UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN PHILIPPINES
College of Criminal Justice Education
FUNDAMENTALS OF INVESTIGATION WITH INTELLIGENCE
(INV 1)
ARREST, SEARCH AND SEIZURE
ORIGIN OF THE WORD ARREST & SEARCH
The term “arrest” came from the Latin word “arrestare” which means “cause to stop” and “restare”
which means “stay behind”. These terms were used as early as during the 14th century.
The word search was derived from the Anglo-Norman word “searcher,” Old French cerchier which
means “to explore,” Latin word “circare" which means “go around in circles.”
Key Terms to Understand
1. Warrant of Arrest 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 arrest the person designated and take
him into custody of the law in order that he may be bound to answer for the commission of an
offense.
✓ 10 days is its executory period.
✓ Attempts of arrest may be done so long as within the 10-day period.
✓ Lifetime is the validity.
2. Alias Warrant refers to the warrant of arrest issued by a judge to the peace officer after returning
the original warrant of arrest after the lapse of the 10-day executory period.
3. Search Warrant is another order in writing issued in the name of the People of the Philippines,
signed by the judge and directed to a peace officer commanding him to search for personal property
and bring it before the court.
✓ 10 days is its executory period.
✓ Once executed, successful or not, it shall be considered served.
1. John Doe Warrant (Richard Doe/ Jane Doe) is a warrant containing no specific name of person to be
arrested but only descriptions based from the testimonies of the victim/s or the witness/es. It
contains the physical description of the accused as well as other factors to be considered for the
identification of the accused (Sadili & Pena, 1998).
2. Arrest is the actual taking of a person or persons into custody by an authority in order that he/they
may be bound to answer for the commission of an offense.
3. Search is the act of examining documents, papers and effects.
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4. Complaint is a sworn written statement charging a person or a group of persons of an offense that is
subscribed by the offended party such as the victim/s of the offense committed, or any other peace
officer charged with the enforcement of the law violated.
5. Information is an accusation in writing charging a person or a group of persons of an offense that is
subscribed by the prosecutor or fiscal. It is substantiated on oath and includes the name of the party,
the offense committed, facts of the offense and other factors relevant (Curton,1989).
Properties subject to seizure:
a. Subject of the offense.
b. Stolen or embezzled properties.
c. Proceeds or fruits of the offense.
d. Property used or intended to be used for the commission of a crime.
INSTANCES OF WARRANTLESS ARREST
1. When, in his (peace officer) presence, the person to be arrested has committed, is actually
committing, or is attempting to commit an offense.
2. When an offense has just been committed and the peace officer has probable cause to believe
based on personal knowledge of facts or circumstances that the person to be arrested has
committed it.
3. When the person to be arrested is an escapee. Those 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 may be arrested by any peace
officer or private person without warrant.
4. Consented arrest. This is when the person arrested consented to the arrest, despite of no warrant
showed; the person is willing to be taken into custody. This happens when rights of the suspect are
validly waived.
5. When a person is suffering from a contagious disease.
6. When the person to be arrested is a violent mentally-challenged person.
INSTANCES OF WARRANTLESS SEARCHES
1. Consented Search. If the person submitted himself voluntarily to be searched, it is as good as there is
a search warrant because of the consent of the person to be searched. The consent of the person
must not have been because of intimidation or threat of the person making the search. Thus, the
Supreme Court held that in the cases of:
In People vs. Ramos, the SC said that the evidence for the prosecution clearly disclosed that
Ramos voluntarily allowed himself to be frisked, and that he gave the gun to the police
voluntarily; thus, there was a valid waiver.
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However, in People vs. Barros, the “silence of the accused” during the warrantless search was
not construed as consent.
2. Search is incidental to a lawful arrest. Provided that the search is contemporaneous to the arrest
and within the permissible area. A person lawfully arrested may be searched for dangerous weapons
or anything, which may be used as proof of the commission of an offense, without search warrant.
The purpose of the search is for protection of the arresting officer and to discover other evidence.
The warrantless search and seizure, as an incident to a lawful arrest, may extend beyond the person
of the one arrested to include the premises or surroundings under his immediate control.
3. Search in violation of tariff and custom laws. Involves illegal entry of “smuggled goods” in our
country that may affect the local businesses especially the small time businessmen. The search is
usually conducted by the officers and agents of the Bureau of Customs.
4. Plain View Doctrine. Under this doctrine, police officers can seize articles or objects which
inadvertently come to their view without exerting any effort and which object is incriminatory to the
accused. Based from decisions of trial courts, the doctrine includes the five senses of an individual to
detect violations of law. The doctrine requires that a police officer in order to validate the
confiscation of an object in plain view must have a right to be in that place and whatever objects
become obvious or apparent without obstruction or impairment may be subject to seizure.
5. Search of Moving Vehicles. This is popularly called as “check point.” This instance of warrantless
search cannot be done anytime. The “checkpoints” must be done during “abnormal times” when the
public welfare is at stake. Thus, every vehicle that passes the certain checkpoint can be searched
without search warrant
6. Inspection of buildings for fire and sanitary regulations. Inspectors of a certain building for the
purpose of maintaining sanitation, fire and building regulations are required to enter every building
as well as every room necessary to be inspected without arming themselves with search warrant. The
inspectors need not be armed with search warrant to enter the premises or rooms of the building to
be inspected.
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