Warrantless arrest on Jade Castro ‘baseless’ — FLAG chair

MANILA, Philippines — Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) chairperson, lawyer Chel Diokno, said that the warrantless arrest of film director Jade Castro and four others is unfounded.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, Diokno said that the requisites for performing a warrantless arrest against Castro and the other accused are not met. 

“Sa aking pagsusuri, walang sapat na dahilan na hulihin sina Jade. They were not caught in the act of committing a crime; there was no legitimate hot pursuit operation; and they did not escape from custody,” Diokno, who is also a law professor, said in a post on X.

(In my analysis, there is insufficient reason to apprehend Jade. They were not caught in the act of committing a crime; there was no legitimate hot pursuit operation; and they did not escape from custody.)

According to a report by ANC, the FLAG chief is also one of Castro’s lawyers.

In an interview with Teleradyo, Diokno also said that Castro and the others were not criminals, but were victims of unlawful warrantless arrests and “defects in the inquest process.”

“'Yung mga sinasabing ebidensya laban sa kanila ay nakakapagtaka rin kung sapat ba ‘yan kung sila’y makulong,” Diokno said in a Teleradyo interview. 

(The so-called evidence against them also raises the question of whether it is sufficient for their imprisonment.)

According to the Rules of Court, authorities can arrest an individual without a court-issued arrest warrant if:

• 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.
• 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.

Castro and his friends were arrested on February 1 after being pointed as the alleged suspects who set ablaze a modern jeepney in Catanauan, Quezon Province on January 31. 

The film director and his friends denied the accusations, saying that they were on a vacation in the town of Mulanay.

Among the arrested are civil engineers Noel Mariano and Dominic Ramos, and sales manager Ernesto Orcine.

On Tuesday, a report from ABS-CBN showed CCTV footage that the film director and his friends were in the town of Mulanay when the burning incident happened. 

The Calabarzon police, however, insisted on the legality of its arrests on Castro and his friends. 

“They are entitled sa alibi nila, we have witnesses na nagsasabi na sila ‘yun, positively identified sila eh. I think ‘yung driver at saka ‘yun konduktor ata ina-identify nila ito kaya nag-file tayo ng case. Kailangan i-prove nila ‘yun sa korte,” Calabarzon Police Regional Director Paul Kenneth Lucas said. 

(They are entitled to their alibi, but we have witnesses who are saying that it's them, they were positively identified. I think they're identifying the driver and maybe the conductor, that's why we filed a case. They need to prove that in court.)

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday, meanwhile, said that Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has instructed the Provincial Prosecutor of Quezon to ensure a speedy resolution of the case.

The DOJ also said that the film director and his friends have waived their rights under Article 125 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) “in order to submit a counter affidavit where the prosecutor will evaluate their defenses.”

Article 125 of the RPC mentions the amount of time a person should be brought to the proper authorities once detained.

Last week, the Directors Guild of the Philippines Inc. condemend Castro's arrest, emphasizing that the film director “is a vetted DGPI member and an important voice of the Philippine Independent Cinema.”

“We stand by his innocence and testify to his good character. We urge clarity on the matter from the authorities involved, and the immediate release of Jade Castro from detention,” DGPI said in a statement.