G.R. Nos.

141943-45

November 13 ,2002]

THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, appellee, vs. DIOSDADO RECEPCION Y PALASO (deceased), FELIPE DELA CRUZ Y REYES, AUDIE DONA Y BINAN, ALFREDO BARACAS Y CONCEPCION, EDUARDO PALACPAC Y ROSALES, BERNARDO RANARA Y MORATALLA (at large), JOEMARI DELOS REYES Y CONCEPCION, DOMINADOR RECEPCION Y PALASO and ROBERT ALFONSO Y MARTIZANO, appellants FACTS: on July 28, 1999, eight persons allegedly conspired to kill and actually killed 5 customers of Sabungan Fastfood & Videoke A waitress in said bar testified as to the incident and identified the accused as the persons responsible Another witness who worked as a waitress in a restaurant across the scene of the crime testified and identified the same offenders After the shooting, the accused boarded a jeepney owned by Ruben Labjata and made him drive to Tarlac where they freed the driver and boarded a tricycle driven by Conrado Marquez Both drivers positively identified the perpetrators

Around lunchtime on 29 July 1999, after the police invited the jeepney driver and the tricycle driver for questioning, the area was cordoned off the group, along with FO1 Felipe dela Cruz, surrendered after several calls by the police Taken into custody were Felipe dela Cruz, Joemari delos Reyes, Audie Dona, Alfredo Baracas, Eduardo Palacpac, Bernardo Ranara, Robert Alfonso, and Dominador Recepcion; Diosdado Recepcion, then a special agent of the Narcotics Command, was intercepted at the national highway of Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija, on board a tricycle At the police station, Labjata identified his passengers, namely, Audie Dona, Alfredo Baracas, Diosdado Recepcion, Bernardo Ranara, Eduardo Palacpac, Dominador Recepcion, Joemari delos Reyes and Robert Alfonso. The accused were charged with multiple murder, violation of Presidential Decree (P.D.) No. 1866, and robbery in band in three separate accusatory Informations The indictees, when arraigned, pled "not guilty" to all the charges and interposed alibi as a defense the court a quo found the several accused guilty of multiple murder but acquitted them in the charge of illegal possession of firearm and robbery in band because of insufficiency of evidence

ISSUE: whether or not the arrest made without a warrant was valid HELD: YES The arrest of appellants has been made in "hot pursuit," an exception from the rule that warrantless arrests are illegal. In any event, appellants can no longer assail the illegality of their arrest since such a claim has not been brought up before or during the arraignment The failure to timely move for the quashal of the Information on this basis operates as a waiver of the right to question the supposed irregularity of the arrest.