Alih vs Castro GL.

69401 This case was in explaining Sec 3 of Art 2 of the 1987 Constitution regarding the supremacy of the civilians.

Facts; Zona was conducted by the men of Maj. Gen Castro in a compoud where petioners reside and conducted illegal search and thereafter seized guns from them. The order was carried on by his Castro's men with the contention that the petitioners are involved in the latest killing of the town's mayor Cesar Climaco. Issue; Is the warrantless search and seizure legal? Held; The Supreme Court declared those seized in custodia legis and declared that the operation conducted by Maj. Gen. Castro was ILLEGAL. The respondents have all the time to obtain a search warrant granted that they have about 10 trial courts. The SC also held the protection of the petitioner's human rights as stated in Art IV Sec 3 and 4 of the 1973 Constitution regarding illegal search and seizure. The presumption of innocence of the petitioners should be observed and that they cannot be subjected to self-incriminating instances like paraffin tests, photographing and finger printing. Indeed, even if were assumed for the sake of argument that they were guilty, they would not have been any less entitled to the protection of the Constitution, which covers both the innocent and the guilty. This is not to say, of course, that the Constitution coddles criminals. What it does simply signify is that, lacking the shield of innocence, the guilty need the armor of the Constitution, to protect them, not from a deserved sentence, but from arbitrary punishment. In acting as they did, they also defied the precept that "civilian authority is at all times supreme over the military" so clearly proclaimed in the 1973 Constitution. In the instant case, the respondents simply by-passed the civil courts, which had the authority to determine whether or not there was probable cause to search the petitioner's premises. Instead, they proceeded to make the raid without a search warrant on their own unauthorized determination of the petitioner's guilt.