People vs. Aminnudin PDF

2/13/2019 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 163
402 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

People us. Aminnudin
*
No. L-74869. July 6,1988.
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs.

IDEL AMINNUDIN y AHNI, defendant-appellant.
Constitutional Law; Criminal Procedure; Warrant of Arrest;

Rule 113 of the Rules of Court inapplicable in arrest without
warrant.—Warrantless arrest allowed under Rule 113 of the
Rules of Court not justified unless the accused was caught in
flagrante or a crime was about to be committed or had just been
committed. The evidence of probable caused should be determined
by a judge and not by law-enforcement agents.
Same; Same; Search Warrani; Vessels and aircraft may be
searched without search warrant.—Vessels and aircraft are
subject to warrantless searches and seizures for violation of the
Customs Law, because these vehicles may be quickly moved out of
the locality or jurisdiction before a warrant can be secured.
Same; Same; Same; When a search cannot be considered an
incident ofa lawful arrest.—A search cannot be considered an
incident of a lawful arrest if there is no warrant of arrest and the
warrantless arrest does not come under the exceptions allowed by
the Rules of Court.
Same; Same; Euidence; Presumption of lnnocence; The
innocence ofthe accused is constitutionally presumed.—The
constitutional presumption is that the accused is presumed
innocent even if his defense is weak as long as the prosecution is
not strong enough to convict him.
Same; Same; Same; Evidence obtained in illegal searches,
inadmissible.—lt the warrantless search was illegal, the evidence
obtained is inadmissible. It is the fruit of the poisonous tree, to
use Justice Holmes' felicitous phrase.
Same; Same; The extend of the mantle of protection of the
Constitution.—The Constitution covers with the mantle of its
protection the innocent and the guilty alike against any manner
of highhandedness from the authorities, however praiseworthy
their intentions.
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________________
* FIRST DIVISION.
403
VOL. 163, JULY 6, 1988 403

People vs. Aminnudin
APPEAL from the decision of the Court of First Instance of

Iloilo City.
The facts are stated in the opinion of the Court.

The Solicitor General for plaintiff-appellee.
Herminio T. Llariza counsel de-officio for defendant-
appellant.
CRUZ, J.:
The accused-appellant claimed his business was selling

watches but he was nonetheless arrested, tried and found
guilty of illegally transporting marijuana. The trial court,
disbelieving him, held it was high time to put him away
and sentenced1
him to life imprisonment plus a fine of
P20,000.00.
Idel Aminnudin was arrested on June 25,1984, shortly
after disembarking from the M/V Wilcon 9 at about 8:30 in
the evening, in Iloilo City. The PC officers who were in fact
waiting for him simply accosted him, inspected his bag and
flnding what looked liked marijuana leaves took him to
their headquarters for investigation. The two bundles of
suspect articlcs were confiscated from him and later taken
to the NBI laboratory for examination. When they were
verified as marijuana leaves, an information for 2violation of
the Dangerous Drugs Act was filed against him. Later, the
information was amended to include Farida Ali y Hassen,
who had also been arrested3 with him that same evening
and likewise investigated.
4
Both were arraigned and
pleaded not guilty. Subsequently, the fiscal filed a motion
to dismiss the charge against Ali on the basis of a sworn
statement of the arresting 5
officers absolving her after a
"thorough investigation." The motion was granted, and
trial proceeded only against
6
the accused-appellant, who
was eventually convicted.
________________
1 Rollo,p. 29.
2 Ibid., p. 2.
3 Original Records, p. 6.
4 Ibid., p. 20.
5 "Exh. 1," Original Records, p. 204.
6 Original Records, p. 26.
404

According to the prosecution, the PC officers had earlier

received a tip from one of their informers that the
accusedappellant was on board a 7vessel bound for Iloilo
City and
8
was carrying marijuana. He was identified by
name. Acting on this tip, they waited for him in the
evening of June 25, 1984, and approached him as he
descended from9 the gangplank after the informer had
pointed to him. They detained him and inspected the bag
he was carrying. It was found to contain three kilos of what
were later10analyzed as marijuana leaves by an NBI forensic
examiner, who testified that she condueted microscopic,
cheihical and chromatographic tests on them. On the basis
of this finding, the corresponding charge was then filed
against Aminnudin.
In his defense, Aminnudin disclaimed the marijuana,
averring that all he had in his bag was his clothing 11
consisting of a jacket, two shirts and two pairs of pants.
He alleged that he was arbitrarily arrested and
immediately handcuffed. His bag was confiscated without a
search warrant. At the PC headquarters, he was
manhandled to force him to admit he was carrying the
marijuana, the investigator hitting him with a piece of
wood in the chest and arms even12
as he parried the blows
while he was still handcuffed. He insisted he did not even
knoW what marijuana looked like and that his13 business
was selling watches and sometimes cigarettes. He also
argued that the marijuana he was alleged to have been
carrying was not properly identified and could have been
any of several14 bundles kept in the stock room of the PC
headquarters.
The trial court was unconvinced, noting from its own
examination of the accused that he claimed to have come to
Iloilo City to sell watches but carried only two watches at
the time, traveling from Jolo for that purpose and spending
P107.00 for
________________
7 TSN, Sept. 19,1984, p. 5; Oct. 25,1984, p. 31.

8 TSN, Oct. 25,1984, p. 29.
9 TSN, Sept. 19,1984, pp. 6-7.
10 TSN, Sept. 5,1984, pp. 8-10.
11 TSN,Aug. 15,1985, p. 3.
12 Ibiti., pp. 8-9; 19-20.
13 Id., pp. 10 & 13.
14 Brief for the Appellant, p. 22.
405
VOL. 163, JULY 6, 1988 405

15
fare, not to mention his other expenses. Aminnudin
testified that he kept the two watches in a secret pocket
below his belt but, strangely, they were not discovered
when he was bodily searched by the arresting officers16 nor
were they damaged as a result of his manhandling. He
also said he sold one of the watches for P400.00 and gave
away the other, although
17
the watches belonged not to him
but to his cousin,
18
to a friend whose full name he said did
not even know. The trial court also rejected his allegations
of maltreatment, observing that he19 had not sufficiently
proved the injuries sustained by him.
There is no justification to reverse these factual fmdings,
considering that it was the trial judge who had immediate
access to the testimony of the witnesses and had the
opportunity to weigh their credibility 011 the stand.
Nuances of tone or voice, meaningful pauses and
hesitation, flush of face and dart of eyes, which may reveal
the truth or expose the lie, are not described in the
irnpersonal record. But the trial judge sees all of this,
discovering for himself the truant fact amidst the falsities.
The only exception we may make in this case is the trial
court's conclusion that the accused-appellant was not really
beaten up because he did not complain about it later nor
did he submit to a medical examination. That is hardly fair
or realistic. It is possible Aminnudin never had that
opportunity as he was at that time under detention by the
PC authorities and in fact has never been set free since he
was arrested in 1984 and up to the present. No bail has
been allowed for his release.
There is one point that deserves closer examination,
however, and it js Aminnudin's claim that he was arrested
and searched without warrant, making the marijuana
allegedly found in his possession inadmissible in evidence
against him under the Bill of Rights. The decision did not
even discuss this point. For his part, the Solicitor General
dismissed this after an all-too-short argument that the
arrest of Aminnudin was
________________
15 Rollo, p. 28.
16 TSN, Aug. 15, 1985, pp. 17-18; 22-24.
17 Ibid., p. 29.
18 Id., p. 4.
19 Rollo, p. 28.
406

valid because it came under Rule 113, Seetion 6(b) of the

Rules of Court on warrantless arrests. This made the
search also valid as incidental to a lawfiil arrest.
It is not disputed, and in fact it is admitted by the PC
officers who testified for the prosecution, that they had no
warrant when they arrested Aminnudin and seized the bag
he was carrying. Their only justification was the tip they
had earlier received from a reliable and regular informer
who reported to them that Aminnudin was arriving in
Iloilo by boat with marijuana. Their testimony varies as to
the time they received
20
the tip, one saying
21
it was two days
before the arrest, 22 another two weeks and a third "weeks
before June 25." On this matter, we may prefer the
declaration of the chief of the arresting team, Lt. Cipriano
Querol, Jr., who testified as follows:
"Q You mentioned an intelligence report, you mean with

respect to the coming of Idel Aminnudin on June
25,1984?
"A Yes, sir.
"Q When did you receive this intelligence report?
"A Two days before June 25, 1984 and it was supported by
reliable sources.
"Q Were you informed of the coming of the Wilcon 9 and
the possible trafficking of marijuana leaves on that
date?
"A Yes, sir, two days before June 25,1984 when we
received this information from that particular
informer, prior to June 25, 1984 we have already
reports of the particularoperation which was being

participated by Idel Aminhudin.
"Q You said you received an intelligence report two days
before June 25,1984 with respect to the coming of
Wilcon 9?
"A Yes, sir.
"Q Did you receive any other report aside from this
intelligence report?
"A Well, I have received also other reports but not
pertaining to the coming of Wilcon 9. For instance,
report of illegal gambling operation.
________________
20 TSN, Oct. 25,1984, p. 31.

21 TSN, Sept. 19,1984, p. 19.
22 TSN,Oct. 25,1984, p. 12.
407
VOL. 163, JULY 6, 1988 407

"COURT:
"Q Previous to that particular information which you said
two days before June 25, 1984, did you also receive any
report regarding the activities of Idel Aminnudin?
"A Previous to June 25,1984 we received reports on the
activities of Idel Aminnudin.
"Q What were those activities?
"A Purely marijuana trafficking.
"Q From whom did you get that information?
"A It came to my hand which was written in a required
sheet of information, maybe for secufity reason and we
cannot identify the person.
"Q But you received it from your regular informer?
"A Yes, sir.
"ATTY. LLARIZA:
"Q Previous to June 25, 1984, you were more or less sure
that Idel Aminnudin is coming with drugs?
"A Marijuana, sir.
"Q And this information respecting Idel Aminnudin's
coming to Iloilo with marijuana was received by you
many days before you received the intelligence report

in writing?
"A Not a report of the particular coming of Aminnudin but
his activities.
"Q You only knew that he was coming on June 25,1984
two days before?
"A Yes, sir.
"Q You mean that before June 23, 1984 you did not know
that Aminnudin was coming?
"A Before June 23,1984,1, in my capacity, did not know
that he was coming but on June 23, 1984 that was the
time when I received the information that he was
coming. Regarding the reports on his activities, we
have reportsthat he was already consummated the act
of selling and shipping marijuana stuff.
"COURT:
"Q And as a result of that report, you put him under
surveillance?
"A Yes, sir.
"Q In the intelligence report, only the name of Idel
Aminnudin was mentioned?
"A Yes, sir.
"Q Are you sure of that?
408

"A On the 23rd he will be coming with the woman.

"Q So that even before you received the oflicial report on
June 23, 1984, you had already gathered information
to the effect that Idel Aminnudin was coming to Iloilo
on June 25,1984?
"A Only on the 23rd of June.
"Q You did not try to secure a search warrant for the
seizure or search of the subject mentioned in your
intelligence report?
"A No, more.
"Q Why not?
"A Because we were very very sure that our operation will
yield positive result.
"Q Is that your procedure that whenever it will yield

positive result you do not need a search warrant
anymore?
23
"A Search warrant is not necessry."
That last answer is a cavalier pronouncement, especially as

it comes from a mere lieutenant of the PC. The Supreme
Court cannot countenance such a statement. This is still a
government of laws and not of men.
The mandate of the Bill of Rights is clear:
"Sec. 2. The 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."
In the case at bar, there was no warrant of arrest or search

warrant issued by a judge after personal determination by
him of the existence of probable cause. Contrary to the
averments of the government, the accused-appellant was
not caught in flagrante nor was a crime about to be
committed or had just been committed to justify the
warrantless arrest allowed under Rule 113 of the Rules of
Court. Even expediency could not
________________
23 TSN, Oct. 25,1984, pp. 31-33.
409
VOL. 163, JULY 6, 1988 409

be invoked to dispense with the24obtention of the warrant as

in the case of Roldan v. Arca, for example. Here it was
held that vessels and aircraft are subject to warrantless
searches and seizures for violation of the customs law
because these vehicles may be quickly moved out of the
locality or jurisdiction before the warrant can be secured.
The present case presented no such urgency. From the
conflicting declarations of the PC witnesses, it is clear that
they had at least two days within which they could have
obtained a warrant to arrest and search Aminnudin who

was coming to Iloilo on the M/V Wilcon 9. His name was
known. The vehicle was identified. The date of its arrival
was certain. And from the information they had received,
they could have persuaded a judge that there was probable
cause, indeed, to justify the issuance of a warrant. Yet they
did nothing. No effort was made to comply with the law.
The Bill of Rights was ignored altogether because the PC
lieutenant who was the head of the arresting team, had
determined on his own authority that a "search warrant
was not necessary."
In the many cases where this Court has sustained the
warrantless arrest of violators of the Dangerous Drugs Act,
it has always been shown that they were caught red-
handed, as a result of what are popularly
25
called "buy-bust"
operations of the narcotics agents. Rule 113 was clearly
applicable because at the precise time of arrest the accused
was in the act of selling the prohibited drug.
In the case at bar, the accused-appellant was not, at the
moment of his arrest, committing a crime nor was it shown
that he was about to do so or that he had just done so.
What he was doing was descending the gangplank of the
M/V Wilcon 9 and there was no outward indication that
called for his arrest. To all appearances, he was like any of
the other passengers innocently disembarking from the
vessel. It was only when the informer pointed to him as the
carrier of the marijuana that he
________________
24 65 SCRA 336.
25 People v. Rubio, 142 SCRA 329; People v. Madarang, 147 SCRA 123;
People v. Sarmiento, 147 SCRA 252; People v. Cerelegia; 147 SCRA 538;
People v. Fernando, G.R. Nc. L-68409, December 1, 1987.
410

People us. Aminnudin
suddenly became suspect and so subject to apprehension. It

was the furtive finger that triggered his arrest. The
identification by the informer was the probable cause as
determined by the officers (and not a judge) that
authorized them to pounce upon Aminnudin and
immediately arrest him.
Now that we have succeeded in restoring democracy in
our country after fourteen years of the despised
dictatorship, when any one could be picked up at will,

detained without charges and punished without trial, we
will have only ourselves to blarne if that kind of
arbitrariness is allowed to return, to once more flaunt its
disdain of the Constitution and the individual liberties its
Bill of Rights guarantees.
While this is not to say that the accused-appellant is
innocent, for indeed his very own words suggest that he is
lying, that fact alone does not justify a finding that he is
guilty. The constitutional presumption is that he is
innocent, and he will be so declared even if his defense is
weak as long as the prosecution is not strong enough to
convict him.
Without the evidence of the marijuana allegedly seized
from Aminnudin, the case of the prosecution must fall.
That evidence cannot be admitted, and should never have
been considered by the trial court for the simple fact is that
the marijuana was seized illegally. It is the fruit of the
poisonous tree, to use Justice Holmes' felicitous phrase.
The search was not an incident of a lawful arrest because
there was no warrant of arrest and the warrantless arrest
did not come under the exceptions allowed by the Rules of
Court. Hence, the warrantless search was also illegal and
the evidence obtained thereby was inadmissible.
The Court strongly supports the campaign of the
government against drug addiction and commends the
efforts of our law-enforcement officers against those who
would inflict this malediction upon our people, especially
the susceptible youth. But as demanding as this campaign
may be, it cannot be more so than the compulsions of the
Bill of Rights for the protection of the liberty of every
individual in the realm, including the basest of criminals.
The Constitution covers with the mantle of its protection
the innocent and the guilty alike against any manner of
high-handedness from the authorities, however
praiseworthy their iiitentions.
411
VOL. 163, JULY 6, 1988 411

Those who are supposed to enforce the law are not justified
in disregarding the rights of the individual in the name of
order. Order is too high a price for the loss of liberty. As
Jjustice Holmes, again, said, "I think it a less evil that
some criminals should escape than that the government
should play an ignoble part." It is simply not allowed in the
free society to violate a law to enforce another, especially if

the law violated is the Constitution itself.
We find that with the exclusion of the illegally seized
marijuana as evidence against the accused-appellant, his
guilt has not been proved beyond reasonable doubt and he
must therefore be discharged on the presumption that he is
innocent.
ACCORDINGLY, the decision of the trial court is
REVERSED and the accused-appellant is ACQUITTED. It
is so ordered.
Narvasa, Gancayco and Medialdea, JJ., concur.

Grino-Aquino, J., see attached dissenting opinion.
AQUINO, J., dissenting—
I respectfully dissent. I hold that the accused was caught in

flagrante, for he was carrying marijuana leaves in his bag
at the moment of his arrest. He was not "innocently
disembarking from the vessel." The unauthorized
transportation of marijuana (Indian hemp), which is a
prohibited drug, is a crime. (Sec. 4, Rep. Act No. 6425).
Since he was committing a crime, his arrest could be
lawfully effected without a warrant (Sec. 6a, Rule 113,
Rules of Court), and the search of his bag (which yielded
the marijuana leaves) without a search warrant was also
lawful (Sec. 12, Rule 126, Rules of Court). I vote to affirm
the judgment of the trial court fmding him guilty of
illegally transporting marijuana.
Decision reversed.
Note.—An application for search warrant if based on

hearsay cannot standing alone, justify the issuance of that
writ. (Roan vs. Gonzales, 145 SCRA 687.)
——oOo——
412
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2/13/2019 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 163

402 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs.

Constitutional Law; Criminal Procedure; Warrant of Arrest;

VOL. 163, JULY 6, 1988 403

APPEAL from the decision of the Court of First Instance of

The facts are stated in the opinion of the Court.

The accused-appellant claimed his business was selling

404 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

According to the prosecution, the PC officers had earlier

7 TSN, Sept. 19,1984, p. 5; Oct. 25,1984, p. 31.

VOL. 163, JULY 6, 1988 405

406 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

valid because it came under Rule 113, Seetion 6(b) of the

"Q You mentioned an intelligence report, you mean with

reports of the particularoperation which was being

20 TSN, Oct. 25,1984, p. 31.

VOL. 163, JULY 6, 1988 407

many days before you received the intelligence report

408 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

"A On the 23rd he will be coming with the woman.

"Q Is that your procedure that whenever it will yield

That last answer is a cavalier pronouncement, especially as

"Sec. 2. The right of the people to be secure in their persons,

In the case at bar, there was no warrant of arrest or search

23 TSN, Oct. 25,1984, pp. 31-33.

VOL. 163, JULY 6, 1988 409

be invoked to dispense with the24obtention of the warrant as

obtained a warrant to arrest and search Aminnudin who

410 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

suddenly became suspect and so subject to apprehension. It

dictatorship, when any one could be picked up at will,

VOL. 163, JULY 6, 1988 411

free society to violate a law to enforce another, especially if

Narvasa, Gancayco and Medialdea, JJ., concur.

AQUINO, J., dissenting—

I respectfully dissent. I hold that the accused was caught in

Note.—An application for search warrant if based on

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