Warrant of Arrest: How it is Issued?

With the recent hullabaloo in Delfin Lee's arrest, the issue on whether or not the standing warrant of arrest issued against him is still valid or not is now occupying a significant space in the news today.

Delfin Less is, the owner of the property developer Globe Asiatique Realty Holdings, one of the accused of syndicated estafa involving a - P 6.5 Billion Peso loans from Pag-IBIG Fund in 2009.  In this connection a warrant of arrest was issued by the court for the arrest of Delfin Lee. 

On May 22, 2012, Judge Maria Amifaith Fider-Reyes of Branch 42 of Pampanga Regional Trial Court issued a warrant for the arrest of Lee, his son Dexter and three officers of Globe Asiatique for syndicated estafa, a nonbailable crime, in connection with two housing projects in Pampanga province (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/582957/fugitive-magnate-delfin-lee-falls).

From the time the warrant of arrest was issued, Lee has been a fugitive from justice, evading his arrest. However on March 6, 2014, around 6:45 in the evening, Delfin Lee fell into the hands of the authorities and was therefore arrested.

Lee's camp cried of illegal arrest as his warrant of arrest was already quashed by the decision of the Court of Appeals.  Accordingly the Court of Appeals issued a resolution dated November 7, 2013 lifting the warrant of arrest issued against Lee citing a grave abuse of discretion committed by the Pampanga Regional Trial Court (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/529667/delfin-lees-arrest-warrant-still-stands-de-lima).

But before the above-quoted resolution of the Court Appeals attained its finality, the government has timely filed Motion for Reconsideration on the said resolution to the Supreme Court.  However, no decision is reached yet by the Supreme Court on the motion filed by the government (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/03/07/14/palace-arrest-delfin-lee-legal).

Thus, a dilemma arises now as to whether or not the arrest was valid and legal.  To answer this predicament, the Supreme Court must issue its resolution with dispatch so as not to end this legal controversy.

How a warrant of arrest is issued?

A warrant of arrest a written order issued and signed by a magistrate, directed to a peace officer or some other person specially named, and commanding him to arrest the body of a person named in it, who is accused of an offense (http://thelawdictionary.org/warrant-of-arrest/).

In the Philippine criminal justice, it is the judge who will issue the warrant of arrest.  The judge concerned shall personally evaluate the resolution of the prosecutor and its supporting evidence within 10 days from the filing of the complaint or the information.

The judge may immediately dismiss the case if the evidence on record clearly fails to establish probable cause.

If the judge finds probable cause, he shall issue a warrant of arrest (Sec. 6, Rule 112 of the Revised Rules of Court of the Philippines).

Note that it is the only the judge who shall issue the warrant of arrest and no other else.  If the warrant of arrest was issued by the Mayor of the locality or by the Chief of Police, said warrant of arrest is clearly NOT VALID.

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