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Hon Ne Chan Vs Honda Motors
Hon Ne Chan Vs Honda Motors
DOCTRINE
The validity of the issuance of a search warrant rests upon the following
factors:
(1) it must be issued upon probable cause;
(2) the probable cause must be determined by the judge himself
and not by the applicant or any other person;
(3) in the determination of probable cause, the judge must examine,
under oath or affirmation, the complainant and such witnesses as
the latter may produce; and
(4) the warrant issued must particularly describe the place to be
searched and persons or things to be seized.
Search warrants are not issued on loose, vague or doubtful basis of fact,
or on mere suspicion or belief.
FACTS:
On 14 November 2003, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI),
through Special Investigator (SI) Glenn Lacaran, applied for search
warrants with the RTC
against petitioners for alleged violation of Section 168 in relation to
Section 170 of Republic Act No. 8293 or the Intellectual Property
Code of the Philippines
On the same date, RTC Judge Artemio S. Tipon issued two (for Hon
Ne Chan and Yunji Zeng) search warrants.
On the strength of these search warrants, NBI agents conducted a
search of petitioners premises and seized items from the petitioner.
Motion to Quash Search Warrants and to Return Illegally Seized
Items, averring therein that the search warrants were issued despite
the absence of probable cause and that they were in the nature of
general search warrants.
Trial court ordered the NBI to return to petitioners the articles seized
CA reversed the RTC
ISSUES
1) Whether probable cause existed in the issuance of the subject
search warrants;
2) Whether said search warrants were in the nature of general
search warrants and therefore null and void; and
3) Whether there existed an offense to which the issuance of the
search warrants was connected.
HELD/RATIO:
The validity of the issuance of a search warrant rests upon the following
factors:
(1) it must be issued upon probable cause;
(2) the probable cause must be determined by the judge himself
and not by the applicant or any other person;
(3) in the determination of probable cause, the judge must examine,
under oath or affirmation, the complainant and such witnesses as
the latter may produce; and
(4) the warrant issued must particularly describe the place to be
searched and persons or things to be seized.
Petitioners Argue:
The search warrants in question partook the nature of general
search warrants in that they included motorcycles bearing the
model name WAVE.
Court
It is elemental that in order to be valid, a search warrant must
particularly describe the place to be searched and the things to be
seized. It is not, however, required that the things to be seized must
be described in precise and minute detail as to leave no room for
doubt on the part of the searching authorities.