Press Release
August 21, 2020

Dispatch from Crame No. 887:
Sen. Leila M. de Lima's Comments on the Supreme Court Ruling in the Sapla case

8/21/20

Ang bagong desisyon ng Korte Suprema ay paalala sa ating mga kapulisan na sila man ay kailangang sumunod sa batas.

Sa kasong ito, nagsagawa ang mga pulis ng warrantless search sa akusado dahil nakatanggap daw sila diumano ng anonymous tip. Imbes na gumamit halimbawa ng drug-detecting dog o kaya maghanap ng iba pang ebidensya maliban sa anonymous tip, agarang binuksan at siniyasat ang kaniyang gamit kung saan may natagpuang marijuana. Dahil invalid ang warrantless search, ayon sa Korte, hindi ito maaaring gamitin na ebidensya.

Ayon din sa Korte, walang ginawang pag-iingat ang mga pulis para maipakita na hindi planted ang ebidensya.

Conviction na, na-acquit pa. Dahil lang hindi sumunod ang mga pulis sa batas.

The "fruit of the poisonous tree" doctrine was clearly applicable. All evidence obtained from illegal arrest, search or seizure is not admissible in court. This rule stresses the inviolability of the constitutional right against unreasonable search and seizure.

Ayon sa kaso, hindi puwedeng gawing dahilan ang anonymous tip para sa warrantless search. Dapat lang. Kasi puwedeng imbento lang yan ng kung sinong sinungaling para mang-harass ng mga inosenteng tao. Dapat ay may ibang indikasyon na ang tao ay gumawa o gumagawa ng krimen maliban sa anonymous tip.

Our police are not above the law. They should be the first to abide by it. At a time when the Bill of Rights is taking a backseat to demagoguery and bloodlust, Supreme Court decisions like this offer some hope for the Rule of Law.

The Supreme Court succinctly put it when it held that "when the Constitution is disregarded, the battle waged against illegal drugs becomes a self-defeating and self-destructive enterprise. A battle waged against illegal drugs that tramples on the rights of the people is not a war on drugs; it is a war against the people."

(Access the handwritten copy of Dispatch from Crame No. 887 here: https://issuu.com/senatorleilam.delima/docs/dispatch_887)

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