Court clears man of drug charge after illegal arrest

The court yesterday acquitted a man who was arrested by tanods for having a small pack of shabu after ruling that his arrest was illegal, hence the drugs allegedly seized from him cannot be used as evidence to pin him down.

Mario Empuerto, 32, of sitio Katsilaan, barangay Ermita had just left a house along Quezon Boulevard last August 29, 2004 when he was nabbed by tanod Nemesio Rupenta because he was suspected of having a pack of shabu in his hand.

The tanods testified before Regional Trial Court judge Gabriel Ingles that they suspected Empuerto was carrying something illegal when he came out of the house that was earlier raided and searched by the police for illegal drugs.

The tanods reportedly recovered a heat-sealed pack of shabu when they forced him to open his clenched fist, but the court ruled that what the tanods did was illegal because it did not comply with the rules.

"Nowhere is a warrantless arrest based on suspicion allowed. Worse, the suspicion of the tanods that Empuerto was committing or had just committed a crime is not even credible because it had no basis. There is no showing that the house where he allegedly came from is confirmed to be a place where drugs are traded," Ingles said.

A person can be arrested even without a court-issued warrant "when an offense has just been committed and (the person who wanted to implement the arrest) has probable cause to believe based on personal knowledge of facts or circumstances that the person to be arrested has committed it."

According to Ingles, "the warrantless search on Empuerto, that is, by forcibly opening his palm which led to the alleged discovery of the dangerous drugs cannot be considered as an incident to an arrest because the warrantless arrest of the accused was unlawful."

Ingles ordered that Empuerto be immediately released from jail, unless he has other cases pending in court. - Rene U. Borromeo