CEBU, Philippines - The Department of Justice has issued a new department circular order for law enforcers, prosecutors and public attorneys to be guided regarding delays in the delivery of detained persons to the proper judicial authorities.
In Department Circular No. 50, Secretary Leila de Lima highlighted the “12-18-36” hour periods that the person arrested must be brought to the Prosecutor’s Office.
“The guidelines are in line with the Department’s commitment to advance the rule of law especially the constitutional guarantee against deprivation of liberty without due process of law,” the press release read.
De Lima said the reinforcement of the said circular will protect the arrested person against “undue deprivation of liberty” and to avoid confusion among “criminal justice stakeholders”.
Under the 1987 Constitution Article III, Section 1 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 12, 18, 36, which applies to the number of hours, will apply to those arrested without warrant. The count will start from the time of the detention of the arrested person.
Those arrested for light offense must be brought in within 12 hours, 18 for moderate offenses and 36 for heinous crimes.
The law enforcers will be held liable for violation of the said circular.
However, De Lima likewise emphasized there are always exceptions to the said circular.
“Observance of non-working holidays, during which it becomes legally and physically impossible to properly file charges in court and extraneous factors like means of communication and transportation, the hour of the arrest or the time of surrender of an accused,” the press release read.
De Lima added the exceptions cannot be used as an abuse.
“They can be invoked only when circumstances warrant extraordinary measures. In no case should the above-mentioned factors absolve public officers and employees from liability under Article 125 if it can be shown that the delay in the delivery of a detained person is attended by malice, bad faith or gross negligence,” the circular reads.
Under the exception rule, if the inquest prosecutor is not available, the inquest will be conducted on the first business day following the arrest.
The 12, 18, 36 will not be applicable to cases involving human security act because the applicable period of time will be 72 hours and in juvenile justice and welfare act instead of 12, 18, 36 the applicable period will be eight hours.
Moreover, De Lima said the circular will uphold constitutional guarantee against deprivation of liberty without due process of law. (FREEMAN)