SEARCH AND SEIZURE

Section 2. 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, 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

SEARCH WARRANT
A search warrant is an order in writing issued in the name of the People of the Philippines, signed by a judge and directed to a peace officer, commanding him to search for personal property described therein and bring it before the court. (Sec. 1, Rule 126)

Who may issue a search warrant?

Salazar vs. Achacoso 183 SCRA 145 (1990) For the guidance of the bench and the bar, we reaffirm the following principles: 1. Under Article III, Section 2, of the l987 Constitution, it is only judges, and no other, who may issue warrants of arrest and search: 1. The exception is in cases of deportation of illegal and undesirable aliens, whom the President or the Commissioner of Immigration may order arrested, following a final order of deportation, for the purpose of deportation.

Where application for search warrant shall be filed:

Sec. 2. Court where application for search warrant shall be filed. An application for search warrant shall be filed with the following: (a) Any court within whose territorial jurisdiction a crime was committed (b) For compelling reasons stated in the application, any court within the judicial region where the crime was committed if the place of the commission of the crime is known, or any court within the judicial region where the warrant shall be enforced. However, if the criminal action has already been filed, the application shall only be made in the court where the criminal action is pending.

REQUIREMENTS FOR A VALID SEARCH WARRANT:

Sec. 2: . . . 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. Sec. 4. Requisites for issuing search warrant. A search warrant shall not issue except upon probable cause in connection with one specific offense to be determined personally by the judge after examination under oath or affirmation of the complainant and the witness he may produce, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the things to be seized which may be anywhere in the Philippines. Sec. 10. Validity of search warrant. A search warrant shall be valid for ten (10) days from its date. Thereafter, it shall be void.

REQUIREMENTS FOR A VALID SEARCH WARRANT:

1. It must be based upon probable cause. 2. The probable cause must be determined personally by the judge 3. The determination must be made after examination under oath or affirmation of the complainant & the witnesses he may produce 4. It must particularly describe the place to be searched and the things to be seized. 5. It must be issued in connection with one specific offense 6. It must be used within the 10-day validity period.

1. PROBABLE CAUSE
Such facts and circumstances as would lead a reasonably prudent man to believe that an offense has been committed and that the documents/things sought to be searched or seized is in the possession of the person against whom the warrant is issued. The facts & circumstances that would show probable cause must be the best evidence that could be obtained under the circumstances

2. PERSONAL DETERMINATION BY THE JUDGE

3. THE DETERMINATION MUST BE MADE AFTER EXAMINATION UNDER OATH OR AFFIRMATION OF THE COMPLAINANT & THE WITNESSES HE MAY PRODUCE
Sec. 5. Examination of complainant; record. The judge must, before issuing the warrant, personally examine in the form of searching questions and answers, in writing and under oath, the complainant and the witnesses he may produce on facts personally known to them and attach to the record their sworn statements, together with the affidavits submitted.

Examination of applicant:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The judge must conduct the questioning personally The determination must be in the form of searching questions and answers The examination must be under oath and in writing The facts testified to by the applicant and witnesses, if any, must be based on personal knowledge The examination must be attached to the records of the case, including all the statements or affidavits submitted by the applicant, complainants and witnesses, if any

4. PARTICULARITY OF THE PLACE TO BE SEARCHED AND THINGS TO BE SEIZED:

Place to be Searched
Description of the place is sufficient if the officer with the warrant can, with reasonable effort, ascertain and identify the place intended to be searched, and distinguish it from other places in the community.

It allows for any designation or description that points out the place to the exclusion of all others.
The place to be searched, as set out in the warrant cannot be amplified or modified by the officers own personal knowledge of the premises.

It is not required that the search warrant must name the person who occupies the described premises.

Things to be Seized:

What may be seized?

Sec. 3. Personal property to be seized. A search warrant may be issued for the search and seizure of personal property: (a) Subject of the offense; (b) Stolen or embezzled and other proceeds, or fruits of the offense; or (c) Used or intended to be used as the means of committing an offense.

THINGS TO BE SEIZED

Rule: The things to be seized must be described with particularity as to enable the person serving the warrant to identify them. The law does not require that the things to be seized must be described in precise and minute detail as to leave no room for doubt on the part of the searching authorities. It is only required that a search warrant be specific as far circumstances will ordinarily allow. The description of the property to be seized need not be technically precise.

Kho v. Makalintal, 306 SCRA 70 (1999) Search Warrant No. 90-11: Unlicensed radio communications equipment such as transmitters, transceivers, handsets, scanners, monitoring devices and others. Search Warrant No. 90-12 Unlicensed firearms of various calibers and ammunitions for the said firearm. Search Warrant No. 90-14 Chop-chop vehicles and other spare parts.

Al- Ghoul v. CA, 364 SCRA 363 (2001) The judge ordered the search of Apartment No. 2 and the seizure of the following: 1. 45 caliber pistol: 15. 56 M16 Rifle with ammunitions; 19MM pistol with ammunitions; 3 boxes of explosives: 10 sticks of dynamite; 30 pieces of blasting caps. The police however, found and seized the following: 2 M-16 rifles with 2 magazines and 20 ammunitions; 1 bar demolition charge; 1 caliber pistol with magazine of caliber .45 and 3 .45 ammunitions; 1 22 caliber handgun with 5 ammunitions; 2 pieces of fragmentation grenades; 1 roll of detonating cord; 2 big bags of ammonium nitrate; 22 detonating cords; and pound of TNT; 1 timer alarm clock and 2 batteries 8 volts.

Microsoft v. Maxicorp, Inc., 438 SCRA 224 (2004) The search warrant issued by the court partly ordered the seizure of: a. Sundry items such as labels, boxes, prints, packages, wrappers, receptacles, advertisements and other paraphernalia bearing the copyrights and/or trademarks owned by MICROSOFT CORPORATION. b. Computer hardware, including central processing units including hard disks, CD-Rom drives, keyboards, monitor screens and diskettes, photocopying machines and other equipment or paraphernalia used or intended to be used for illegal and authorized copying or reproduction of Microsoft software.

Vallejo v. CA, 427 SCRA 658 (2004) The search warrant ordered the seizure the following: 1. Undetermined number of Fake Land Titles, Official Receipts in the Cashiers Office, Judicial Form No. 39 known as Primary Entry Book under No. 496 and other pertinent documents related therewith; 1. Blank Forms of Land Titles kept inside the drawers of every table of employees of the Registry of Deeds; 1. Undetermined number of Land Transfer transactions without the corresponding payment of the Capital Gain Tax and payment of Documentary Stamps.

People vs Tee, 395 SCRA 419 (2003) an undetermined amount of marijuana The description therein is: (1) as specific as the circumstances will ordinarily allow; (2) express a conclusion of fact not of law by which the peace officers may be guided in making the search and seizure; and (3) limits the things to be seized to those which bear direct relation to the offense for which its is being issued.

People vs Nunez, 591 SCRA 394 (2009) The search warrant commanded the police to search for and seize shabu and paraphernalia found in the house of the accused. In the course of the search, believing that certain objects were bartered for shabu, they also seized a ladys wallet, cash, grinder, camera, component, speakers, electric planer, jigsaw, electric tester, saws, hammer, drill and bolo. By the principle of ejusdem generis, where a statute describes things of a particular class or kind accompanied by words of generic character, the generic word will usually be limited to things of a similar nature with those particularly enumerated, unless there be something in the context of the statement which would repel such inference.

5. ONE SPECIFIC OFFENSE

In Stonehill vs. Diokno, the warrants involved were issued upon applications stating that the natural and juridical persons therein named had committed a "violation of Central Bank Laws, Tariff and Customs Laws, Internal Revenue Code and Revised Penal Code People vs Dichoso 223 SCRA 174 (1993): illegally in possession of undetermined quantity/amount of dried marijuana leaves and methamphetamine Hydrochloride (Shabu) and sets of paraphernalias Prudente vs. Dayrit: "For Violation of PD No. 1866 (Illegal Possession of Firearms, etc.)

 People vs Simbahon, 401 SCRA 95 (2003): The search warrant issued by the judge against accused specifically stated that it was for violation of Sections 15 and 16, Article III of RA 6425, as amended, and violtion of PD 1866. The body of the warrant contained a directive to the peace officers to search for and seize shabu, packaging/sniffing paraphernalia and .38 caliber revolver. Vallejo vs CA, 427 SCRA 658 (2004): Falsification of Land Titles under Art. 171, Revised Penal Code, Article 213, RPC and RA 3019 (Anti-Graft)