DAVID

G.r. No. 171396

VS ARROYO
May 3, 2006
 FACTS
– President Arroyo issued PP 1017 declaring a state of national emergency.
On the same day, the President issued G.O. No. 5 implementing PP 1017
– There were cancellation of all programs and activities related to the 20th
anniversary celebration of Edsa People Power I
– Permits to hold rallies issued earlier by the local governments were
revoked
– Political rallies, which to the President’s mind were organized for
purposes of destabilization, are cancelled
– Despite the prohibition to hold rallies, Kilusang Mayo Uno
[KMU] and National Federation of Labor Unions-Kilusang Mayo
Uno [NAFLU-KMU], marched from various parts of Metro
Manila with the intention of converging at the EDSA shrine.
– The police cited PP 1017 as the ground for the dispersal of their
assemblies.
– During the police operation, petitioner Randolf S.
David, a professor at the University of the
Philippines and newspaper columnist and his
companion, Ronald Llamas, president of party-list
Akbayan were arrested without warrant.
 From David’s brief account
1. He was arrested without warrant;
2. The PNP operatives arrested him on the basis of PP 1017;
3. He was brought at Camp Karingal, Quezon City where he was fingerprinted,
photographed and booked like a criminal suspect;
4. He was treated brusquely by policemen who “held his head and tried to push
him” inside an unmarked car;
5. He was charged with Violation of Batas Pambansa Bilang No. 880 145 and
Inciting to Sedition;
6. He was detained for seven (7) hours; and
7. He was eventually released for insufficiency of evidence.
– Daily Tribune, which Cacho-Olivares is the
editor, was raided by the CIDG and they seized
and confiscated anti-GMA articles and write ups.

– News agency Malay was raided and seized along

with Abante.
 Petitioner’s narration of facts
1. The Daily Tribune’s offices were searched without warrant;
2. The police operatives seized several materials for publication;
3. The search was conducted at about 1:00 o’ clock in the morning of
February 25, 2006;
4. The search was conducted in the absence of any official of the Daily
Tribune except the security guard of the building; and
5. Policemen stationed themselves at the vicinity of the Daily Tribune
offices;
“Meant to show a
‘strong presence,’ to
tell media outlets not
to connive or do
anything that would
help the rebels in
bringing down this
government.”
“If they do not follow the
standards -and the standards are if
they would contribute to instability
in the government, or if they do not
subscribe to what is in General
Order No. 5 and Proc. No. 1017—
we will recommend a ‘takeover”
ISSUE

– Whether or not the warrantless arrest of David and

Llamas and the dispersal of the rallyists were valid

– Whether or not PD 1017, violates the Constitutional

guarantees of freedom of the press, of speech and of
assembly
RULING
– Whether or not the warrantless arrest of David and Llamas
and the dispersal of the rallyists were valid
YES
– Whether or not PD 1017, violates the Constitutional
guarantees of freedom of the press, of speech and of assembly

YES
 Searches, seizures and arrests are normally
unreasonable unless authorized by a validly
issued search warrant or warrant of arrest.

The Constitution provides that

“the right of the people to be secured in their persons, houses, papers and
effects against unreasonable search and seizure of whatever nature and for
any purpose shall be inviolable, and no search warrant or warrant of
arrest shall issue except upon probable cause to be determined
personally by the judge after examination under oath or affirmation of
the complainant and the witnesses he may produce, and particularly
describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be
seized.”
Section 5, Rule 113
Revised Rules on Criminal Procedure

Arrest without warrant; when lawful

(a) inflagrante delicto
(b) hot pursuit
(c) escapee of penal institutions
Section 4 of Article III guarantees

No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of

speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of
the people peaceably to assemble and petition the
government for redress of grievances.
 VIOLATION
OF THE
RIGHT OF ASSEMBLY
– "Assembly" means a right on the part of the citizens to
meet peaceably for consultation in respect to public affairs.
It is a necessary consequence of our republican institution
and complements the right of speech.

– David, et al. were arrested while they were exercising their

right to peaceful assembly. They were not committing any
crime, neither was there a showing of a clear and present
danger that warranted the limitation of that right.
RIGHT OF ASSEMBLY

– The cancellation of all permits to rally is a blatant disregard of

the principle that “freedom of assembly is not to be limited,
much less denied, except on a showing of a clear and present
danger of a substantive evil that the State has a right to
prevent.”

– Only upon a showing that an assembly presents a clear and

present danger that the State may deny the citizens’ right to
exercise it.
SEARCH AND SEIZURE ILLEGAL

Rule 126 of The Revised Rules on Criminal Procedure

Section 4
Requires that a search warrant be issued upon probable cause in
connection with one specific offence to be determined personally by
the judge after examination under oath or affirmation of the
complainant and the witnesses he may produce.
The Revised Rules on Criminal Procedure
Rule 126

Section 8
Mandates that the search of a house, room, or any other
premise be made in the presence of the lawful occupant
thereof or any member of his family or in the absence of the
latter, in the presence of two (2) witnesses of sufficient age
and discretion residing in the same locality.
The Revised Rules on Criminal Procedure
Rule 126

Section 9
States that the warrant must direct that it be served in the
daytime, unless the property is on the person or in the place
ordered to be searched, in which case a direction may be
inserted that it be served at any time of the day or night
VIOLATION OF
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS
CIDG operatives exceeded their enforcement duties. The search and
seizure of materials for publication, the stationing of policemen in the
vicinity of the “The Daily Tribune” offices, and the arrogant warning of
government officials to media, are plain censorship.

As a consequence of the search and seizure, these premises were

padlocked and sealed, with the further result that the printing
and publication of said newspapers were discontinued.
Freedom to comment on public affairs is essential to
the vitality of a representative democracy. It is the
duty of the courts to be watchful for the
constitutional rights of the citizen, and against any
stealthy encroachments thereon.