CHAPTER V

ARREST (RULE 113)

I. Arrest; How made:
 Arrest is the taking of a person into custody in order that he may
be bound to answer for the commission of an offense.
Under the RULES OF COURT, an arrest is made by:
a. an actual restraint of a person to be arrested; or
b. a submission to the custody of the person making the arrest already
constitutes an arrest.
NOTE: No violence or unnecessary force shall be used in making an
arrest. The person arrested shall not be subject to greater restraint than is
necessary for his detention.
II. 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 necessary
delay.
Reason:
The officer may held liable under Article 125 of the Revised Penal
Code for the crime of Delay in the Delivery of Detained Persons to
Proper Judicial Authorities.
III. 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 10 days from its
receipt. Within 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.
IV. Exceptions to requirement of a warrant of arrest (Arrest without
warrant).
A peace officer or private person may, without 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 that based on personal knowledge of facts or circumstances that the
person to be arrested has committed it; (Hot pursuit) and
c. When the person to be arrested is a prisoner who has escaped from a
pernal establishment or place where he is serving final judgement 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 6 of RULE 112.
NOTE: Personal knowledge under the hot pursuit exception does not
refer to actual knowledge of the crime because the officer did not witness its
commission. The knowledge referred to is knowledge that a crime was
committed even if it was not committed in his presence.
V. Time of making arrest.
An arrest may be made on any day and at any time of the day or
night.
VI. 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 (a) cause of the arrest and (b) the fact that
a warrant has been issued for his arrest, except: (1) when he flees or (2)
forcibly resists before the officer has opportunity to so inform him, or (3)
when giving such information will imperil the arrest.
NOTE: 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 a practicable.
VII. Method of arrest by officer without warrant.
When making an arrest without a warrant, the officer shall: (a) inform
the person to be arrested of his authority and (b) the cause of the arrest,
unless: (1) the latter is either engaged in the commission of an offense, is
pursued immediately after its commission, (2) has escaped, (3) flees, or (4)
forcibly resists before the officer has opportunity to so inform him, or (5)
when giving such information will imperil the arrest.
VIII. Method of arrest by a private person.
When making an arrest, the private person shall (a) inform the person
to be arrested of his intention to arrest him and (b) the cause of the
arrest, unless (1) the latter is either engaged in the commission of an offense,
is pursued immediately after its commission, or (2) has escaped, (3) flees, or
(4) forcibly resists before the person making the arrest has opportunity to so
inform him, or (5) when giving such information will imperil the arrest.
IX. Officer may summon assistance.
An officer making a lawful arrest may orally summon as many persons
as he deems necessary to assist him in affecting the arrest. Every person so
summoned by an officer shall assist him in affecting the arrest when he can
render such assistance without detriment to himself.
X. 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, may break into any building or enclosure where the
person to arrest is or is reasonably believed to be, if he is refused
admittance thereto, after announcing his authority and purpose.
XI. Right to break out from the building or enclosure.
 Whenever an officer has entered the building or enclosure, he may
break out therefrom when necessary to liberate himself.
XII. 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.
XIII. Right to 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, of the night. Subject to reasonable regulations, a relative of the
person arrested can also exercise the same right.
 Rights of the person arrested:
o The right to be assisted by counsel at all times;
o The right to remain silent;
o The right to be informed of the above rights; and
o The right to be visited by any immediate members of his
family, by his counsel, or by any non-governmental
organization, national or international.
NOTE: A person lawfully arrested may be searched, without a search warrant,
for dangerous weapons or anything which may be have been used or
constitute proof in the commission of the offense.
XIV. Effect of an illegal arrest on jurisdiction of the court.
The legality of the arrest affects only the jurisdiction of the court over
the person of the accused. The illegality of the arrest cannot in itself be the
basis for acquittal. It will not negate the validity of the conviction of the
accused.
The illegality of a warrantless arrest cannot deprive the State of its right
to prosecute the guilty when all other facts on record point to their culpability.
Indeed, the illegal arrest of the accused is not sufficient cause for setting aside
a valid judgement rendered upon a sufficient complaint after a trial free from
error.
XV. Waiver of illegality of arrest.
Any objection involving a warrant of arrest or the procedure by which
the court acquired jurisdiction of the person of the accused must be made
before he enters his plea; otherwise, the objection is deemed waived.
However, the principle that the accused is precluded after the
arraignment from questioning the illegal arrest applies only if the accused
voluntarily enters his plea and participates during the trial, without
previously invoking his objections thereto.

NOTE: When an accused fails to make a timely objection to an illegal

arrest, only the right to assail the arrest is waived. He does not waive the right
to question the admissibility of the evidence seized by virtue of the illegal
arrest.
In other words, the waiver of an illegal warrantless arrest does not
mean a waiver of the inadmissibility of evidence seized during an illegal
warrantless arrest.
XVI. Persons not subject to arrest.
a. Section 11, Article VI of the 1987 Constitution provides:
“A senator or member of the House of Representatives shall,
in all offenses punishable by not more than six (6) years of imprisonment, be
privileged from arrest while the Congress is in session.”
b. Under generally accepted principle of international law, the following
are immune from the criminal jurisdiction of the country of their assignment
and are, therefore, immune from arrest:
1. Sovereigns and other chief of states;
2. Ambassadors;
3. Ministers plenipotentiary;
4. Ministers resident; and
5. Charge d’affaires.