1987 consti Art VI Section 11.

A Senator or Member of the House of Representatives shall, in all offenses

punishable by not more than six years imprisonment, be privileged from arrest while the Congress is in session. No
Member shall be questioned nor be held liable in any other place for any speech or debate in the Congress or in any
committee thereof.
REPUBLIC ACT No. 75
AN ACT TO PENALIZE ACTS WHICH WOULD IMPAIR THE PROPER OBSERVANCE BY THE REPUBLIC AND
INHABITANTS OF THE PHILIPPINES OF THE IMMUNITIES, RIGHT, AND PRIVILEGES OF DULY ACCREDITED
FOREIGN DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR AGENTS IN THE PHILIPPINES
Section 1. Any person who shall falsely assume and take upon himself to act as a diplomatic, consular, or any other
official of a foreign government duly accredited as such to the Government of the Republic of the Philippines with
intent to defraud such foreign government or the Government of the Philippines, or any person, or in such pretended
character shall demand or obtain, or attempt to obtain from person or from said foreign government or the
Government of the Philippines, or from any officer thereof, any money, paper, document, or other thing, of value,
shall be fined not more than five thousand pesos, or shall be imprisoned for not more than five years, or both, in
addition to the penalties that may be imposed under the Revised Penal Code.
Section 2. Any person, other than a diplomatic or consular officer or attach, who shall act in the Republic of the
Philippines as an agent of a foreign government without prior notification to, and registration with, the Secretary of
Foreign Affairs shall be fined not more than five thousand pesos, or imprisoned not more than five years, or both,
aside from other penalties that may be imposed by law.
Section 3. Any person, who with intent to deceive or mislead, within the jurisdiction of the Republic, wear any naval,
military, police, or other official uniform, decoration, or regalia of any foreign State, nation or government with which
the Republic of the Philippines is at peace, or any uniform, decoration or regalia so nearly resembling the same as to
be calculated to deceive, unless such wearing thereof be authorized by such State, nation, or government, shall upon
conviction, be punished by a fine not exceeding two hundred pesos or imprisonment not exceeding six months, or by
both such fine and imprisonment.1awphil-itc-alf
Section 4. Any writ or process sued out or prosecuted by any person in any court of the Republic of the Philippines,
or by any judge or justice, whereby the person of any ambassador or public minister of any foreign State, authorized
and received as such by the President, or any domestic or domestic servant of any such ambassador or minister is
arrested or imprisoned, or his goods or chattels are distrained, seized, or attached, shall be deemed void, and every
person by whom the same is obtained or prosecuted, whether as party or as attorney, and every officer concerned in
executing it, shall upon conviction, be punished by imprisonment for not more than three years and a fine of not
exceeding two hundred pesos in the discretion of the court.
Section 5. The provisions of section four hereof shall not apply to any case where the person against whom the
process is issued is a citizen or inhabitant of the Republic of the Philippines, in the service of an ambassador or a
public minister, and the process is founded upon a debt contracted before he entered upon such service; nor shall the
said section apply to any case where the person against whom the process is issued is a domestic servant of an
ambassador or a public minister, unless the name of the servant has, before the issuing thereof, been registered in
the Department of Foreign Affairs, and transmitted by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs to the Chief of Police of the City
of Manila, who shall upon receipt thereof post the same in some public place in his office. All persons shall have
resort to the list of names so posted in the office of the Chief of Police, and take copies without fee.
Section 6. Any person who assaults, strikes, wounds, imprisons or in any other manner offers violence to the person
of an ambassador or a public minister, in violation of the law of nations, shall be imprisoned not more than three
years, and fined not exceeding two hundred pesos, in the discretion of the court, in addition to the penalties that may
be imposed under the Revised Penal Code.
Section 7. The provisions of this Act shall be applicable only in case where the country of the diplomatic or consular
representative adversely affected has provided for similar protection to duly accredited diplomatic or consular
representatives of the Republic of the Philippines by prescribing like or similar penalties for like or similar offenses
herein contained.itc-alf
Section 8. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

RULE 126
Search and Seizure
Section 13. Search incident to lawful arrest. A person lawfully arrested may be searched for dangerous weapons
or anything which may have been used or constitute proof in the commission of an offense without a search warrant.
(12a)

Republic Act No. 7438

April 27, 1992

AN ACT DEFINING CERTAIN RIGHTS OF PERSON ARRESTED, DETAINED OR UNDER CUSTODIAL

INVESTIGATION AS WELL AS THE DUTIES OF THE ARRESTING, DETAINING AND INVESTIGATING
OFFICERS, AND PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled::
Section 1. Statement of Policy. It is the policy of the Senate to value the dignity of every human being and
guarantee full respect for human rights.
Section 2. Rights of Persons Arrested, Detained or Under Custodial Investigation; Duties of Public Officers.
(a) Any person arrested detained or under custodial investigation shall at all times be assisted by counsel.
(b) Any public officer or employee, or anyone acting under his order or his place, who arrests, detains or
investigates any person for the commission of an offense shall inform the latter, in a language known to and
understood by him, of his rights to remain silent and to have competent and independent counsel, preferably
of his own choice, who shall at all times be allowed to confer privately with the person arrested, detained or
under custodial investigation. If such person cannot afford the services of his own counsel, he must be
provided with a competent and independent counsel by the investigating officer.lawphi1
(c) The custodial investigation report shall be reduced to writing by the investigating officer, provided that
before such report is signed, or thumbmarked if the person arrested or detained does not know how to read
and write, it shall be read and adequately explained to him by his counsel or by the assisting counsel
provided by the investigating officer in the language or dialect known to such arrested or detained person,
otherwise, such investigation report shall be null and void and of no effect whatsoever.
(d) Any extrajudicial confession made by a person arrested, detained or under custodial investigation shall
be in writing and signed by such person in the presence of his counsel or in the latter's absence, upon a
valid waiver, and in the presence of any of the parents, elder brothers and sisters, his spouse, the municipal
mayor, the municipal judge, district school supervisor, or priest or minister of the gospel as chosen by him;
otherwise, such extrajudicial confession shall be inadmissible as evidence in any proceeding.
(e) Any waiver by a person arrested or detained under the provisions of Article 125 of the Revised Penal
Code, or under custodial investigation, shall be in writing and signed by such person in the presence of his
counsel; otherwise the waiver shall be null and void and of no effect.
(f) Any person arrested or detained or under custodial investigation shall be allowed visits by or conferences
with any member of his immediate family, or any medical doctor or priest or religious minister chosen by him
or by any member of his immediate family or by his counsel, or by any national non-governmental
organization duly accredited by the Commission on Human Rights of by any international non-governmental
organization duly accredited by the Office of the President. The person's "immediate family" shall include his
or her spouse, fianc or fiance, parent or child, brother or sister, grandparent or grandchild, uncle or aunt,
nephew or niece, and guardian or ward.

As used in this Act, "custodial investigation" shall include the practice of issuing an "invitation" to a person who is
investigated in connection with an offense he is suspected to have committed, without prejudice to the liability of the
"inviting" officer for any violation of law.
Section 3. Assisting Counsel. Assisting counsel is any lawyer, except those directly affected by the case, those
charged with conducting preliminary investigation or those charged with the prosecution of crimes.
The assisting counsel other than the government lawyers shall be entitled to the following fees;
(a) The amount of One hundred fifty pesos (P150.00) if the suspected person is chargeable with light
felonies;lawphi1alf
(b) The amount of Two hundred fifty pesos (P250.00) if the suspected person is chargeable with less grave
or grave felonies;
(c) The amount of Three hundred fifty pesos (P350.00) if the suspected person is chargeable with a capital
offense.
The fee for the assisting counsel shall be paid by the city or municipality where the custodial investigation is
conducted, provided that if the municipality of city cannot pay such fee, the province comprising such
municipality or city shall pay the fee: Provided, That the Municipal or City Treasurer must certify that no
funds are available to pay the fees of assisting counsel before the province pays said fees.
In the absence of any lawyer, no custodial investigation shall be conducted and the suspected person can only be
detained by the investigating officer in accordance with the provisions of Article 125 of the Revised Penal Code.
Section 4. Penalty Clause. (a) Any arresting public officer or employee, or any investigating officer, who fails to
inform any person arrested, detained or under custodial investigation of his right to remain silent and to have
competent and independent counsel preferably of his own choice, shall suffer a fine of Six thousand pesos
(P6,000.00) or a penalty of imprisonment of not less than eight (8) years but not more than ten (10) years, or both.
The penalty of perpetual absolute disqualification shall also be imposed upon the investigating officer who has been
previously convicted of a similar offense.
The same penalties shall be imposed upon a public officer or employee, or anyone acting upon orders of
such investigating officer or in his place, who fails to provide a competent and independent counsel to a
person arrested, detained or under custodial investigation for the commission of an offense if the latter
cannot afford the services of his own counsel.
(b) Any person who obstructs, prevents or prohibits any lawyer, any member of the immediate family of a
person arrested, detained or under custodial investigation, or any medical doctor or priest or religious
minister chosen by him or by any member of his immediate family or by his counsel, from visiting and
conferring privately with him, or from examining and treating him, or from ministering to his spiritual needs,
at any hour of the day or, in urgent cases, of the night shall suffer the penalty of imprisonment of not less
than four (4) years nor more than six (6) years, and a fine of four thousand pesos (P4,000.00).lawphi1
The provisions of the above Section notwithstanding, any security officer with custodial responsibility over any
detainee or prisoner may undertake such reasonable measures as may be necessary to secure his safety and
prevent his escape.
Section 5. Repealing Clause. Republic Act No. No. 857, as amended, is hereby repealed. Other laws, presidential
decrees, executive orders or rules and regulations, or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are
repealed or modified accordingly.
Section 6. Effectivity. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its publication in the Official Gazette or
in any daily newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines.

Art iii 1987 const Section 13. All persons, except those charged with offenses punishable by reclusion
perpetua when evidence of guilt is strong, shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, or be
released on recognizance as may be provided by law. The right to bail shall not be impaired even when
the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus is suspended. Excessive bail shall not be required

Republic Act No. 9344

AN ACT ESTABLISHING A COMPREHENSIVE JUVENILE JUSTICE AND WELFARE SYSTEM, CREATING THE
JUVENILE JUSTICE AND WELFARE COUNCIL UNDER THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, APPROPRIATING
FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

TITLE IV
TREATMENT OF CHILDREN BELOW THE AGE OF CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY

SEC. 20. Children Below the Age of Criminal Responsibility. - If it has been determined that the child
taken into custody is fifteen (15) years old or below, the authority which will have an initial contact with the
child has the duty to immediately release the child to the custody of his/her parents or guardian, or in the
absence thereof, the child's nearest relative. Said authority shall give notice to the local social welfare and
development officer who will determine the appropriate programs in consultation with the child and to the
person having custody over the child. If the parents, guardians or nearest relatives cannot be located, or if
they refuse to take custody, the child may be released to any of the following: a duly registered
nongovernmental or religious organization; a barangay official or a member of the Barangay Council for
the Protection of Children (BCPC); a local social welfare and development officer; or when and where
appropriate, the DSWD. If the child referred to herein has been found by the Local Social Welfare and
Development Office to be abandoned, neglected or abused by his parents, or in the event that the
parents will not comply with the prevention program, the proper petition for involuntary commitment shall
be filed by the DSWD or the Local Social Welfare and Development Office pursuant to Presidential
Decree No. 603, otherwise ,known as "The Child and Youth Welfare Code".
CHAPTER 4
COURT PROCEEDINGS

SEC. 34. Bail. - For purposes of recommending the amount of bail, the privileged mitigating circumstance
of minority shall be considered.
SEC. 35. Release on Recognizance. - Where a child is detained, the court shall order:
(a) the release of the minor on recognizance to his/her parents and other suitable person;
(b) the release of the child in conflict with the law on bail; or
(c) the transfer of the minor to a youth detention home/youth rehabilitation center.
The court shall not order the detention of a child in a jail pending trial or hearing of his/her case.
SEC. 36. Detention of the Child Pending Trial. - Children detained pending trial may be released on
bail or recognizance as provided for under Sections 34 and 35 under this Act. In all other cases and
whenever possible, detention pending trial may be replaced by alternative measures, such as close
supervision, intensive care or placement with a family or in an educational setting or home.
Institutionalization or detention of the child pending trial shall be used only as a measure of last resort and
for the shortest possible period of time.

Whenever detention is necessary, a child will always be detained in youth detention homes established
by local governments, pursuant to Section 8 of the Family Courts Act, in the city or municipality where the
child resides.
In the absence of a youth detention home, the child in conflict with the law may be committed to the care
of the DSWD or a local rehabilitation center recognized by the government in the province, city or
municipality within the jurisdiction of the court. The center or agency concerned shall be responsible for
the child's appearance in court whenever required.
REPUBLIC ACT No. 6036
AN ACT PROVIDING THAT BAIL SHALL NOT, WITH CERTAIN EXCEPTIONS, BE REQUIRED IN CASES OF
VIOLATIONS OF MUNICIPAL OR CITY ORDINANCES AND IN CRIMINAL OFFENSES WHEN THE PRESCRIBED
PENALTY FOR SUCH OFFENSES IS NOT HIGHER THAN ARRESTO MAYOR AND/OR A FINE OF TWO
THOUSAND PESOS OR BOTH.
Section 1. Any provision of existing law to the contrary notwithstanding, bail shall not be required of a person
charged with violation of a municipal or city ordinance, a light felony and/or a criminal offense the prescribed penalty
for which is not higher than six months imprisonment and/or a fine of two thousand pesos, or both, where said person
has established to the satisfaction of the court or any other appropriate authority hearing his case that he is unable to
post the required cash or bail bond, except in the following cases:
(a) When he is caught committing the offense in flagranti;
(b) When he confesses to the commission of the offense unless the confession is later repudiated by him in
a sworn statement or in open court as having been extracted through force or intimidation;
(c) When he is found to have previously escaped from legal confinement, evaded sentence, or jumped bail;
(d) When he is found to have previously violated the provisions of Section 2 hereof;
(e) When he is found to be a recidivist or a habitual delinquent or has been previously convicted for an
offense to which the law or ordinance attaches an equal or greater penalty or for two or more offenses to
which it attaches a lighter penalty;
(f) When he commits the offense while on parole or under conditional pardon; and
(g) When the accused has previously been pardoned by the municipal or city mayor for violation of municipal
or city ordinance for at least two times.
Section 2. Instead of bail, the person charged with any offense contemplated by Section 1 hereof shall be required to
sign in the presence of two witnesses of good standing in the community a sworn statement binding himself, pending
final decision of his case, to report to the Clerk of the Court hearing his case periodically every two weeks. The Court
may, in its discretion and with the consent of the person charged, require further that he be placed under the custody
and subject to the authority of a responsible citizen in the community who may be willing to accept the responsibility.
In such a case the affidavit herein mentioned shall include a statement of the person charged that he binds himself to
accept the authority of the citizen so appointed by the Court. The Clerk of Court shall immediately report the presence
of the accused person to the Court. Except when his failure to report is for justifiable reasons including circumstances
beyond his control to be determined by the Court, any violation of this sworn statement shall justify the Court to order
his immediate arrest unless he files bail in the amount forthwith fixed by the Court.
Section 3. This Act shall apply to all person who, at the time of its approval, are under temporary detention for
inability to post bail for charges contemplated by Section 1 above.
Section 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.