People v Kagui Malasusui | G.R. No.

44335

Kagui then appealed with the SC contending that he was subjected to the rigor
of an unreasonable search to dispossess him of his effects without judicial

Facts:

warrant, and that the court should have ordered their return to him when he so

At about 530am, Tan Why, a Chinese merchant, was found lying on the ground,

formally requested before the trial, is unfounded

with several wounds in the head. One of his wounds was fatal because it
fractured his skull on the upper part of his forehead. He died as a result of this
wound.

Issue: WON there was an unreasonable warrantless search.

When Tan Why was still alive on the morning he was found, Moro Alamada,

Held:

who lived in the same house as of the deceased, approached and asked the
deceased who had attacked him, and Tan Why laconically answered, Kagui.
Kagui was known by this name in Cotabato, whereupon Lieutenant A. Jacaria of
the Constabulary ordered his immediate arrest.
The accused was arrested in the morning of the same day, and after he had
been brought to Lieutenant Jacaria, who had already been informed, that Kagui

None. The right to be secure from unreasonable search may be waived either
expressly or impliedly.
When the search of the person detained or arrested and the seizure of the
effects found in his possession are incidental to an arrest made in conformity
with the law, they cannot be considered unreasonable, much less unlawful.

had just redeemed two pairs of bracelets from some pawnshops of Cotabato

Article III, section 1, paragraph (3), of our Constitution is identical in all respects

and that he carried money, said lieutenant asked him for the bracelets and he

to the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States; and said

then voluntarily and without protest produced what now appear in the record as

constitutional precept has been interpreted as not prohibiting arrests, searches

Exhibit A.

and seizures without judicial warrant, but only those that are unreasonable.

After Kagui had voluntarily produced the bracelets, he was asked if he had any

Also, when he was searched after having voluntarily produced the bracelets

thing else, he tremblingly answered in the negative. So, he was later searched,

before Sergeant Jacaria, he did not show the least opposition. It follows,

without opposition or protest on his part, and it was discovered that he also had

therefore, that the lower court committed no error in accepting as evidence not

the pocketbook (Exhibit B), containing P92 in bills (Exhibit C), Tan Why's

only because the appellant did not object to the taking thereof from him when

identification card and a memorandum of amounts with some Chinese

searched, but also because the effects found in his possession of a person

characters (Exhibit D). In one of the pockets of his pants was found some

detained or arrested are perfectly admissible as evidence against him, if they

change, making the total amount of money found in his possession P92.68.

constitute the corpus delicti or are pertinent or relevant thereto. It is certainly

The foregoing facts which were inferred from the testimony of the government
witnesses, imputed to Kagui the crime of robbery with homicide. He was
thereafter convicted of said crime by the lower court.

repugnant to maintain the opposite view because it would amount to authorizing

the return to the accused of the means of conviction seized from him,
notwithstanding their being eloquent proofs of crime, for him to conceal, destroy
or otherwise dispose of, in order to assure his impunity.
Conviction affirmed.

weapons on accused-appellants person, the two police officer proceeded to

search the tricycle. There they found a package wrapped in newspaper inside a
plastic bag which appeared to be two (2) bricks of marijuana. They arrested Del
Mundo and brought him to the police headquarters for investigation. Thereafter,
he was charged with violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972 with the
RTC.
The trial court upheld the validity of the warrantless arrest of Del Mundo and the
seizure of the plastic bag containing the marijuana.
Del Mundo contends that the search of the vehicle and consequent seizure of
People v Del Mundo | G.R. No. 138929
Facts:

the marijuana were illegal since there was neither a warrant of arrest nor a
search warrant issued prior to the incident. He argues that without a warrant, his
vehicle cannot be searched nor can he be subjected to a body search because
"inspection is merely limited to a visual search." When the policemen

On November 20, 1997 at around 3:05pm, an information was received by the

unwrapped the package and smelled the contents, they went beyond a visual

Chief of Police of Calatagan that Del Mundo was at that very moment selling

search since it is evident that the marijuana was not immediately visible.

illegal drugs in Barangay Real, Calatagan.

So, a team of four (4) policemen were immediately instructed to go to the said
barangay and to apprehend the suspect.
Arriving at Barangay, the team saw Del Mundo standing beside a tricycle,
conversing with another person whom the policemen could not identify. From a
distance, they observed Del Mundo hand something over to the other person.
Upon the policemens approach, Del Mundo hurriedly boarded his tricycle and
sped away while his companion fled on foot into the sugarcane fields. The latter
was chased by PO2 Creus and PO2 Umali, but they failed to catch him.
Meanwhile, PO2 Ancheta and PO1 Jonson caught Del Mundo.
The arresting officers asked Del Mundo to alight from his vehicle, after which
PO2 Ancheta subjected him to a body search. Finding no illegal drugs or

Issue: WON there was an illegal warrantless search of Del Mundos vehicle.
Held:
None. In the instant case, the evidence on record established beyond any doubt
that Del Mundo was in possession of the package containing the marijuana. It
was found inside the vehicle he owned and was driving at the time he was
apprehended. His possession thereof gives rise to the disputable presumption
under Section 3(j), Rule 131 of the Rules of Court, that he is the owner of the
package and its contents.
His bare, unpersuasive and uncorroborated disavowal that the package
belonged to his unidentified passenger is a mere denial which by itself is
insufficient to overcome this presumption. It is well-established that this
defense, in the absence of convincing evidence, is invariably viewed with

disfavor by the courts for it can be easily concocted. In fact, it is the most

the warrantless search of accused-appellants tricycle, which he used in

common defense tactic employed in most cases involving illegal drugs.

transporting the marijuana, and by which he attempted to escape, was valid.

Also, The search of a moving vehicle is one of the doctrinally accepted

The policemen did not even have to open the package to determine its contents

exceptions to the constitutional mandate that no search or seizure shall be

because having detected the scent of marijuana, the policemen had legal

made except by virtue of a warrant issued by a judge after personally

authority, as well as the legal duty, to open the package and examine the

determining the existence of probable cause. The warrantless search of a

contents if indeed it was marijuana. There is thus no merit in Del Mundo

moving vehicle is justified on the ground that it is not practicable to secure a

argument that the physical evidence presented by the prosecution was obtained

warrant because the vehicle carrying the prohibited drugs can be quickly moved

through an illegal warrantless search. Besides, there is no showing that Del

out of the area or jurisdiction in which the warrant must be sought. Therefore,

Mundo objected to the search of his vehicle and the opening of the package.
Drugs discovered as a result of a consented search are admissible in evidence.