The First Pillar – Police or

Law Enforcement
The Police or Law Enforcement has the following goals:
1. Crime Prevention
2. Arrest or Criminal Apprehension
3. Criminal Investigation
4. Order Maintenance
5. Public Service
6. Traffic regulation and motor accident investigation

The Police
- the most visible representative of the government in the
society.
- the first line of defense against crime
- the first pillar of the Philippine Criminal Justice System that
stands at the forefront and is the prime mover of the justice system.
POLICE as an acronym means:
P – erson O – f L – eadership I –ntegrity C – ourage E –fficiency
Law Enforcement is the prevention and control of crimes,
enforcement of laws, and effecting the arrest of offenders, including
the conduct of lawful searches and seizures to gather necessary
evidence.
There are two agencies in charge of law enforcement:
1. Philippine National Police; and
2. National Bureau of Investigation

Other agencies that enforce special laws are the following:

1. Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)
2. Land Transportation Office (LTO)
3. Bureau of Customs (BOC)
4. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
5. Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)
6. Philippine Aviation Security Command (PAVSECOM)
7. Marine Industry Authority (MARINA)
8. Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)
9. Air Transportation Office (ATO)
10. Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)
The Philippine National Police
The PNP is considered as the premier law enforcement
agency in the country. However, this does not mean that this is the
sole law enforcement agency in the Philippines.
Under Article XVI, Section 6 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution
stated that:
The State shall establish and maintain one police force, which shall be
national in scope and civilian in character, to be administered and controlled by
a National Police Commission. The authority of local executives over the police
units in their jurisdiction shall be provided by law.

Mandate
Republic Act 6975 as amended by RA 8551 and further amended by RA
9708
Vision
Imploring the aid of the Almighty, by 2030, the Philippine National Police
shall be a highly capable, effective and credible police service working in
partnership with a responsive community towards the attainment of a safer place
to live, work, and do business.

Mission
To enforce the law, to prevent and control crimes, to maintain peace
and order, and to ensure public safety and internal security with the active
support of the community.
Core Values
Maka-Diyos (God-fearing)
Makabayan (Nationalistic)
Makatao (Humane)
Makakalikasan (Environment-Friendly)
Philosophy
Service, Honor and Justice
Functions
 Enforce all laws and ordinance relative to the protection of lives and properties;
 Maintain peace and order and take all necessary steps to ensure public safety;
 Investigate and prevent crimes, effect the arrest of criminal offenders, bring
offenders to justice and assist in their prosecution;
 Exercise the general powers to make arrest, search and seizure in accordance
with the Constitution and pertinent laws;
 Detain an arrested person for a period not beyond what is prescribed by law,
informing the person so detained of all his rights under the Constitution;
 Issue licenses for the possession of firearms and explosives in accordance with
law;
 Supervise and control the training and operations of security agencies and issue
licenses to operate security agencies, and to security guards and private
detectives for the practice of their professions; and
 Perform such other duties and exercise all other functions as may be provided
by law.
Police Discretion
Discretion is an authority conferred by law to act in a certain condition or
situation in accordance with an official or an official agency’s own considered
judgment and conscience.
Moreover, authorities defined discretion as the wise use of one’s judgment
and personal experience to decide during a particular situation. It is the freedom
to make a choice among possible course or courses of action or inaction.

Criminal Investigation
Criminal Investigation is the art of collecting and analyzing facts about
persons, things, places, and subject of a crime to identify the perpetrator, to
locate his whereabouts, and to gather evidence for the establishment of his guilt
in a criminal proceeding.
Criminal Investigation is considered as one of the most difficult and
complicated function of the police.
Criminal Apprehension or Arrest
Arrest is defined as the taking of a person into custody in order that he may be
bound to answer for the commission of an offense. It 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
(Section 1 and 2, Rule 113).
Search as an Incident of Arrest
The person making the arrest may conduct bodily search to the arrested
person to confiscate the following:
1. Objects that are subject of the offense or used or intended to be used in the
commission of the crime;
2. Objects which are the fruits of the crime;
3. Objects which are illegal per se;
4. Those which might be used to commit violence or to escape;
5. Dangerous weapon;
6. Evidence of the case.
Duty of the Arresting Officer
It shall be the duty of the officer executing the warrant to arrest the
accused and deliver him to the nearest police station or jail without unnecessary
delay (Section 3, Rule 113).
Execution of Warrant of Arrest
The head of the office to which the warrant of arrest was delivered for
execution shall cause the warrant to be executed within 10 days from its receipt.

Warrantless Arrest or Arrest Without Warrant

The general rule is, “No person can be arrested without warrant.”
However, here are the exemptions under the Rules of Court:
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 (In flagrante delicto
arrest);
(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 (Doctrine of hot pursuit); 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 (Arrest of an escapee).