas
onf
ort
hedel
ayi
nthef
il
ingoft
he
pet
iti
onthus:

Respondentsshouldnotfi
ndfault
,astheynowdo[p.
1,Answer,p.
3,Mani
fes
tat
ion]witht
he
factt
hatthePetiti
onwasfiledonJune16,1983,
morethanhal
fayearaf
tert
hepetit
ioner
s'
premiseshadbeenr ai
ded.

Thecli
mat eofthet imeshasgivenpetiti
onersnootherc hoic
e.Iftheyhadwai tedthislongto
bri
ngtheircaset ocourt,i
twasbec ausetheytri
edatfirsttoexhaus totherremedies.Theevent
s
ofthepastelevenf i
llyear
shadt aughtthemt hateveryt
hingint hiscountry,f
romr el
easeof
publi
cfundstor eleaseofdet
ainedper sonsfr
omc ustody,hasbec omeamat terofexecuti
ve
benevol
enc eorlargesse
Henc e,assoonast heycould,peti
tioners,
upons uggestionofpersonsclosetothePres i
dent ,l
ike
Fis
c alFlaminiano,
sentalettertoPr esi
dentMar cos,t
hroughc ounselAntonioCoronetaski ngthe
returnatleastofthepr i
nti
ngequi pmentandvehi c
les.Andaftersuchal ett
erhadbeens ent,
throughCol .Balbi
noV. Di
ego, Chi
efI nt
ell
igenceandLegalOf fic
erofthePr esi
denti
alSec ur i
ty
Command, theywer efurt
herenc ouragedt ohopethatthelatterwouldyi el
dthedesiredr esults
.

Afterwait
ingi
nvai
nforf
ive[
5]mont
hs,
pet
iti
oner
sfi
nal
lydec
idedt
ocomet
oCour
t.[
pp.
123-
124,Roll
o]

Althought hereasongivenbypet i
ti
oner smaynotbeflatt
eringtoourj udicialsyst
em, Wef i
ndno
groundt opuni s
horchas t
isethemf oranerrori
njudgment. Onthec ontrary, t
heext r
ajudi
ci
al
effort
sexer tedbypetit
ionersquit
eevidentl
ynegatethepr esumptiont hatt heyhadabandoned
theirri
ghtt othepossessi
onoft heseizedpr
operty,
therebyr ef
uti
ngt hec har geoflaches
againstthem.

Respondentsal s
os ubmi tthetheoryt hatsincepet i
ti
onerJ oseBurgos,
J r.
hadus edandmar ked
asevidencesomeoft hes eiz
eddoc ument sinCrimi nalCaseNo. Q-022872, hei snowes t
opped
fromc hal
lengingtheval idi
tyoft hesearchwar rants.Wedonotf ol
lowthel ogicofrespondents.
Thesedocument slawf ullybelongtopet it
ionerJos eBurgos ,
Jr.andhec andowhat everhe
pleas
eswi ththem, withinlegalbounds .Thefactt hathehasus edthemasevi dencedoesnotand
cannotinanywayaf fecttheval i
dityorinvali
dit
yoft hes earchwarrantsassailedinthispet
iti
on.

Sever
alanddi
ver
ser
eas
onshavebeenadvanc
edbypet
iti
oner
stonul
li
fyt
hes
ear
chwar
rant
sin
quest
ion.

1.Petit
ionersfaultrespondentj
udgef orhisal
legedf ail
uretoconductanexaminati
onunder
oathoraf fi
rmationoft heappl
icantandhiswitnesses,asmandat edbytheabove-quoted
consti
tutionalprovi
s i
onaswenasSec .4,Rul
e126oft heRulesofCourt.6Thi
sobjecti
on,
however ,maypr operlybeconsi
deredmootandac ademi c
,aspeti
ti
onersthemsel
vesc onc
eded
duringthehear i
ngonAugus t9,1983,thatanexami nationhadindeedbeenconductedby
respondentjudgeofCol .
Abadil
laandhi swit
nesses.

2.Searc
hWarrantsNo.
20-82[
a]andNo.20-82[b]wer
eusedtosear
chtwodi
sti
nctpl
aces
:No.
19,Road3,
Projec
t6,Quez
onCityand784UnitsC&D, RMSBui
ldi
ng,Quez
onAvenue,
Quezon
Cit
y,respecti
vely.Objecti
onisinterposedtotheexecutionofSearchWarrantNo.20-82[b]atthe
lat
teraddressont hegroundt hatthet wosearchwarrantspinpoi
ntedonlyoneplacewher e
peti
ti
onerJ oseBurgos ,
Jr.wasallegedlykeepingandc onceali
ngtheart
icl
esli
stedtherein,i
.e.
,
No.19,Road3, Projec
t6, QuezonCit y.
Thisasser
tioni
sbas edonthatporti
onofSearchWar rant
No.20-82[b]whi chstates:

Whichhavebeenus ed,andarebeingus
edasins
trument
sandmeansofcommitti
ngthecri
meof
subver
sionpenal
izedunderP.D.885asamendedandheiskeepi
ngandc
onceal
ingthesameat
19Road3, Pr
ojec
t6, QuezonCit
y.

Thedefectpointedouti sobvi ouslyat ypographicaler r

or.Precis
el y,twosearchwar rantswer e
appli
edforandi ssuedbec aus ethepur poseandi ntentwer etos earcht wodist
inctpremi ses.I
t
wouldbequi teabs urdandi ll
ogicalf orrespondentj udgetohavei ssuedtwowar r
antsintended
foroneandt hes amepl ace.Bes i
des ,theaddr es
s esofthepl acess oughttobes earchedwer e
speci
fic
all
ys etforthint heappl i
cation, andsinceitwasCol .
Abadi ll
ahi msel
fwhoheadedt he
teamwhi c
hexec utedthes earchwar rants,t
heambi guitythatmi ghthavear i
senbyr easonof
thetypographicalerrorismor eappar entthanreal .Thefactisthatt heplaceforwhi chSear ch
War r
antNo. 20-82[ b]wasappl iedf orwas728Uni tsC&D, RMSBui lding,QuezonAvenue,
QuezonCity,whi chaddr essappear edi ntheopeni ngpar agraphoft hes ai
dwar rant.7Obvi ousl
y
thisi
sthes amepl acethatr espondentj udgehadi nmi ndwhenhei ssuedWar r
antNo. 20- 82[b].

Inthedet erminationofwhet heras ear

chwar rantdes cr
ibest hepr emi sest obesearchedwi th
suffi
cientparticularity,ithasbeenhel d" t
hatt heexec utingof f
icer'
spr iorknowl edgeast othe
placeintendedi nt hewar rantisrel
evant .
Thi swoul dseemt obees peciall
yt ruewherethe
execut i
ngof f
icerist heaf fi
antonwhos eaffidavitthewar ranthadi ssued, andwhenheknows
thatthej udgewhoi ss uedt hewar r
antintendedt hebuildingdes cribedi nt heaff
idavi
t,Andit
hasal sobeens aidt hatt heexec uti
ngofficermayl ooktot heaffidavitint heof f
ici
alcourtfi
leto
resolveanambi guityi nthewar r
antast othepl acet obes earched."8

3.Anothergr
oundr el
iedupontoannult
hesearchwarrantsisthef
actthatal
thoughthe
warrantsweredir
ectedagai
nstJoseBur
gos,J
r.alone,
arti
clesbbelongi
ngtohisco-pet
iti
oner
s
JoseBurgos,
Sr.,
BayaniSori
anoandtheJ.Bur
gosMedi aServic
es,I
nc.weresei
zed.

Sect
ion2,Rule126oft
heRul
esofCour
t,enumer
atest
heper
sonalpr
oper
tiest
hatmaybes
eiz
ed
underasearc
hwar r
ant,
towi
t:
Sec.2.Per
sonalProper
tytobesei
zed.— Asear
chwar
rantmaybei
ssuedf
ort
hes
ear
chand
sei
zureofthefol
lowingpers
onalproper
ty:

[
a]Pr
oper
tys
ubj
ectoft
heof
fens
e;

[
b]Pr
oper
tys
tol
enorembez
zledandot
herpr
oceedsorf
rui
tsoft
heof
fens
e;and

[
c]Pr
oper
tyus
edori
ntendedt
obeus
edast
hemeansofc
ommi
tti
nganof
fens
e.

Theabover uledoesnotr equirethatt hepr opertytobes eizeds

houl dbeownedbyt heperson
againstwhomt hes earchwar r
anti sdirec t
ed.Itmayormaynotbeownedbyhi m. Infact,
under
subsection[b]oftheabove- quot edSec t
ion2,oneoft hepr oper
tiesthatmaybes eizedisstolen
property.Neces s
arily,stolenpr opertymus tbeownedbyoneot herthant hepersoni nwhos e
possessioni
tmaybeatt het i
meoft hes earchands eizur e.Owner s
hip,therefor
e, i
sofno
consequence, anditi ssuffic
ientt hattheper sonagains twhomt hewar rantisdirectedhas
controlorposs ess
ionoft heproper tys oughttobes eized, aspetit
ionerJos eBurgos, J
r.was
all
egedt ohavei nrel at
iont othear t
iclesandpr opert
ys eizedundert hewar r
ants.

4.Neitheristher emer i
tinpetit
ioners'assert
ionthatrealproper t
ieswereseizedundert he
disputedwar rants.UnderAr t
icl
e415[ 5]oftheCivilCodeoft hePhi l
ippi
nes,"
mac hiner y,
receptables,i
ns t
rument sorimplement sintendedbyt heowneroft hetenementf orani ndus tr
y
orwor kswhi c
hmaybec arri
edoni nabui l
dingoronapi eceoflandandwhi cht enddi rectl
yto
meett heneedsoft hesaidindustryorwor ks"areconsideredimmovabl eproper t
y.InDavao
Sawmi llCo.v.Cas t
ill
o9wher ethislegalprovisi
onwasi nvoked, t
hisCourtrul
edt hatmac hinery
whi c
hi smovabl ebynat urebecomesi mmobi li
zedwhenpl ac edbyt heowneroft het enement ,
propertyorplant ,butnotsowhenpl acedbyat enant,usufructuary,oranyotherper sonhavi ng
onlyat emporar yright,
unlesssuchper sonac t
edast heagentoft heowner .

I
nt hecaseatbar,peti
ti
onersdonotclai
mt obetheownersoft
helandand/orbui
ldingonwhich
themac hi
neri
eswer eplac
ed.Thi
sbeingthecase,t
hemac hi
ner
iesinques
tion,
whileinfact
boltedt
ot hegroundremainmovablepropert
ysuscept
ibl
etoseiz
ureunderasear
c hwar r
ant.
5.Theques t
ionedsearchwarrantswereis
suedbyr espondentjudgeuponappli
cati
onofCol
.
RolandoN. Abadil
laI
ntell
igenceOffi
ceroftheP.C.Metrocom.10Theappli
cat
ionwas
accompaniedbyt heJoi
ntAf f
idavi
tofAlej
androM. Gutier
rezandPedroU.Tango,11membersof
theMet roc
omI ntel
li
genceandSec uri
tyGroupunderCol .
Abadill
awhichconducteda
surveil
lanc
eoft hepremis
espr i
ortothefi
lingoftheapplicat
ionfort
hesearchwarrant
son
Dec ember7,1982.

I
tiscontendedbypet i
ti
oners
,however,t
hatt
heabovement i
oneddocumentscoul
dnothave
pr
ovideds uff
ici
entbasi
sfort
hefindi
ngofaprobabl
ec aus
euponwhi c
hawar r
antmayvali
dly
i
ssueinacc or
dancewithSect
ion3,Art
icl
eIVofthe1973Consti
tut
ionwhic
hpr ovi
des
:

SEC.3..
..
andnos ear
chwar r
antorwar rantofarres
tshallis
sueexc eptuponprobablecauseto
bedeterminedbythejudge,
ors uchotherresponsi
bleoffi
cerasmaybeaut hor
izedbylaw,aft
er
examinati
onunderoathoraffi
rmationofthec omplai
nantandt hewi t
nesseshemaypr oduce,
andparti
cular
lydesc
ribi
ngthepl acet
obes earchedandt hepersonsorthingstobes ei
zed.

Wef indpet itioner s't

hesisimpr ess edwi thmer it
.Pr obablec ausef oras earchisdef inedass uch
factsandc i
rcums tanceswhi chwoul dl eadar eas onabl ydisc r
eetandpr udentmant obel ieve
thatanof f
ens ehasbeenc ommi ttedandt hatt heobj ec t
ss oughtinc onnec ti
onwi t
ht heof fense
areint hepl ac esoughtt obes ear ched. Andwhent hes earc hwarrantappl i
edf orisdirec ted
agains tanews paperpubl i
sheroredi tori nc onnec tionwi tht hepubl icat i
onofs ubver sive
mat erials,
asi nt hec aseatbar ,theappl icationand/ ori t
ss upportingaf fi
davitsmus tc ont aina
specificati
on, statingwi t
hpar ti
c ularityt heal legeds ubvers i
vemat erialhehaspubl ishedori s
intendingt opubl i
sh. Meregener al iz
at i
onwi llnots uf f
ice.Thus ,t
hebr oads t
atementi nCol .
Abadi l
la'sappl icationthatpetitioner" i
si npos ses s
ionorhasi nhisc ont rolpri
nt i
ngequi pment
andot herpar apher nali
a,newspubl i
c ationsandot herdoc ument swhi c hwer eus edandar eal l
continuous l
ybei ngus edasameansofc ommi tti
ngt heoffens eofs ubver sionpuni shabl eunder
President i
alDec ree885, asamended. .
."12i samer ec onclusionofl awanddoesnots atisfyt he
requirement sofpr obablec ause. Ber eftofs uc hpar ticularsaswoul dj ustif
yaf indingoft he
existenc eofpr obabl ecause,saidal l
egat ionc annots erveasbas i
sf ort hei ss
uanc eofas ear c h
war rantandi twasagr aveer r
orf orr es pondentj udget ohavedones o.

Equall
yi nsuf
fi
c i
entasbasisforthedetermi
nati
onofprobablecauseisthes tat
ementcont ai
ned
inthejointaf
fidavi
tofAlejandroM. Guti
err
ezandPedroU.Tango,"thattheevidencegathered
andcollatedbyourunitclearlyshowsthatthepremis
esabove-ment ionedandt hear
tic
lesand
thi
ngsabove- descri
bedwer eusedandar econt
inuousl
ybeingusedfors ubversi
veact
ivi
tiesin
cons
pir
acywit
h,andt
opromotetheobjec
tiveof
,il
legalor
gani
zat
ionssuc
hast
heLi
ght
-a-
Fir
e
Movement,
MovementforFr
eePhil
ippi
nes,andApril6Movement
."13

Inmandat ingt hat"nowar rants halliss ueexceptuponpr obabl ecaus etobedet erminedbyt he
judge,.
..afterexami nati
onunderoat horaf firmat i
onoft hec ompl ai
nantandt hewitnes seshe
maypr oduc e;14t heCons titutionr equi resnol essthanper sonalknowl edgebyt hecompl ainant
orhiswi t
nes sesofthef ac t
suponwhi cht heissuanc eofasear c
hwar rantmaybej usti
fied. I
n
Alvarezv. CourtofFirstInst ance, 15t hisCour truledthat"theoat hr equiredmus trefertot he
truthofthef actswithintheper sonalknowl edgeoft hepet i
tionerorhi swi t
nes s
es,bec aus ethe
purposet hereofistoc onvinc et hec ommi tt
ingmagi st
rate,nott heindividualmakingt he
affi
davitands eekingt hei s
s uanc eoft hewar rant,oftheexist enceofpr obablecause."As
couched, thequot edaver menti ns aidjointaffidavitfi
ledbef orerespondentj udgehar dlymeet s
thetestofs uffi
ciencyes tabl i
shedbyt hisCour ti
nAl varezcas e.

Anotherfact
orwhic
hmakest hesear
chwarr
antsunderconsi
derat
ionc onst
itut
ional
ly
objec
tionabl
eist
hattheyar
ei nt
henatur
eofgeneralwarr
ants.
Thes earchwarrantsdes
cri
be
thearti
cless
oughttobesei
zedinthi
swis
e:

1]Allpr
intingequipment, par apher
nali
a,paper,i
nk,phot
o(equipment,typewr
iters
,cabi
nets,
tabl
es,communi cati
ons/rec ordingequi
pment ,
taperecor
ders,dic
taphoneandthelikeused
and/orconnectedinthepr int i
ngofthe"WEFORUM"news paperandanyandal ldocuments
communi cati
on,l
ettersandf acsimi
leofpri
ntsrel
atedtothe"WEFORUM"news paper.

2]Subver s
ivedocument s
,pamphlets,
leafl
ets,books
, andotherpubl
icat
iont
opr omotet
he
obj
ec t
ivesandpiur pos
esofthesubversi
veorganizat
ionknownasMovementf orFree
Phil
ippines,Li
ght
- a-Fi
reMovementandApr il6Movement ;and,

3]Motorvehi
clesusedinthedi
str
ibuti
on/ci
rcul
ati
onoft
he"
WEFORUM"andot
hers
ubver
sive
mater
ialsandpropaganda,mor
epar t
icul
arl
y,

1]Toyot
a-Cor
oll
a,c
olor
edyel
lowwi
thPl
ateNo.
NKA892;

2]DATSUNpi
ck-
upc
olor
edwhi
tewi
thPl
ateNo.
NKV969
3]Adel
iver
ytr
uckwi
thPl
ateNo.
NBS524;

4]TOYOTA-
TAMARAW,
col
oredwhi
tewi
thPl
ateNo.
PBP665;
and,

5]TOYOTAHi
-Lux,
pic
k-upt
ruc
kwi
thPl
ateNo.
NGV427wi
thmar
king"
BagongSi
lang.
"

InStanfordv. StateofTexas16t hesearchwar rantwhi chaut hor i

zedt hes earchf or"books ,
records,pamphl ets,cards ,recei
pts,li
sts,memor anda, pic
tur es,recordingsandot herwr i
tten
instr
ument sc oncerningt heCommuni stPartyinTexas ,
"wasdec l
aredvoi dbyt heU. S.Supreme
Courtforbei ngtoogener al.Inli
kemanner ,dir
ec t
ionst o"seizeanyevi denc ei nconnec t
ionwith
theviolati
onofSDC13- 3703orot herwise"havebeenhel dt oogener al,andt hatpor tionofa
searchwar rantwhi chaut hori
zedthes eizureofany" parapher naliawhi chc ouldbeus edt o
viol
ateSec .54-197oft heConnec t
icutGener alStatutes[thes tatutedeal ingwi tht hec r
imeof
conspiracy]
"washel dt obeagener alwar rant,andt heref
or einvalid.17Thedes cripti
onoft he
arti
clessoughtt obes eizedundert hes earchwar rantsinques tionc annotbec har acteri
zed
diff
erently.

IntheSt anfordcase,t
heU. S.SupremeCour tscal
lstomi ndanotablechapterinEngli
shhistor
y:
theer aofdisaccor
dbet weent heTudorGover nmentandt heEngl i
shPress,when"Off
icersofthe
Crownwer egivenrovingc ommi s
sionstosearchwheret heypl
eas edi
nor dertosuppressand
destroyt heli
terat
ureofdi ss
entbot hCatholi
candPuritanReferencehereintosuchhistori
cal
episodewoul dnotber elevantforitisnotthepol
icyofourgover nmenttos uppr
essany
news paperorpubl i
cationthatspeakswi t
h" t
hevoiceofnon-conformit
y"butpos esnoclearand
i
mmi nentdangert ostatesecuri
ty.

Asher et
oforestated,thepremisessearc
hedwer ethebusi
nessandpr i
ntingof
ficesofthe
"Metropoli
tanMai l"andthe"WeForumnews papers
.Asac onsequenceoft hesearchandsei
zur
e,
thes
epr emiseswer epadl
ockedands eal
ed,withthefur
therresultthatthepri
nt i
ngand
publi
cationofsaidnews paperswerediscont
inued.

Suchcl
osurei
sint
henatureofpr
evi
ousrest
raintorc
ens or
shipabhor
renttothefreedomofthe
pres
sguarant
eedundert
hefundament
allaw,18andc onst
itut
esavir
tualdenialofpeti
ti
oner
s'
fr
eedomtoexpres
sthemsel
vesi
nprint.Thisst
ateofbei
ngi spat
entl
yanat
hemati
ctoa
democrat
icf
rameworkwher
eafree,alertandevenmili
tantpres
sisess
ent
ialf
ort
hepoli
ti
cal
enli
ght
enmentandgrowt
hofthecit
izenry.

Respondent swoul djusti

fytheconti
nueds ealingoft heprintingmac hi
nesont hegroundthat
theyhavebeens eques t
eredunderSection8ofPr esidenti
alDec reeNo. 885,asamended, which
authorizes"t
hes eques t
rati
onoftheproper tyofanyper s
on, naturalorarti
fi
cial,
engagedi n
subversiveacti
viti
esagai ns
tthegovernmentandi t
sdul ycons t
itutedauthorit
ies..
.in
accordancewi t
hi mplement i
ngrulesandr egulati
onsasmaybei ssuedbytheSec retar
yof
NationalDefense."Itisdoubtf
ulhowever ,
ifs equestrati
onc ouldval i
dlybeeffectedinviewof
theabs enceofanyi mplement i
ngrulesandr egulationspromul gatedbyt heMi nist
erofNational
Defense.

Besides,i
ntheDecember10,1982iss
ueoftheDail
yExpress,
itwasrepor
tedthatnol
esst
han
PresidentMarc
oshimsel
fdeniedthereques
toft
hemi l
itar
yauthor
iti
estosequest
ert
he
propertysei
zedfr
ompetit
ionersonDecember7,1982.
Thus:

ThePresi
dentdeni
edarequestf
li
edbygovernmentpr
osecutorsf
orsequest
rat
ionoftheWE
FORUMnews paperandi
tspri
nti
ngpres
ses,acc
ordi
ngtoInformat
ionMinis
terGregor
ioS.
Cendana.

Onthebasi
sofcour
torders,
governmentagent
swenttotheWeForumof
fic
esinQuez
onCi
ty
andtookadet
ail
edinvent
oryoftheequi
pmentandallmater
ial
sint
hepr
emises.

Cendañasai
dthatbec
auseofthedeni
alt
henewspaperandit
sequi
pmentr
emai
natt
he
di
sposaloft
heowners,s
ubj
ecttothedi
scr
eti
onofthecour
t.19

Thattheproper t
ysei
z edonDec ember7,1982hadnotbeens equesteredisfurtherc
onfi
rmedby
therepl
yoft henForeignMinis
terCarlosP.Romulotothelet
terdat edFebruary10,1983ofU.
S.
Congress
manTonyP. Hal
laddressedtoPresi
dentMar c
os,
expr es
singalarmovert he"WE
FORUM"c ase. 20Inthisr
eplydatedFebruary11,1983,Mi
nis
t erRomul ostated:

2.
Cont
rar
ytor
epor
ts,
Pres
identMar
cost
urneddownt
her
ecommendat
ionofouraut
hor
iti
est
o
c
los
ethepaper
'spr
int
ingf
aci
li
ti
esandc
onf
isc
atet
heequi
pmentandmat
eri
alsi
tus
es.
21

INVIEWOFTHEFOREGOI NG, Searc

hWar rantsNos .20-82[a]and20-82[b]iss
uedbyr es
pondent
judgeonDecember7,1982ar eherebydec l
arednul landvoi dandareaccordingl
ys etasi
de.The
prayerf
orawr i
tofmandat or
yinjunct
ionforther eturnoft heseiz
edarti
clesisherebygr ant
ed
andallart
icl
essei
zedthereunderareherebyor deredr el
eas edtopet
iti
oners.Noc osts.

SOORDERED.

Fernando,
C.J.
,Teehankee,
Makasiar
,Concepc
ion,
Jr.
,Mel
enc
io-
Her
rer
a,Pl
ana,
Rel
ova,
Gut
ier
rez
,
Jr.
,DelaFuenteandCuevas,J
J.,
concur.

Aqui
no,
J.,
tooknopar
t.

Separ
ateOpi
nions

ABADSANTOS,
J.,
conc
urr
ing

Iamgladt
ogivemyc oncur
renc
et ot
heponenciaofMr.
Just
iceEs
col
inAtthesameti
meI wi
sh
tost
atemyownreasonsforhol
dingthatt
hesearchwar
rant
swhicharet
hesubjec
tofthe
pet
iti
onar
eutter
lyvoid.
Theact
ionagai
nst"WEFORUM"wasanakedsuppr
essionofpr
essf
reedomf
ort
hes
ear
ch
warr
antswereis
suedingr
ossvi
olat
ionoft
heCons
tit
ut i
on.

TheConsti
tut
ionalrequir
ementwhichi sexpr
essedinSec ti
on3, Ar
tic
leIV,
stress
estwopoints,
namely:"
(1)t
hatnowar r
antshal
lis
s uebutuponpr obablecause,t
obedeterminedbythejudge
int
hemanners etforthinsai
dprovi
sion;and(2)thatthewar rants
hallpar
tic
ularl
ydesc
ribethe
thi
ngstobeseized.
"(Stonehi
llvs
.Diokno,126Phil.738,747:20SCRA383[ 1967].
)

Anys earc
hwar r
antisconductedindisregar
dofthepointsment i
onedabovewillres
ulti
nwiping
"outcompl etel
yoneoft hemos tfundamentalri
ghtsguaranteedinourCons
tit
ution,f
oritwould
placethes anct
ityofthedomicileandtheprivac
yofc ommuni cat
ionandcor
respondenceatthe
mer cyofthewhi mscapriceorpassionofpeaceoff
icers
."(I
bid,p.
748.)

Thetwos earchwar rantswer eissuedwithoutpr obablecause.Tosati

sfyt
her equirementof
probablecauseas pec i
ficoff
ens emustbeal l
egedi ntheappl i
cati
on;abst
ractaver mentswillnot
suff
ice.I
nthec aseatbarnot hingspeci
fi
callysubver s
ivehasbeenal l
eged;statedonlyist
he
clai
mt hatcertai
nobj ectswer ebeingusedasi nstrumentsandmeansofc ommi tt
ingtheoffense
ofsubversi
onpuni shableunderP. D.No.885, asamended. Thereisnoment i
onofanys pec
ifi
c
provi
s i
onofthedec ree. Inthewor dsofChiefJus t
iceCConc epci
on,"Itwouldbel egalher
esyof
thehighestorder,toc onvic
tanybody"ofvi olat
ingt hedecreewithoutref
erencet oany
determinateprovisi
ont hereof.

Thes ear
chwar
rant
sareals
ovoi
dforl
ackofpart
icul
ari
ty.
Bothsear
chwar
rantsauthor
izeCol
.
RolandoAbadi
ll
atosei
zeandt
akepos
sessi
on,amongothert
hings,
oft
hefol
lowing:

Subversivedocuments,
pamphlets,l
eaflet
s,booksandot
herpubl
icat
iont
opromotethe
obj
ec t
ivesandpurposesoft
hes ubvers
iveorganiz
ati
onsknownasMovementforFr
ee
Phil
ippines,Li
ght-
a-Fi
reMovementandApr i
l6Movement.

Theobvi
ousquesti
onis:Whywer et hedoc ument s,
pamphl ets
,leaf
let
s,books
,et
c.subver
sive?
Whatdidtheycont
aintomaket hems ubversi
ve?Ther eisnothingi
ntheappli
cat
ionsnorinthe
warr
antswhichanswersthequestions.Imus t,
t heref
ore,concl
udethatthewarr
antsaregeneral
warr
antswhichareobnoxioust
ot heCons tit
ution.
I
npoi ntoffact
,ther
ewasnot hi
ngsubver
sivepubl
ishedi
ntheWEFORUMjustast
herei
s
nothi
ngs ubversi
vewhichhasbeenpubli
shedinMALAYAwhi c
hhasr
epl
acedthef
ormerandhas
thesamec ontentbutagai
nstwhic
hnoac ti
onhasbeentaken.

Confor
mablywithexi
sti
ngjur
ispr
udenceever
ythi
ngseiz
edpursuanttothewarr
ant
sshouldbe
ret
urnedt
ot heownersandal
loftheit
emsaresubjec
ttotheexcl
usionar
yrul
eofevi
dence.

Teehankee,
J.,
conc
ur.

Separ
ateOpi
nions

ABADSANTOS,
J.,
conc
urr
ing

Iamgladt
ogivemyc oncur
renc
et ot
heponenciaofMr.
Just
iceEs
col
inAtthesameti
meI wi
sh
tost
atemyownreasonsforhol
dingthatt
hesearchwar
rant
swhicharet
hesubjec
tofthe
pet
iti
onar
eutter
lyvoid.

Theact
ionagai
nst"WEFORUM"wasanakedsuppr
essionofpr
essf
reedomf
ort
hes
ear
ch
warr
antswereis
suedingr
ossvi
olat
ionoft
heCons
tit
ut i
on.

TheConsti
tut
ionalrequir
ementwhichi sexpr
essedinSec ti
on3, Ar
tic
leIV,
stress
estwopoints,
namely:"
(1)t
hatnowar r
antshal
lis
s uebutuponpr obablecause,t
obedeterminedbythejudge
int
hemanners etforthinsai
dprovi
sion;and(2)thatthewar rants
hallpar
tic
ularl
ydesc
ribethe
thi
ngstobeseized.
"(Stonehi
llvs
.Diokno,126Phil.738,747:20SCRA383[ 1967].
)
Anys earc
hwar r
antisconductedindisregar
dofthepointsment i
onedabovewillres
ulti
nwiping
"outcompl etel
yoneoft hemos tfundamentalri
ghtsguaranteedinourCons
tit
ution,f
oritwould
placethes anct
ityofthedomicileandtheprivac
yofc ommuni cat
ionandcor
respondenceatthe
mer cyofthewhi mscapriceorpassionofpeaceoff
icers
."(I
bid,p.
748.)

Thetwos earchwar rantswer eissuedwithoutpr obablecause.Tosati

sfyt
her equirementof
probablecauseas pec i
ficoff
ens emustbeal l
egedi ntheappl i
cati
on;abst
ractaver mentswillnot
suff
ice.I
nthec aseatbarnot hingspeci
fi
callysubver s
ivehasbeenal l
eged;statedonlyist
he
clai
mt hatcertai
nobj ectswer ebeingusedasi nstrumentsandmeansofc ommi tt
ingtheoffense
ofsubversi
onpuni shableunderP. D.No.885, asamended. Thereisnoment i
onofanys pec
ifi
c
provi
s i
onofthedec ree. Inthewor dsofChiefJus t
iceCConc epci
on,"Itwouldbel egalher
esyof
thehighestorder,toc onvic
tanybody"ofvi olat
ingt hedecreewithoutref
erencet oany
determinateprovisi
ont hereof.

Thes ear
chwar
rant
sareals
ovoi
dforl
ackofpart
icul
ari
ty.
Bothsear
chwar
rantsauthor
izeCol
.
RolandoAbadi
ll
atosei
zeandt
akepos
sessi
on,amongothert
hings,
oft
hefol
lowing:

Subversivedocuments,
pamphlets,l
eaflet
s,booksandot
herpubl
icat
iont
opromotethe
obj
ec t
ivesandpurposesoft
hes ubvers
iveorganiz
ati
onsknownasMovementforFr
ee
Phil
ippines,Li
ght-
a-Fi
reMovementandApr i
l6Movement.

Theobvi
ousquesti
onis:Whywer et hedoc ument s,
pamphl ets
,leaf
let
s,books
,et
c.subver
sive?
Whatdidtheycont
aintomaket hems ubversi
ve?Ther eisnothingi
ntheappli
cat
ionsnorinthe
warr
antswhichanswersthequestions.Imus t,
t heref
ore,concl
udethatthewarr
antsaregeneral
warr
antswhichareobnoxioust
ot heCons tit
ution.

I
npoi ntoffact
,ther
ewasnot hi
ngsubver
sivepubl
ishedi
ntheWEFORUMjustast
herei
s
nothi
ngs ubversi
vewhichhasbeenpubli
shedinMALAYAwhi c
hhasr
epl
acedthef
ormerandhas
thesamec ontentbutagai
nstwhic
hnoac ti
onhasbeentaken.

Confor
mablywithexi
sti
ngjur
ispr
udenceever
ythi
ngseiz
edpursuanttothewarr
ant
sshouldbe
ret
urnedt
ot heownersandal
loftheit
emsaresubjec
ttotheexcl
usionar
yrul
eofevi
dence.
Teehankee,
J.,
conc
ur.

Foot
not
es

1Pet
iti
on,
P.44,
Rol
lo.

2Mani
fes
tat
ionandOppos
iti
on,
p.75,
Rol
lo.

3Templ
ov.
Del
aCr
uz,
60SCRA295.

4463Phi
l.275.

5Ti
jamv.
Sibonghanoy,
23SCRA29.

6Sec
.4,
Rul
e126,
Rul
esofCour
tpr
ovi
des
:

Sec.4.Examinati
onoft heAppl i
cant.
— Themunici
palorcit
yjudgemus t,
befor
eissuingthe
warrant,per
sonallyexami neonoathoraff
irmat
ionthecomplainantandanywitnesseshemay
produceandt akethei
rdepos it
ioninwri
ti
ngandattachthemt otherecor
d,i
nadditiontoany
aff
idavit
spresentedtot hem.

7Theopeni
ngpar
agr
aphofSear
chWar
rantNo.
20-82[
b]r
eads
:

"I
tappeari
ngtothes ati
sfac
tionoftheundersi
gnedaf terexaminati
onunderoathofMaj.
Alej
androM.Gutier
rezandLt .PedroU.Tango,thattherearegoodands uf
fi
ci
entreasonto
beli
evethatJ
oseBur gos,Jr
.Publis
her-
Editorof"WEFORUM"wi t
hoffi
ceaddres
sat784Uni t
sC
&D, RMSBuil
ding,QuezonAvenue, QuezonCity,hasinhispossessi
onandcontr
olatsaid
addr
esst
hef
oll
owi
ng;.
.
.:

868Am.
Jur
.2d.
,729.

961Phi
l.709.
Annex"
C",
Pet
iti
on,
pp.
51-
52,

10Rol
lo.

11Annex"
B",
Pet
iti
on,
pp.
53-
54,
Rol
lo.

12Annex"
C",
Pet
iti
on,
p.51,
Rol
lo.

13Annex"
D",
Pet
iti
on,
p.54,
Rol
lo.

14Sec
.3,
Art
.IV,
1973Cons
tit
uti
on.

1564Phi
l.33.

18Sec
.9.
Art
.IVoft
heCons
tit
uti
on

19Annex"
K",
Cons
oli
dat
edRepl
y,p.
175,
Rol
lo.

20Annex"
L",
Cons
oli
dat
edRepl
y,p.
178,
Rol
lo.

21Annex"
M",
Cons
oli
dat
edRepl
y,p.
179,
Rol
lo.
TheLawphi
lPr
ojec
t-Ar
ell
anoLawFoundat
ion