Facts
Officers from the Western Police District received a call from an informer that there were three suspicious-looking persons in Tondo, Manila. A surveillance team was then dispatched to the area where they saw two men “looking from side to side,” one of whom was holding his abdomen. The policemen approached the two and identified themselves as police officers, whereupon the two suspects tried to flee. However, they were not able to flee as they were surrounded by other policemen.
The policemen subsequently searched the men and seized an unlicensed .38 revolver from Mengote. Mengote was found guilty of illegal possession of firearms under PD 1866 and was sentenced to a penalty of reclusion perpetua.
In his appeal, Mengote posits that the warrantless arrest and the subsequent search was illegal, hence the seized gun is admissible in evidence.
ISSUE: Whether the warrantless arrest and subsequent search were legal.
Ruling
The warrantless arrest and the subsequent search was illegal.
Sec 5., Rule 113 of the Rules of Court provides when a warrantless arrest may be lawful, to wit:
Sec. 5. Arrest without warrant when lawful. — A peace officer or 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 in fact just been committed, and he has personal knowledge of facts indicating 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 temporarily confined while his case is pending, or has escaped while being transferred from one confinement to another.
In the case at bar, the warrantless arrest was unlawful since the accused was not committing, had not just committed, nor was attempting to commit a crime in the presence of the police officers. Their acts of “looking from side to side” and “holding his abdomen” were not sinister enough to constitute sufficient grounds for suspicion to arrest them without a warrant.
Consequently, the .38 caliber revolver, being the fruit of an illegal search, was inadmissible in evidence. Hence, the conviction of Mengote was reversed.