Quezon City Has Passed an Ordinance on a Citizen's Arrest: Is It Legal?
Just very recently, the Quezon City council has passed an ordinance permitting a private individual to effect an arrest on a person, even without the necessary warrant of arrest issued by the court. The act of QC council may sound a new mechanism to most of the people, especially in the residents of the place. However, this act is not entirely foreign in our criminal justice system. As a matter of fact, this CITIZEN'S ARREST, was well espoused in the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure. Section 5 of Article 113 of the above-mentioned criminal procedure provides when it is lawful to arrest without warrant. Thus: "A peace officer or a private person may, without a warrant, arrest a person: 1. When, in his presence, the person to be arrested has committed, is actually committing, or is attempting to commit an offense; 2. When an offense has just been committed and he has probable cause to believe based on his personal knowledge of facts or circumstances ...