CITIZENS ARREST: EMPOWERMENT OR ENDANGERMENT?

by: Carmela Paola R. Dumlao

INTRODUCTION

The law empowers an ordinary citizen to arrest another in certain

cases. However, anyone making an arrest, provided it's a valid one, must
prepare for it because, by nature, nobody would want to be arrested.
Resistance is expected and it may put his life in danger.

CITIZENS ARREST, DEFINED.

A citizen's arrest is an arrest made by a person who is not acting as

a sworn law-enforcement official1

1 William C. HUDSON, v. COMMONWEALTH of Virginia Record No.022703.Decided:

September 12, 2003

LEGAL BASES

As a general rule, an arrest may be done only by virtue of a valid

warrant of arrest. The 1987 Philippine Constitution guarantees that the
right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and
effects against unreasonable searches and seizures of whatever
nature and for any purpose shall be inviolable..xxx.2
The Constitution, therefore, does not forbid warrantless arrests or
seizures; it only forbids unreasonable arrests of seizures. Thus, there are
certain instances wherein an arrest without warrant is allowed. The Rules
of Court provides:
Sec. 5. Arrest without warrant; when
lawful. A peace officer or a 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 just been committed and
he has probable cause to believe based on
personal knowledge of facts or circumstances that
the person to be arrested has committed it; and
2 Art. 3 Section 2 1987 Philippine Constitution

(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 is
temporarily confined while his case is pending, or
has escaped while being transferred from one
confinement to another.3

CITIZENS ARREST, WHEN AND HOW MADE.

The Rules of Court defines arrest as the taking of a person into

custody in order that he may be bound to answer for the commission of an
offense.4

An arrest is made by an actual restraint of a person to be

arrested, or by his submission to the custody of the person making the

arrest. 5 It may be made on any day and at any time of the day or night.

Section 5 of Rule 113 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure

provides that a peace office or a private person may, without a valid
warrant, arrest a person when, in his presence, the person to be arrested
has committed, is actually committing, or is attempting to commit, an
3 Rule 113, Section 5, Rules of Court
4 Rule 113, Section 1, Rules of Court
5 Rule 113, Section 2, Rules of Court
6 Rule 113, Section 3, Rules of Court

offense. This refers to arrest in flagrante delicto or caught in the act of

committing a crime.

Also, a warrantless or citizens arrest may be done when, after an

offense has just been committed the one arresting has personal knowledge
of facts and circumstances that the person to be arrested committed it or
otherwise called as hot pursuit arrest. In this, personal knowledge is
required. "Personal knowledge" of facts in arrests without a warrant under
Section 5 (b) of Rule 113 must be based upon "probable cause" which
means an "actual belief or reasonable grounds of suspicion." The grounds
of suspicion are reasonable when, in the absence of actual belief of the
arresting officers, the suspicion that the person to be arrested is probably
guilty of committing the offense is based on actual facts, i.e., supported by
circumstances sufficiently strong in themselves to create the probable
cause of guilt of the person to be arrested. A reasonable suspicion
therefore must be founded on probable cause, coupled with good faith on
the part of the peace officers making the arrest. 7

Lastly, anyone may arrest a convict who has escaped from prison.

7 People v. Doria, 301 SCRA 668, 709 (1991)

Illustrative examples:

IN FLAGRANTE DELICTO

1. Suppose A entered into the house of B with the intent to

steal the latters beautiful and expensive painting. When A is
about to take Bs painting hanging on the wall, B caught him.
B may validly make a citizens arrest against A because this is a
case of in flagrante delicto. A is actually committing an offense
when the arrest was made.

In continuing offenses, the culprit could be arrested any time in

flagrante delicto. As in cases of Rebellion. Since rebellion is a
continuing offense, a rebel may be arrested at any time, with or
without a warrant, as he is deemed to be in the act of committing the
offense at any time of the day or night.8
8 Umil v. Ramos 187 SCRA 311, July 9,1990; 202 SCRA 251, October 3, 1991

HOT PURSUIT

2. Suppose A entered the house of B and killed the latter. Just

after A stabbed B to death and was about to flee, X arrived
seeing A still holding the knife.
X, having personal knowledge of the facts and circumstances
that A committed the crime may validly arrest A in hot pursuit.

WHEN THE PERSON TO BE ARRESTED IS AN ESCAPEE

3. Suppose A after having been convicted of the crime of

Murder escaped from prison, X, or any other persons
knowing the fact that A is an escape may validly arrest the
latter.

Generally, when making an arrest, a private person shall inform the

person to be arrested of the intention to arrest him and the case of the
arrest, unless the latter is either engaged in the commission of an offense,

is pursued immediately after its commission, or has escaped, flees, or

forcibly resists before the person making the arrest has opportunity to so
inform him, or when the giving of such information will imperil the arrest. 9
However, no violence or unnecessary force shall be used in making an
arrest. The person arrested shall not be subject to a greater restraint than
is necessary for his detention.10

After the arrest, it shall be the duty of the person making the arrest to
deliver the arrested person to the nearest police station or jail without
unnecessary delay.11

But, suppose in the course of the arrest, the person to be arrested resists
or becomes violent, what may the person making the arrest do?

Under the Rules, an officer or the person making a lawful arrest may
orally summon as many persons as he deems necessary to assist him in
9 Rule 113, Section 9, Rules of Court

10 Rule 113, Section 2, Rules of Court

11 Rule 113, Section 2, Rules of Court

effecting the arrest. Every person so summoned by an officer shall assist

him in effecting the arrest when he can render such assistance without
detriment

to

himself.12

Also, in order to make an arrest he may break into any building or

enclosure where the person to be arrested is or is reasonably believed to
be, if he is refused admittance thereto, after announcing his authority and
purpose.13
Whenever he has entered the building or enclosure, he may break out
therefrom when necessary to liberate himself. 14

LIABILITY OF PERSONS MAKING AN INVALID OR FOR EXCESSIVELY

MAKING A VALID CITIZENS ARREST

As discussed, a valid citizens arrest may be made having already been

discussed, e.g. in flagrante delicto, hot pursuit and in case of a convict who

12 Rule 113, Section 10, Rules of Court

13 Rule 113, Section 11, Rules of Court

14 Rule 113, Section 12, Rules of Court

escapes from jail. Outside these circumstances, a warrantless or citizens

arrest is invalid.

What is the duty of the arresting officer or individual after a

warrantless arrest?

Article 125 of the Revised Penal Code requires the arresting officer or
individual to deliver to the proper judicial authorities a person arrested and
detained by virtue of warrant less arrest within the prescribed hours:
1. 12 hours for offenses punishable by light
penalties or their equivalent;
2. 18 hours for offenses punishable by correctional
penalties or their equivalent; and
3. 36 hours for offenses punishable by afflictive
penalties or their equivalent.
Deliver to the proper judicial authorities simply means that
appropriate charges should be filed in court against the accused and thus it
should be within the prescribed hours mentioned depending upon the
gravity of the offense committed.

If after the prescribed hours, the arresting officer who is a public

officer or employee did not file charges against the suspect within the ambit
of Article 125, he can be charged for delay in the delivery of the proper
persons to the proper judicial authorities under Article 125 of the Revised
Penal Code. If the arresting person is a private individual, the charged can
be illegal detention under Article 267 of the revised Penal Code.

The one making the citizen's arrest must inform the person of the
intention to arrest him and the cause of the arrest unless the crime is being
committed in front of the citizen or he/she is in hot pursuit of the offender or
the one being arrested violently resists the arrest. It is also the legal
obligation of the arresting citizen to immediately deliver the person arrested
to the nearest police station. If this is not done, the crime of unlawful
arrest15, slight illegal detention16 or even serious illegal detention or
kidnapping17, as the case may be, might just be committed by the people
making the arrest.

15 Art. 269, Revised Penal Code. The penalty of arresto mayor and a fine not exceeding 500

pesos shall be imposed upon any person who, in any case other than those authorized by law,
or without reasonable ground therefor, shall arrest or detain another for the purpose of
delivering him to the proper authorities.

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Just recently, the news reports about actor Vhong Navarros mauling
incident have brought to fore this right to make a citizen's arrest when the
group of Cedrice Lee went to the Forbeswood Condominium allegedly to
make a citizens arrest on Navarro because of the latters alleged attempt
to rape Deniece Cornejo. But when Navarro was brought to the police
station, he was already seriously battered.

Vhong Navarro charged the group of Lee and Cornejo of the crime of
serious illegal detention as they inflicted serious physical injuries while
making the arrest which turned out to be unlawful and they detained
Navarro for a period of time, before delivering him to the police station. The
16 Art. 268, RPC The penalty of reclusion temporal shall be imposed upon any private
individual who shall commit the crimes described in the next preceding article without the
attendance of any of circumstances enumerated therein.The same penalty shall be incurred by
anyone who shall furnish the place for the perpetration of the crime.If the offender shall
voluntarily release the person so kidnapped or detained within three days from the
commencement of the detention, without having attained the purpose intended, and before the
institution of criminal proceedings against him, the penalty shall be prision mayor in its minimum
and medium periods and a fine not exceeding seven hundred pesos.
17 Art. 267, RPC Any private individual who shall kidnap or detain another, or in any other
manner deprive him of his liberty, shall suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua to death: (1). If
the kidnapping or detention shall have lasted more than five days. (2). If it shall have been
committed simulating public authority. (3). If any serious physical injuries shall have been
inflicted upon the person kidnapped or
detained; or if threats to kill him shall have been made. (4). If the person kidnapped or detained
shall be a minor, female or a public officer.
The penalty shall be death where the kidnapping or detention was committed for the purpose of
extorting ransom from the victim or any other person, even if none of the circumstances abovementioned were present in the commission of the offense.

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group was charged of Serious Illegal Detention, or commonly known as

kidnapping under Article 267 (3) of the Revised Penal Code which is
punishable by reclusion perpetua or imprisonment for a period ranging from
20 years and 1 day to 40 years. The prosecutor, after preliminary
investigation found probable cause to file information in court.

STRICT CONSTRUCTION AGAINST WARRANTLESS/ CITIZENS

ARRESTS

The right of a person to be secure against any unreasonable seizure

of his body and any deprivation of his liberty is a most basic and
fundamental one. The statute or rule which allows exceptions to the
requirement of warrants of arrest is strictly construed. Any exception must
clearly fall within the situations when securing a warrant would be absurd or
is manifestly unnecessary as provided by the Rule. We cannot liberally
construe the rule on arrests without warrant or extend its application
beyond the cases specifically provided by law. To do so would infringe
upon personal liberty and set back a basic right so often violated and so
deserving of full protection.18

18 People v. Burgos

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CONCLUSION

Citizens arrest if validly executed is beneficial to the society in the sense

that a private individual is empowered to make an arrest himself without a
need to go to the police station and ask and wait for the authoritys help. On
the other hand, it is disadvantageous in the sense that it endangers the life
of the one making arrest and exposes the latter to the perils of resistance
from the person to be arrested as well as to possible criminal and civil
liabilities should he not make the arrest in accordance with law and the
Rules.
Thus, the right of an ordinary citizen to make arrest could both be
regarded as an empowerment and endangerment on their part.

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