ON THE ARREST AND ARBITRARY DETENTION OF INNOCENT there are only three (3) instances when a police may
hen a police may arrest
CIVILIANS BY THE POLICE FOR PURPOSE OF EXTORTION
(CHR A2011 - 001)
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) expresses its alarm
over the incidents of arrest and arbitrary detention of
innocent civilians by the police for purpose of extortion.
The case of Joy Reyes y Lagman is an example.
Based on the Resolution of the Department of Justice
(DOJ) in I.S. No. XV-07-INQ-09D-03624 promulgated on
October 13, 2010 , Joy Reyes was picked up by SPO1
Gerardo Rivera and PO2 Jason Magbitang between 12:00
noon and 12:30 p.m. on April 22, 2009 in the area of Guido
I, Tondo, Manila ; after which Rivera and Magbitang
attempted to extort money from her in the amount of fifty
thousand pesos (P50,000.00). Unsuccessful, the two police
brought Joy Reyes to the Tayuman Police Station around
7:00 p.m. that same day. Reyes claims that she was not
committing any crime at the time of her arrest, but that she
was only looking for her nephew. The entry in the police
blotter does not indicate why Joy Reyes was brought in
the police station.
It was only on April 24, 2009 about 8:40 p.m. that Reyes was
brought to the Manila City Prosecutors Office for inquest.
By then, she was already in detention for more than forty-
eight (48) hours.
A criminal complaint for violation of Sections 5 and 11 of
R.A. No. 9165 was filed against Joy Reyes. However, the
City Prosecutor of Manila issued a Resolution dismissing the
complaint against Joy Reyes.
On automatic review, the Department of Justice (DOJ), in
I.S. XV-07-INQ-09D-03624, affirmed the aforesaid Resolution
of the City Prosecutor of Manila.
The Department of Justice did not believe the claim of
Rivera and Magbitang that Joy Reyes was arrested only on
April 23, 2009 about 3:45 p.m. This is manifest in the DOJ
Resolution, to wit:
The claim of Joy Reyes y Lagman that SPO1 Rivera and
PO2 Magbitang arrested her on April 22, 2009 (and not on
April 23, 2009, as claimed by the two police officers) is
supported by this entry in the police blotter of the Tayuman
PCP: 22 April 2009 (Wed), 7:00 P.M., BROUGHT IN THE
PERSON OF JOY REYES Y LAGMAN AND TERESA HERNANDEZ
Y REYES BY PO2 JAYSON MAGBITANG OF PS # 7.
XXX
Magbitang and Rivera lied under oath when they
declared in their Joint Affidavit of Arrest that the 'arrest' of
Joy Reyes occurred at 3:45 p.m. of April 23, 2009 .
It must be stressed that the arrest on the person of Joy
Reyes was effected without a warrant of arrest. Under Rule
113, Section 5 of the Revised Rules on Criminal Procedure,
a person without a warrant, as follows:
(a) When, in his presence, the person to be arrested has
committed, is actually committing, or is attempting to
commit an offense;
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
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.
It is crystal clear that the case of Joy Reyes does not fall
under any of the abovementioned circumstances that
would justify a warrantless arrest. As such, policemen
Rivera and Magbitang should not have arrested her
without a warrant. Thus, the Department of Justice found
Joy Reyes to be a victim of human rights violation, as
stated in the aforesaid DOJ Resolution, to wit:
The records show that the arresting policemen, SPO1
Gerardo Rivera and PO2 Jason Magbitang, concocted a
story to justify the 'arrest' and detention of the hapless Joy
L. Reyes. Joy L. Reyes is a victim here, not the drug dealer
that the arresting policemen had pictured her to be...
xxx
This is evidently not a case of an illegal arrest or even one
of illegal search and seizure, but a fake arrest.
It is not enough, therefore, that we sustain the dismissal of
the sham complaint against Joy Reyes y Lagman. For what
has happened to Joy Reyes, as well as her family, is a
tragedy and a farce that cry out for vindication and
rectification.
Thus, the Department of Justice ordered the City
Prosecutor of Manila to cause the immediate release from
detention of Joy Reyes. The DOJ also ordered the City
Prosecutor of Manila to send the records of the case to the
Office of the Ombudsman as basis for its administrative
investigation of Rivera and Magbitang.
The acts of policemen Rivera and Magbitang contravene
the obligation of the Philippine Government to respect the
human rights of Joy Reyes under Article 9, paragraph 1 of
the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights,
which provides that:
Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention.
No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such
grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are
established by law.
Joy Reyes, without legal grounds, was arbitrarily detained
in jail for approximately sixteen (16) months. The suffering
of innocent persons who are put behind bars is beyond
imagination. While under detention, Joy had been
deprived not only of the time to be together with her loved
ones, but also opportunities in life, and the right to develop
as a person. In all probability, many other persons may
have experienced, or are experiencing, the human rights
violations suffered by Joy Reyes.
ART. 125. Delay in the delivery of detained persons to the
proper judicial authorities. - The penalties provided in the
next preceding articles shall be imposed upon the public
officer or employee who shall detain any person for some
legal ground and shall fail to deliver such person to the
proper judicial authorities within the period of: twelve (12)
hours, for crimes or offenses punishable by light penalties,
or their equivalent; eighteen (18) hours, for crimes or
offenses punishable by correctional penalties, or their
equivalent; and thirty-six (36) hours, for crimes or offenses
punishable by afflictive or capital penalties, or their
equivalent

Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
states that: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest,
detention or exile. The Commission on Human Rights
condemns acts of fake arrest and arbitrary detention as
gross violation of human rights. Fake arrests and arbitrary
detention of innocent civilians by the police must, at once,
be abated, for it is the policy of the State, as provided
under Article II Section 11 of the Constitution to value the
dignity of every human person and guarantee full respect
for human rights.
It is also imperative for the Philippine National Police to
observe the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement
Officials, Article 2 of which states that:
In the performance of their duty, law enforcement
officials shall respect and protect human dignity and
maintain and uphold the human rights of all persons.
This is not to deny the Office of the President of the power
to automatically review dismissal resolutions in drug cases;
but the detainee should be released while the case is on
automatic review, without prejudice to re-incarceration if
the dismissal of the complaint is reversed later on.
Therefore, the Commission on Human Rights is calling on
the members of the Philippine National Police to desist
from committing fake arrests and arbitrary detention, and
be the guardians and protectors of human rights of the
Filipino people.
The Commission on Human Rights is also calling for the
release of detainees whose drug cases had already been
dismissed by the prosecutor.
Issued on 13th day of May 2011, in Quezon City, Philippines.

The Commission on Human Rights likewise raises its concern

that the Resolution of the prosecutor dismissing the criminal
complaint in drug cases is subject to automatic review by
the Office of the President. During the time that the case is
undergoing automatic review, the detainee is
incarcerated. This is what Joy Reyes had experienced.

This is the same issue voiced out by the detainees at the

PDEA Detention Center in Butuan City when the
Commission on Human Rights conducted a jail visitation in
the said detention facility last November 27, 2010. The
detainees complained that they are still being held in
detention despite the prosecutors dismissal of the criminal
complaints for Violation of R.A. 9165 filed against them.

The CHR sees this as a violation of human rights a

deprivation of the right to liberty of a person - for if the
Office of the President would later on affirm the dismissal
of the complaint, which may take a year or more, the
detainee had languished long enough in jail. This practice
is counterproductive, as it results to congestion of the
detention facilities, aside from burdening the Government
with unnecessary expense for the upkeep of the
detainees, which may reach hundreds of thousands of
pesos, if not million.

Moreover, this practice is in violation of Article 125 of the

Revised Penal Code, which provides that: