Valid Warrantless Arrests

Under sections 5 and 9 of Rule 113 of the Rules of Court, there are instances when an arrest without a warrant is valid.

Section 5 gives the following instances:

1.) In Flagrante Delicto

When the criminal is caught in the act of committing the crime.

2.) Personal knowledge

When an arresting officer knows some facts to make him believe that a crime was committed, such as in hot pursuit.

3.) Escapees

When the person to be arrested has escaped from prison, his police escort, or from a detention center (if he's still on trial.) This is the favorite rule of bounty hunters (yes, there are bounty hunters in the Philippines; ever wonder why we have reward notices?)

Section 9 I particularly like. Many people don't know this, and I think they should. A person who isn't a member of the police or any government agency can actually perform an arrest if any of the three (3) instances in Section 5 are present. All one needs to do is tell the criminal that he's being arrested and detain him (or the other way around -detain him then tell him he's arrested.) This can even be used against government people who commit crimes if any of Section 5's guidelines are present. Remember, even these people can be put behind bars. So if the tax man comes to you and threatens to haul you in even though you didn't commit any violations but you didn't pay him what he wanted, you can use this against him. Threats are crimes.