CHR to Duterte: Warrantless arrest illegal

President Duterte

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) disputed President Duterte’s claim that the military could arrest people without warrants on the strength of arrest, search and seizure orders (Asso) alone.

The commission pointed out the 1987 Constitution expressly prohibits warrantless arrests precisely to correct abuses during the martial law regime of former President Fedinand Marcos.

“There is legislation and protocol in place to ensure that the human rights abuses that have occurred in the past are not repeated,” the CHR said in a statement.

“Even during a state of martial law, the police and military personnel cannot issue or conduct warrantless arrests outside the circumstances provided under Section 5, Rule 113 of the Rules of Court,” the CHR said.

The commission was referring to Rules on Criminal Procedure that allow warrantless arrests only when the arresting officer has witnessed or has personal knowledge of the facts of a crime, or when the suspect is an escaped prisoner.

“Any arrest, search and seizure executed in the area where martial law is declared, including filing of charges, should comply with the revised rules of court and applicable jurisprudence,” the CHR added.

Even under martial law, the CHR said, those arrested or detained for offenses related to lawless violence, rebellion or invasion should be released if they are not charged after three days.

Civilians cannot be tried in military tribunals and civil courts and legislative assemblies are still functional, the commission said.

“We call on our police force and military to place the utmost importance on the safety and rights of civilians,” the CHR said.

We must always keep our country’s dark past in mind so that history may not be repeated. Let us strive toward the resolution of this conflict,” it added.

The CHR issued the legal advisory after Mr. Duterte told troops in Iligan City on Friday that they could makes arrests even without a proper court warrant.

“During martial law, your commanders—you can arrest any person, search any house, [without a] warrant [and only an] Asso [which] could be signed by [Armed Forces chief] General [Eduardo] Año,” he had said.

The remark raised concern among people who remember that Assos were the usual tools used by Marcos’ martial law regime in the 1970s to arbitrarily detain political opponents.