PASSI chief of police Lt. Col. Aron Palomo has been relieved following allegations of planting of evidence in a search warrant raid that allegedly netted several handguns in Barangay Agtabo last July 12.
Thirty other police personnel under Palomo were also relieved pending investigation of the incident.
What is strange is that while the investigation was purportedly ongoing, police regional director Sydney Villaflor was quoted in media reports as saying that the search warrant implementation was in accordance with police operational procedure.
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The police searched the house of the Barrios family whom the police tagged as suspects in a strafing incident that wounded two people in San Enrique town on July 30.
āIt is the fundamental duty of our police officers to secure the lives of the people inside during the police operation at syempre safety rin ng mga tao namin at nag-assume tayo na ang target ay armado,ā Villaflor said, adding that no whitewashing will happen in the investigation.
Is there sense in concluding that the search warrant was regularly implemented ahead of the termination of the investigation?
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The rules are so well established that the police must be able to evaluate the validity of their actions even in the absence a judicial review.
A congressional hearing was conducted on the incident last week. It is evident from the admissions of the police officers that they entered the dwelling subject of the search warrant without a physical copy of the said warrant.
They entered the premises at around 4:00 oāclock in the morning, sans warrant, forced all the sleeping people inside to get out, had absolute control of all nooks and crannies while waiting for the actual warrant which only arrived more than three hours later.
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A search warrant is a judicial directive to a law enforcement officer to search the premises specified in the warrant.
Being a judicial command, a search warrant must be implemented in accordance with the provisions of the rules of court.
One of those elementary rules is that a search of a house, room, or any other premise may not be done without the presence of its lawful occupant or a member of his family. Without them, at least two persons of sufficient age and discretion residing in the same locality must be present.
This means that occupants of the house must be allowed to witness an ongoing search, not forced to stay outside while police elements are inside free to do anything as they please.
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The service of a search warrant is a discovery process. Its intention is to recover evidence that may be used against a person in a criminal case.
Its issuance means that elements of law enforcement and their witnesses were able to convince a judge that evidence of a crime may be found in the searched premises.
If the mandatory witnesses are not allowed to observe the search, then the discovery process is a failure because any artifact that was recovered may not be presented in evidence against the respondent. There is no assurance against planting of evidence.
Moreover, entry of any premise ahead of the actual service of a search warrant is a pernicious practice that violates the Constitution./PN
