Christmas, Crime, and the Constitution

A few days ago, I saw a television clip of a "saturation drive" that took place in a slum in Tondo, Manila. It must have taken place quite late at night or in the wee hours of the morning because the surroundings looked very dark. Policemen (I suppose) in civilian clothes were shown knocking on doors and rousing the sleeping residents. The men, women, and children staggered out of their shanties looking bewildered. No one offered any resistance.

A policeman (probably the head of the team) was shown being interviewed. He said that the incidence of street crimes increased during the Yuletide season. The area, he explained, was a known hiding place for criminals. Thus, they conducted the operation to catch criminal elements preying on the populace. Perhaps as an afterthought, he added that they were armed with arrest warrants for 12 men.

Residents of the area were later shown being interviewed. They were asked to give their reactions to the police zoning operation. An elderly woman carrying a baby said that it was proper for policemen to catch criminals but she wished that it did not take place at such hours. It was inconvenient for those who had to work early, she complained.

A middle-aged man was also interviewed. He said that he welcomed the drive because he wanted his neighborhood to be crime-free. Maybe he was being sarcastic, I thought.

The reporter stated that 92 men were rounded up. He claimed that the law enforcers assured that those who were not guilty of a crime were, of course, free to leave after "verification" of their identities.

The last time I checked, the Bill of Rights was still part of the Constitution. Article III, Section 1 still provides that "[no] person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws."

The last time I checked, Article III, Section 2 still states that "[t]he 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."

The last time I checked, the only situations enumerated in the Rules of Court wherein a warrantless arrest is valid are: (a) when, in the presence of the arresting person, the person to be arrested has committed, is actually committing, or is attempting to commit an offense; (b) when an offense has just been committed and the arresting person has probable cause to believe, based on personal knowledge of facts or circumstances, that the person to be arrested has committed it; and (c) 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 temporarily confined while his case is pending, or has escaped while being transferred from one confinement to another.

A sweeping shot of the men who were rounded up was shown. Some of the men looked sleepy. Some looked bored. No one looked like he found anything wrong or unusual about what was happening to him.

I pinched myself to make sure I was not imagining things. The images remained on the screen. I resolved to read the Constitution and the Rules of Court again. Maybe there is a provision that states that the Bill of Rights shall be suspended and be of no effect during the Christmas season.

* * *

Email: [email protected]