The municipal police law annotated

Title

Creator

Rivera, Juan F.

Language

English

Source

Local Government Review

Year

1949

Subject

Police--Philippines

Law and legislation

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Abstract

[Continued from 1st and 2nd issues]

Fulltext

THE MUNICIPAL POLICE LAW . ANNOTATED by JUAN 1F. RW1E:RA Chief, Prov. incial Division, Dept, of the Interior, and Member, Malacaiian Special Legislative Assistance Committee . . (Continued from 1st & 2nd issiws) ARRESTS AND SEIZURES Definition.-Arrest is the taking of n person into custody in order that he may be forthcoming to answer for the commission of an offense.1 -Arrest-now made.-An arrest is made by an actual restrairnt of the person to be arrested, or by his submission to the custody of the person making the arrest. No unnecessary or unreasonable force shall be used in making an arrest, and the· person arrested shall not be subject to any greater restraint before the judge or before some other person in authority who iss·ued the warrant as directed therein. 2 Arrests shall be made as quietly as possibl·e, and all unnecessary harshness and violence will be avoided.3 A peace officer armed with lawful warrant, or when making a lawful arrest without a warrant, has a right, and it is his duty to use every necessary means to effect the arrest. 4 If. no resistance is offered, • the peace officer has no right, rudely or with violence, to lay hands on the arrested person.s If resistance is offered to an arrest, a peace officer may use such force as is necessary to overcome the resistance. However, violence which will probably result in the death of a person to be arrested may only be used when the peace officer is in extreme danger, and when such force is necessary for his self-protection. 6 A peace officer arresting a person who is accused of a grave crime, and who refuses to stop when so required. and continues his flight, has a right to kill to prevent the esca• pe of the accused, if he can not otherwise take him. This right does not exist in ·cases of minor offenses, and such means to prevent the escape should only be resorted to when the crime is of a grave character, and the guilt of MARCH, 1949 the person fleeing is evident and clear.7 A peace officer is never justified in killing in order to effect an arrest for a minor offense, even though the person refus·es to stop when so required, and continues his flight, and even though there be no other way to prevent hi·s escape. No matter what offense a prisoner may have commHted, a peace officer is not jmtified in killing him, if there is any other way of preventing his escap'" s An officer should use discretion_ and caution in effecting arrests. He should be humane. He can not use violence when no resistance is offered, or use force or violence disproportionate to the extent of the resistance offered if there is any. If he uses unnecessary and excessive force or acts wantonly or malicious• lY, he may be criminaHy liable. A chief. of police who with a shotgun repea:tedly cudgels a person being arrested when the latter is already held by three policemen, thereby inflicting several wounds, is guilty of the crime of physical injuries, the force used ·being manifestly unnecessary.9 Execwtion of warrant.-lt shall be the duty of an officer to whom the warrant of arrest is delivered to arrest the defendant and 'without unnecessary delay take the person arrested before the judge or before some other person in authority who issued the warrant as directed therein.10 Warrant of arrest; legal upon its face and issued by a competent authority, is a complete justification and protection to the peace officer making an arrest.11 A peace officer to whom a warrant is delivered for service must take notice of its contents and see that upon its face it appears to have bee;1 issued by the judge of a court having jurisdiction of the subject matter upon the legal cause shown and is for a person whose name appears or who is particularly described therein.12 The peace Page 177 <>ffic-er making the arrest ·shall exhibit the warrant to the person arrested and explain its contents; if the arrest is made without a warrant, the p<:?rson arrested shall be so informed, and shall be told why no warrant was obtained.I' Care will be taken to avoid unnecessary publicity or the humiliwtion of. ~he person arrested. It is not the function of the police to impose punishment. This is 'for the courts of justice; an arrested person is presumably innocent unlil pronounC'ed guilty by a. court.14 E xecution of warrant owt'<;ide of the pi"ovince.-\Varrant of arrest issued by the justice of the peace cannot be served or ·executed outside his province, unless the judge- of the Court of First Instance of the district or, in his absence, the pro d ncial fiscal shall certify that in his opinion the interest of j• ustice requires such service. Warrant issued by the judge of the Court of First Instance or of any other ·superior court may be secured or executed anywhere within the Philippines.15 1. Sec. 1, Ruic 109, Rules of Court. 2. Sec. 2, id. • While members· of the local police forces are authori~ed to make arrests, it is under-sfood that they can exercise such authority only within the territorial limits of the municipality of which they are peace officers. To allow them to exercise police authority beyond their jurisdiction, as in this case, would create not only misunder.~tanding between the municipal authorities that they represent and the authorities of the other municipality wherein they unlawfully exercise such authority, but would also he detrimental tc the orderly processes of government. In cases where offenders of the law are found outside the jurisdiction of a municipality, the prop:.eiprocedure 1o be followed in such cases is to report the matter, through the Provincial Governor, to the Provincial Commander of the Constabulary, so ihat appropriate steps may he tabn to secure a warrant of arrest directed to any m<:?mber of the Consfabulary who is authorized under the law to effect arrest anywhere throughout the Philippines.16 3. Par. 108, Manual for the Municipal Police; Par. 109, State Police Regulations. 4. Par. 113, State Police Regulations. 5. Par. 110, id.; Par. 109, Manual for the Municipal Police. 6. Par. 114, id.; Par. 113, id. 7. Par. 115, id.; Par. J16, id. 8. Par. 116, id.; Par. 117, id. 9. People v. Fandono, CA-G. R. No. 5865 Aug. 22, 1940. JO. Sec. 3, Rule 109, Rules of Court. 11. Par. 106, State Police Regulations; par. 105, Manual for the Mp!. Police. 12. Par. 107, id.; par. 106, id. 13. Par. 108, id.; par. 107; id. 14. Par. 112. id; par. 111, id. 15. Sec. 4, Rule 109, Rules of Court. 16. Letter dated Oct. 11, 1946 of Sec. of the Int. to the Prov. Gov . of Pampanga, 612.6 Pampe.nga, Angeles. (To be continued) Compliments of Page 178 M. Qaiclu:;,Uan anJ .,(/d,d.oci.ated. ARC.HITECTS * ENGINEERS * BUILDERS STRUCTURAL - ARCHITECTURAL - DESIGNS 2626 R. FERNANDEZ, MANILA. THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVIEW

pages

177-178

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