ALIBUYOG, REY ALMON T.

HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7438

AN ACT DEFINING CERTAIN RIGHTS OF PERSON ARRESTED, DETAINED OR
UNDER CUSTODIAL INVESTIGATION AS WELL AS THE DUTIES OF THE
ARRESTING, DETAINING AND INVESTIGATING OFFICERS, AND PROVIDING
PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF

STATEMENT OF POLICIES:
A. to value the dignity of every human being
B. guarantee full respect for human rights.

DEFINITION OF TERMS:
Custodial Investigation- shall include the practice of issuing an "invitation" to a person who is
investigated in connection with an offense he is suspected to have committed, without prejudice
to the liability of the "inviting" officer for any violation of law.

Assisting counsel- is any lawyer, except those directly affected by the case, those charged with
conducting preliminary investigation or those charged with the prosecution of crimes.

Immediate family- shall include his or her spouse, fiancé or fiancée, parent or child, brother or
sister, grandparent or grandchild, uncle or aunt, nephew or niece, and guardian or ward.

SALIENT FEATURES:

Rights of Persons Arrested, Detained or Under Custodial Investigation; Duties of Public

Officers. 

(a) Any person arrested detained or under custodial investigation shall at all times be assisted by
counsel.

(b) Any public officer or employee, or anyone acting under his order or his place, who arrests,
detains or investigates any person for the commission of an offense shall inform the latter, in a
language known to and understood by him, of his rights to remain silent and to have competent
and independent counsel, preferably of his own choice, who shall at all times be allowed to
confer privately with the person arrested, detained or under custodial investigation. If such
person cannot afford the services of his own counsel, he must be provided with a competent and
independent counsel by the investigating officer.

(c) The custodial investigation report shall be reduced to writing by the investigating officer,
provided that before such report is signed, or thumbmarked if the person arrested or detained
does not know how to read and write, it shall be read and adequately explained to him by his
counsel or by the assisting counsel provided by the investigating officer in the language or
dialect known to such arrested or detained person, otherwise, such investigation report shall be
null and void and of no effect whatsoever.

(d) Any extrajudicial confession made by a person arrested, detained or under custodial
investigation shall be in writing and signed by such person in the presence of his counsel or in
the latter's absence, upon a valid waiver, and in the presence of any of the parents, elder brothers
and sisters, his spouse, the municipal mayor, the municipal judge, district school supervisor, or
priest or minister of the gospel as chosen by him; otherwise, such extrajudicial confession shall
be inadmissible as evidence in any proceeding.

(e) Any waiver by a person arrested or detained under the provisions of Article 125 of the
Revised Penal Code, or under custodial investigation, shall be in writing and signed by such
person in the presence of his counsel; otherwise the waiver shall be null and void and of no
effect.

(f) Any person arrested or detained or under custodial investigation shall be allowed visits by or
conferences with any member of his immediate family, or any medical doctor or priest or
religious minister chosen by him or by any member of his immediate family or by his counsel,
or by any national non-governmental organization duly accredited by the Commission on
Human Rights of by any international non-governmental organization duly accredited by the
Office of the President.

PENALTY CLAUSE:

(a) Any arresting public officer or employee, or any investigating officer, who fails to inform
any person arrested, detained or under custodial investigation of his right to remain silent and to
have competent and independent counsel preferably of his own choice, shall suffer fine or a
penalty of imprisonment, or both. The penalty of perpetual absolute disqualification shall also be
imposed upon the investigating officer who has been previously convicted of a similar offense.

The same penalties shall be imposed upon a public officer or employee, or anyone acting
upon orders of such investigating officer or in his place, who fails to provide a competent and
independent counsel to a person arrested, detained or under custodial investigation for the
commission of an offense if the latter cannot afford the services of his own counsel.

(b) Any person who obstructs, prevents or prohibits any lawyer, any member of the immediate
family of a person arrested, detained or under custodial investigation, or any medical doctor or
priest or religious minister chosen by him or by any member of his immediate family or by his
counsel, from visiting and conferring privately with him, or from examining and treating him, or
from ministering to his spiritual needs, at any hour of the day or, in urgent cases, of the night
shall suffer the penalty of imprisonment and fine.
https://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2019/07/valle-sues-police-army-
officials-for-june-9-illegal-arrest/
VALLE SUES POLICE, ARMY OFFICIALS FOR JUNE 9 ILLEGAL ARREST
By MINDANEWS -JULY 8, 2019

DAVAO CITY– Davao Today columnist Fidelina Margarita “Gingging” Valle who was
arrested at the Laguindingan Airport in Misamis Oriental on June 9 and held incommunicado for
at least eight hours, has filed criminal and administrative charges against officers of the
Philippine National Police led by PNP chief Oscar Albayalde, and the Philippine Army led by
Brig. Gen. Jacinto Bareng, commander of the 102nd Infantry Brigade.
Valle filed before the Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for the Military and Other Law
Enforcement Offices last Thursday her complaint against the officers for kidnapping and serious
illegal detention; arbitrary detention; gross violations of Republic Act No. 9745, also known as
the Anti-Torture act of 2009; gross violations of RA 7438 or rights of persons arrested, detained
or under custodial investigation; and grave misconduct, grave abuse of authority, and conduct
unbecoming of a public official.
Fidelina Margarita “Gingging” Valle, 61, of Davao City, development worker and freelance
writer, was arrested Sunday morning at the Laguindingan Airport in Misamis Oriental at around
10 a.m.. As of 4:30 p.m., the family has yet to hear from Valle. The Criminal Investigation and
Detection Group in Region 10 confirmed the arrest but said it was the CIDG-9 that arrested
Valle.
RA 7438 provides, among others, that persons arrested, detained or under custodial
investigation “shall at all times be assisted by counsel; that the persons arresting or investigating
shall inform the person of his/her rights to remain silent and to have competent and independent
counsel, preferably of his own choice, who shall at all times be allowed to confer privately with
the person arrested, detained or under custodial investigation.”
In the PNP, named respondents aside from Albayalde were Col. Bernard Banac,
spokesperson; Col. Tom Yuzon, Director of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in
Region 9; Col. Redentor Lantaca Retusto, Provincial Director of Zamboanga del Sur; Col. John
Guyguyon, Deputy Regional Director for Operations of PNP Region 9; Mohdin Panturan, chief
of the Provincial Intelligence Branch of PNP Region 9; Lt. Col. Mardito Anguluan, Director of
the Regional Mobile Forces Battalion; Capt. Mohammad Madzdie-Aziz Mukaram as leader of
the CIDG Provincial Field Unit; the director of the PNP’s Aviation Security in Region 10;
Police Chief of Laguindingan in Misamis Oriental: Col. Michael Pareja, PNP Iligan chief; and
John Does and Jane Does who are members of the composite team that arrested Valle.
 In the Army, also named respondent aside from Bareng was Lt. Col. Marlowe Patria,
commander of the 53rd Infantry Battalion.
Valle was arrested at the Laguindingan Airport in Misamis Oriental at around 10 a.m. on
June 9 allegedly on the basis of two warrants of arrest, both of which Valle said she was not
allowed to read.
PNP spokesperson Banac, citing reports from the field said the warrants were for alleged
“multiple murder with quadruple frustrated murder and damage to government property” issued
in Misamis Occidental by Judge Bernadette Pardes-Encinarea on December 29, 2011 “with no
bail recommended” and arson issued by Judge Aniceto Galon, Jr. in Pagadian City on September
4, 2006 with bail recommended at 24,000 pesos.
The warrants were for “Elsa Renton @ Tina Maglaya / Fidelina Margaita Valle y
Avellanosa.”
In her affidavit, Valle said that when she finally got copies of the warrants of arrest, “I
noticed that my name was never mentioned in the warrants.”
“WRONGFUL ARREST”
Col. Bernard Banac, spokesperson of the Philippine National Police, sent a message to
MindaNews at 8:17 p.m. on June 9 that Valle was “now for release.”
“After the coordination was made at AVSEC (Aviation Security) 10, Laguindingan Airport
and Laguindingan MPS (municipal police station), Valle was “brought to CIDG 9 office (in
Pagadian City) for verification and identification.”
“However, upon arrival of the witness who physically identified the subject, witness further
averred that the suspect has major resemblance but is not the actual suspect who is the subject of
the warrant.”
On June 10, CIDG Region 9 chief Tuzon issued a public apology addressed to Valle for the
“wrongful arrest,” and offered his “sincerest apologies for the negative experience that you had
with our CIDG personnel from Pagadian City at Laguindingan Airport.”
“Due to uncertainties and less than 100% assurance of your identity from our informant, we
have brought you to the CIDG office, Pagadian City, that caused you unnecessary anxiety. We
do realize that we should have heeded your call regarding your identity from the start and have
released you at the airport,” Tuzon said.
He said the information came from a reliable source from their military counterparts but as
investigators, “we should have conducted validation prior to the arrest.”
“As of this writing, we are investigating the recent police operation at Laguindingan Airport
to identify lapses in our police operational procedures and in our personnel who were involved
in the operation. Any misconduct related to your arrest will be dealt with accordingly,” Tuzon
said.

RDC XI RESOLUTION: “HASTEN THE INVESTIGATION” ON VALLE’S ARREST

In Davao City, the Regional Development Council (RDC) has transmitted copies of the
resolution it passed on June 10, to the government agencies it urged to “hasten the investigation”
on Valle’s arrest and to prevent similar incidents of ‘mistaken identity arrests’ in the Davao
region.
The RDC during its meeting on June 10 passed Resolution No. 67 urging the PNP, the
Ombudsman, the Commission on Human Rights and other concerned agencies to “hasten the
investigation on the arrest of Davao-based journalist, Fidelina Margarita Avellanosa-Valle, in
Laguindingan Airport, Misamis Oriental, and to prevent incidents of ‘mistaken identity’ arrests
in Davao Region.”
Patricia Sarenas, Private Sector Representative to the RDC XI, made the manifestation on
Valle’s illegal arrest during the June 10 meeting, prompting the issuance of Resolution 67.
(MindaNews)