People v. Mengote, G.R. No.

87059,
June 22, 1992
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES., petitioner
vs.
ROGELIO MENGOTE y TEJAS, respondent

DOCTRINE:

1. Warrantless search in broad daylight of a person merely looking from side to side and
holding his stomach is illegal. -- There was apparently no offense that had just been
committed or was being actually committed or at least being attempted by Mengote in their
presence.

2. The truth is that they did not know then what offense, if at all, had been committed and
neither were they aware of the participation therein of the accused-appellant.

Facts:

 Accused-appelant Rogelio Mengote was convicted of illegal possession of firearms

because of the stolen pistol found on him during his warrantless arrest.

 The Western Police District (WPD) received a call on August 8, 1987 from an
informer that there were 3 suspicious-looking persons at the corner of Juan Luna
and North Bay Blvd. in Tondo, Manila.

 The Patrolmen were Rolando Mercado and Alberto Juan; dispatched to the place
wearing plain clothes.

 They saw two men (Accused-appelant and Nicanor Morellos), accused-appellant

was found with a .38 caliber Smith & Wesson (serial # Serial No. 8720-T) revolver
loaded with 6 live bullets and Nicanor Morellos was found with a fan knife in his
front right pocket.

 Rigoberto Danganan, the witness, identified the weapon as a stolen article from a
previous robbery on his house on June 13, 1987.
Issues:
Whether the warrantless arrest of Rogelio Mengote valid. – NO.
Held:
The Court ruled that the warrantless arrest was unlawful because it was not able to meet
the requirements as per Sec. 5, Rule 113, Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure as follows:

1
 1) When, in his present, the person to be arrested has committed, is actually
committing, or is attempting to commit and offense
2) When an offense has in fact just been committed, and he has probable cause
to believe based on personal knowledge of facts and circumstances that the
person to be arrested has committed it
3) When the person is a prisoner who has escaped from a penal establishment…
The warrantless arrest failed to meet the three elements because:
1) The mere act of “looking side to side” and holding one’s abdomen cannot be
manifestations that a person is committing, committed, or attempting to
commit and offense
2) The apprehending officers had no probable cause nor personal knowledge of
the alleged “offense” because all they had was hearsay information from a
caller, and about a crime that had yet to be committed (they were said to be
suspicious-looking). Also, the robbery of Danganan’s house was only known by
the police AFTER he had been searched and the investigation revealed that it
was not owned by the accused.
3) Accused-appellant was clearly not a prisoner.