Someone calls you and in a panicked voice
tells you that he has been caught, arrested without a warrant of arrest,
and is now detained at the police station. He asks you what he should
do.
The first thing to know is the time when he was arrested and then detained, and the number of hours that has lapsed since then.
If however the person was subjected to an inquest investigation before the lapse of any of these periods, then some important matters must be taken into account.
An inquest investigation is an informal and summary investigation conducted by a public prosecutor in criminal cases involving persons arrested and detained without the benefit of a warrant of arrest. The conduct of such an investigation covers all offenses under the Revised Penal Code and special laws, rules and regulations, unless a minor is involved, in which case only those offenses punishable by imprisonment of not less than six years and one day are covered. Note that no inquest investigation may be conducted involving a minor without first referring the arrested or detained minor to the local branch of the Department of Social Welfare and Development for proper disposition pursuant to Republic Act 9344, otherwise known as the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006.
Inquest investigations may be conducted at any time of the week, but only during the hours of the designated assignments of the assigned inquest prosecutors. They may be conducted at the police station or at the office of the inquest prosecutor.
The person’s presence is generally required during the inquest proceedings, except if he is in the hospital, detained in a place under maximum security, if his presence will involve maximum security risk, or if his presence is not feasible by reason of age, health, sex and other similar factors.
The inquest proceedings start upon receipt by the inquest prosecutor of the affidavit of arrest executed by the arresting officer, the investigation report, the sworn statements of the complainant and the witnesses, and other supporting pieces of evidence. The documents may be subscribed before another prosecutor or a notary public, but should be re-affirmed before the inquest prosecutor.
When the documents are insufficient to establish probable cause to file a case in court, the inquest prosecutor shall direct the arresting officers to complete it, but still within the period prescribed under Article 125 of the Revised Penal Code. Failure to do so constrains the inquest prosecutor to order the release of the detained person.
After determining the completeness of documents, the inquest prosecutor will then determine if the arrest without a warrant was validly effected, by summarily examining the arresting officers on the circumstances surrounding the arrest or apprehension. Should he find that the warrantless arrest was not validly effected, he will have to recommend the release of the detained person and prepare a resolution with the reasons for the action taken. This is without prejudice to serving a subpoena or notice of preliminary investigation on the detained person if the evidence on hand warrants the conduct of a regular preliminary investigation.
On the other hand, should the inquest prosecutor find that the arrest was properly effected, then he asks the detained person if he desires to avail himself of a preliminary investigation. If he does, the detained person, with the assistance of a lawyer, will be made to execute a waiver of the provisions of Article 125 of the Revised Penal Code, and a preliminary investigation will then be conducted. The investigation must be terminated within 15 days from when it started.
If the detained person does not wish to avail himself of a preliminary investigation, then the inquest prosecutor will continue with the proceedings, and will issue a resolution either dismissing the complaint or finding probable cause and recommending the filing of information with the court.
The detained person may apply for and post bail before the filing of the information, without being deemed to have waived his right to a preliminary investigation. In such a case, the inquest prosecutor will simply issue a certification that the person arrested is being charged with an offense in an inquest proceeding and specifying the recommended bail. Also, if there are recovered articles belonging to the detained person, he may file a written request for the release of the articles and file this with the inquest prosecutor.
source: Businessworld's Jessa G. Wong-Cantano is a Senior Associate at ACCRALAW Davao Branch. jgwong@accralaw.com
