RULE 113

Arrest

Section 1. Definition of arrest. — Arrest is the taking of a person into custody in order that he may be
bound to answer for the commission of an offense. (1)

Section 2. Arrest; how made. — An arrest is made by an actual restraint of a person to be arrested, or by
his submission to the custody of the person making the arrest.

No violence or unnecessary force shall be used in making an arrest. The person arrested shall not be
subject to a greater restraint than is necessary for his detention. (2a)

Section 3. Duty of arresting officer. — It shall be the duty of the officer executing the warrant to arrest
the accused and to deliver him to the nearest police station or jail without unnecessary delay. (3a)

Section 4. Execution of warrant. — The head of the office to whom the warrant of arrest was delivered
for execution shall cause the warrant to be executed within ten (10) days from its receipt. Within ten
(10) days after the expiration of the period, the officer to whom it was assigned for execution shall make
a report to the judge who issued the warrant. In case of his failure to execute the warrant, he shall state
the reasons therefor. (4a)

Section 5. Arrest without warrant; when lawful. — 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 is
attempting to commit an offense;

(b) When an offense has just been committed, and he has probable cause to believe based on personal
knowledge of facts or circumstances 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 is temporarily confined while his case is pending, or has escaped
while being transferred from one confinement to another.

In cases falling under paragraph (a) and (b) above, the person arrested without a warrant shall be
forthwith delivered to the nearest police station or jail and shall be proceeded against in accordance
with section 7 of Rule 112. (5a)

Section 6. Time of making arrest. — An arrest may be made on any day and at any time of the day or
night. (6)

Section 7. Method of arrest by officer by virtue of warrant. — When making an arrest by virtue of a
warrant, the officer shall inform the person to be arrested of the cause of the arrest and of the fact that
a warrant has been issued for his arrest, except when he flees or forcibly resists before the officer has
opportunity to so inform him, or when the giving of such information will imperil the arrest. The officer
need not have the warrant in his possession at the time of the arrest but after the arrest, if the person
arrested so requires, the warrant shall be shown to him as soon as practicable. (7a)

Section 8. Method of arrest by officer without warrant. — When making an arrest without a warrant, the
officer shall inform the person to be arrested of his authority and the cause of the arrest, unless the
latter is either engaged in the commission of an offense, is pursued immediately after its commission,
has escaped, flees or forcibly resists before the officer has opportunity so to inform him, or when the
giving of such information will imperil the arrest. (8a)

Section 9. Method of arrest by private person. — When making an arrest, a private person shall inform
the person to be arrested of the intention to arrest him and cause of the arrest, unless the latter is
either engaged in the commission of an offense, is pursued immediately after its commission, or has
escaped, flees, or forcibly resists before the person making the arrest has opportunity to so inform him,
or when the giving of such information will imperil the arrest. (9a)

Section 10. Officer may summon assistance. — An officer making a lawful arrest may orally summon as
many persons as he deems necessary to assist him in effecting the arrest. Every person so summoned by
an officer shall assist him in effecting the arrest when he can render such assistance without detriment
to himself. (10a)

Section 11. Right of officer to break into building or enclosure. — An officer, in order to make an arrest
either by virtue of a warrant, or without a warrant as provided in section 5, may break into any building
or enclosure where the person to be arrested is or is reasonably believed to be, if he is refused
admittance thereto, after announcing his authority and purpose. (11a)

Section 12. Right to break out from building or enclosure. — Whenever an officer has entered the
building or enclosure in accordance with the preceding section, he may break out therefrom when
necessary to liberate himself. (12a)

Section 13. Arrest after escape or rescue. — If a person lawfully arrested escapes or is rescued, any
person may immediately pursue or retake him without a warrant at any time and in any place within the
Philippines. (13)

Section 14. Right of attorney or relative to visit person arrested. — Any member of the Philippine Bar
shall, at the request of the person arrested or of another acting in his behalf, have the right to visit and
confer privately with such person in the jail or any other place of custody at any hour of the day or night.
Subject to reasonable regulations, a relative of the person arrested can also exercise the same right.
(14a)

RULE 126

Search and Seizure

Section 1. Search warrant defined. — A search warrant is an order in writing issued in the name of the
People of the Philippines, signed by a judge and directed to a peace officer, commanding him to search
for personal property described therein and bring it before the court. (1)

Section 2. Court where application for search warrant shall be filed. — An application for search warrant
shall be filed with the following:

a) Any court within whose territorial jurisdiction a crime was committed.

b) For compelling reasons stated in the application, any court within the judicial region where the crime
was committed if the place of the commission of the crime is known, or any court within the judicial
region where the warrant shall be enforced.

However, if the criminal action has already been filed, the application shall only be made in the court
where the criminal action is pending. (n)

Section 3. Personal property to be seized. — A search warrant may be issued for the search and seizure
of personal property:

(a) Subject of the offense;

(b) Stolen or embezzled and other proceeds, or fruits of the offense; or

(c) Used or intended to be used as the means of committing an offense. (2a)

Section 4. Requisites for issuing search warrant. — A search warrant shall not issue except upon
probable cause in connection with one specific offense 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 things to be seized which may be anywhere in
the Philippines. (3a)

Section 5. Examination of complainant; record. — The judge must, before issuing the warrant,
personally examine in the form of searching questions and answers, in writing and under oath, the
complainant and the witnesses he may produce on facts personally known to them and attach to the
record their sworn statements, together with the affidavits submitted. (4a)

Section 6. Issuance and form of search warrant. — If the judge is satisfied of the existence of facts upon
which the application is based or that there is probable cause to believe that they exist, he shall issue
the warrant, which must be substantially in the form prescribed by these Rules. (5a)

Section 7. Right to break door or window to effect search. — The officer, if refused admittance to the
place of directed search after giving notice of his purpose and authority, may break open any outer or
inner door or window of a house or any part of a house or anything therein to execute the warrant or
liberate himself or any person lawfully aiding him when unlawfully detained therein. (6)

Section 8. Search of house, room, or premise to be made in presence of two witnesses. — No search of a
house, room, or any other premise shall be made except in the presence of the lawful occupant thereof
or any member of his family or in the absence of the latter, two witnesses of sufficient age and
discretion residing in the same locality. (7a)

Section 9. Time of making search. — The warrant must direct that it be served in the day time, unless
the affidavit asserts that the property is on the person or in the place ordered to be searched, in which
case a direction may be inserted that it be served at any time of the day or night. (8)

Section 10. Validity of search warrant. — A search warrant shall be valid for ten (10) days from its date.
Thereafter it shall be void. (9a)

Section 11. Receipt for the property seized. — The officer seizing property under the warrant must give a
detailed receipt for the same to the lawful occupant of the premises in whose presence the search and
seizure were made, or in the absence of such occupant, must, in the presence of at least two witnesses
of sufficient age and discretion residing in the same locality, leave a receipt in the place in which he
found the seized property. (10a)

Section 12. Delivery of property and inventory thereof to court; return and proceedings thereon. — (a)
The officer must forthwith deliver the property seized to the judge who issued the warrant, together
with a true inventory thereof duly verified under oath.

(b) Ten (10) days after issuance of the search warrant, the issuing judge shall ascertain if the return has
been made, and if none, shall summon the person to whom the warrant was issued and require him to
explain why no return was made. If the return has been made, the judge shall ascertain whether section
11 of this Rule has been complained with and shall require that the property seized be delivered to him.
The judge shall see to it that subsection (a) hereof has been complied with.

(c) The return on the search warrant shall be filed and kept by the custodian of the log book on search
warrants who shall enter therein the date of the return, the result, and other actions of the judge.

A violation of this section shall constitute contempt of court.(11a)

Section 13. Search incident to lawful arrest. — A person lawfully arrested may be searched for
dangerous weapons or anything which may have been used or constitute proof in the commission of an
offense without a search warrant. (12a)

Section 14. Motion to quash a search warrant or to suppress evidence; where to file. — A motion to
quash a search warrant and/or to suppress evidence obtained thereby may be filed in and acted upon
only by the court where the action has been instituted. If no criminal action has been instituted, the
motion may be filed in and resolved by the court that issued the search warrant. However, if such court
failed to resolve the motion and a criminal case is subsequent filed in another court, the motion shall be
resolved by the latter court. (n)

Republic Act No. 7438 April 27, 1992

AN ACT DEFINING CERTAIN RIGHTS OF PERSON ARRESTED, DETAINED OR UNDER CUSTODIAL

INVESTIGATION AS WELL AS THE DUTIES OF THE ARRESTING, DETAINING AND INVESTIGATING
OFFICERS, AND PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Statement of Policy. – It is the policy of the Senate to value the dignity of every human being
and guarantee full respect for human rights.

Section 2. Rights of Persons Arrested, Detained or Under Custodial Investigation; Duties of Public
Officers. –

(a) Any person arrested detained or under custodial investigation shall at all times be assisted by
counsel.
(b) Any public officer or employee, or anyone acting under his order or his place, who arrests, detains or
investigates any person for the commission of an offense shall inform the latter, in a language known to
and understood by him, of his rights to remain silent and to have competent and independent counsel,
preferably of his own choice, who shall at all times be allowed to confer privately with the person
arrested, detained or under custodial investigation. If such person cannot afford the services of his own
counsel, he must be provided with a competent and independent counsel by the investigating
officer.lawphi1Ÿ

(c) The custodial investigation report shall be reduced to writing by the investigating officer, provided
that before such report is signed, or thumbmarked if the person arrested or detained does not know
how to read and write, it shall be read and adequately explained to him by his counsel or by the assisting
counsel provided by the investigating officer in the language or dialect known to such arrested or
detained person, otherwise, such investigation report shall be null and void and of no effect whatsoever.

(d) Any extrajudicial confession made by a person arrested, detained or under custodial investigation
shall be in writing and signed by such person in the presence of his counsel or in the latter's absence,
upon a valid waiver, and in the presence of any of the parents, elder brothers and sisters, his spouse, the
municipal mayor, the municipal judge, district school supervisor, or priest or minister of the gospel as
chosen by him; otherwise, such extrajudicial confession shall be inadmissible as evidence in any
proceeding.

(e) Any waiver by a person arrested or detained under the provisions of Article 125 of the Revised Penal
Code, or under custodial investigation, shall be in writing and signed by such person in the presence of
his counsel; otherwise the waiver shall be null and void and of no effect.

(f) Any person arrested or detained or under custodial investigation shall be allowed visits by or
conferences with any member of his immediate family, or any medical doctor or priest or religious
minister chosen by him or by any member of his immediate family or by his counsel, or by any national
non-governmental organization duly accredited by the Commission on Human Rights of by any
international non-governmental organization duly accredited by the Office of the President. The
person's "immediate family" shall include his or her spouse, fiancé or fiancée, parent or child, brother or
sister, grandparent or grandchild, uncle or aunt, nephew or niece, and guardian or ward.

As used in this Act, "custodial investigation" shall include the practice of issuing an "invitation" to a
person who is investigated in connection with an offense he is suspected to have committed, without
prejudice to the liability of the "inviting" officer for any violation of law.

Section 3. Assisting Counsel. – Assisting counsel is any lawyer, except those directly affected by the
case, those charged with conducting preliminary investigation or those charged with the prosecution of
crimes.

The assisting counsel other than the government lawyers shall be entitled to the following fees;

(a) The amount of One hundred fifty pesos (P150.00) if the suspected person is chargeable with light
felonies;lawphi1©alf

(b) The amount of Two hundred fifty pesos (P250.00) if the suspected person is chargeable with less
grave or grave felonies;
(c) The amount of Three hundred fifty pesos (P350.00) if the suspected person is chargeable with a
capital offense.

The fee for the assisting counsel shall be paid by the city or municipality where the custodial
investigation is conducted, provided that if the municipality of city cannot pay such fee, the province
comprising such municipality or city shall pay the fee: Provided, That the Municipal or City Treasurer
must certify that no funds are available to pay the fees of assisting counsel before the province pays said
fees.

In the absence of any lawyer, no custodial investigation shall be conducted and the suspected person
can only be detained by the investigating officer in accordance with the provisions of Article 125 of the
Revised Penal Code.

Section 4. Penalty Clause. – (a) Any arresting public officer or employee, or any investigating officer,
who fails to inform any person arrested, detained or under custodial investigation of his right to remain
silent and to have competent and independent counsel preferably of his own choice, shall suffer a fine
of Six thousand pesos (P6,000.00) or a penalty of imprisonment of not less than eight (8) years but not
more than ten (10) years, or both. The penalty of perpetual absolute disqualification shall also be
imposed upon the investigating officer who has been previously convicted of a similar offense.

The same penalties shall be imposed upon a public officer or employee, or anyone acting upon orders of
such investigating officer or in his place, who fails to provide a competent and independent counsel to a
person arrested, detained or under custodial investigation for the commission of an offense if the latter
cannot afford the services of his own counsel.

(b) Any person who obstructs, prevents or prohibits any lawyer, any member of the immediate family of
a person arrested, detained or under custodial investigation, or any medical doctor or priest or religious
minister chosen by him or by any member of his immediate family or by his counsel, from visiting and
conferring privately with him, or from examining and treating him, or from ministering to his spiritual
needs, at any hour of the day or, in urgent cases, of the night shall suffer the penalty of imprisonment of
not less than four (4) years nor more than six (6) years, and a fine of four thousand pesos
(P4,000.00).lawphi1©

The provisions of the above Section notwithstanding, any security officer with custodial responsibility
over any detainee or prisoner may undertake such reasonable measures as may be necessary to secure
his safety and prevent his escape.

Section 5. Repealing Clause. – Republic Act No. No. 857, as amended, is hereby repealed. Other laws,
presidential decrees, executive orders or rules and regulations, or parts thereof inconsistent with the
provisions of this Act are repealed or modified accordingly.

Section 6. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its publication in the Official
Gazette or in any daily newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines.

Approved: April 27, 1992.