Citizens Enforcing the Law

The Legal and Social Space for Citizen’s Arrest in Bacolod City:
Empowerment or Endangerment

A Research Paper Presented to the

College of Law
University of St. La Salle
Bacolod City

In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the
Degree of Juris Docto

Alde, Janille
Dulay, Godelieve
Guion, John Cezar

November 2017
 CHAPTER 1
Introduction
The law empowers an ordinary citizen to arrest another in certain cases.
However, anyone making an arrest, provided it's a valid one, must prepare for it
because, by nature, nobody would want to be arrested. Resistance is expected and it
may put his life in danger.
In a society where the state monopolizes the use of force, citizens are in
principle excluded from the enforcement of law, and forceful responses from citizens
are thus forbidden. Historically, the criminal justice system and criminal norms have
sought to eradicate forms of eigenrichting. In the legal sciences, almost every definition
of eigenrichting deals with the limits to it. Some commentators consider that anyone
who acts in eigenrichting oversteps legal limits (Kelk, 2005 and Van Wifferen, 2003),
while others note the presence of conflicting normative visions in these acts: of the
actor convinced of acting legitimately, and of the law, which does not allow such action
(De Waar, 1984).
However, the law remains silent, and instead of providing a concrete prohibition
for eigenrichting, protects everyone’s civil rights and liberties, allowing their restriction
only when this is necessary to effect law enforcement – in principle, by civil servants.
Our whole legal system rests upon this principle, known as the rule of law as
they developed. The enforcement of laws and the use of forceful means in their
enforcement were trusted to the state’s organs, which for citizens meant a limit: almost
any form of the civil use of physical force was criminalized. From the eighties of the
previous century onwards, however, the traditional limits to eigenrichting seem to have
been in motion. Given the perception of widespread criminality and the inability of
police and the criminal justice system to control it, citizens are called upon to no longer
remain passive when confronted with criminal acts, but to assume responsibilities in the
social control of crime. Citizens are encouraged to act independently, in addition to or
instead of the police. Citizens, it is said, must and also do play a role in the enforcement
of the law. Where previously only the police and professionals were entrusted with this
duty, today the government claims that policing cannot be left to the police alone. And
where previously, individuals and communities were the addressees of a service, today
they are called upon to join a chain of actors in the ‘fight against crime’. This strategy,
through which private individuals are summoned to assume an active role in law
enforcement, is called ‘responsibilisation’ because now the enforcement of laws is also
the responsibility of victims and potential victims. Responsibilisation, as a strategy, is a
salient aspect of the crime control policies in the Western World (Garland 2001). In fact,
this aspect is so salient that some speak of a new paradigm (Crawford 1997). David
Garland synthesizes the responsibilisation strategy with a conglomeration of other
aspects in current policies, to speak of a new paradigm in crime control, which he calls
‘the culture of control’ (2001).

Eigenrichting is composed of the term ‘eigen’, which means private and

‘richting’, which means direction (Van Dale Etymologish Woordenboek). Etymologically
speaking, eigenrichting therefore means giving a personal direction to things. Popularly
speaking however, eigenrichting is understood, as ‘taking the law into ones owns
hands’.
Statement of the Problem
This study seeks to determine respondent’s preference on the legal and social
space for Citizen’s Arrest in Bacolod City as basis for determining whether it is aimed at
citizen’s endangerment or empowerment.
Specifically, this study aims to answer the following questions:

1. What are the laws governing Citizen’s Arrest?

2. What was the compliance of Bacolod City in Citizen’s Arrest?

3. What were the challenges faced by the local government of Bacolod City in
compliance with Citizen’s Arrest?

4. What were the actions taken by the local government to address their
compliance with the Citizen’s Arrest?

5. What is the socio-economic profile of the participants in terms of:

a. Age;

b. Sex;

c. Level of Education; and

d. Occupation
6. What are the factors that influence the participants’ preference on the legal
and social space for Citizen’s Arrest in terms of:
a. The Harm Principle
b. The Parental Principle
c. The Morality Principle
d. The Donation Principle
e. The Statist Principle
 Conceptual Framework

Figure 1. Schematic Diagram of the Conceptual Framework

Factors that influence participants'

preference on the legal and social
space for Citizen's Arrest in terms of:
The socio-economic profile a. The Harm Principle
of the participants in terms The local government
b. The Parental Principle and participants'
of:
c. The Morality Principle awareness with the
a. Age
d. The Donation Principle law concerning
b. Sex Citizen's Arrest in line
c. Level of Education e. The Statist Principle with its legal and
d. Occupation social space aspects.

In order to address the statement of the problem and the objectives of the
study, the following data were gathered: the socio-economic profile of the participants
in terms of age, sex, level of education and occupation. After profiling, data such as: (1)
laws governing Citizen’s Arrest, (2) Factors that influence the local government to
comply with Citizen’s Arrest, (3) Challenges faced by the local government in compliance
with the Citizen’s Arrest, and (4) Actions taken by the local government in compliance
with the Citizen’s Arrest were gathered. All the given data were analyzed and
interpreted for basis in the formulation of a strategy to strengthen the legal and social
space for Citizen’s Arrest in terms of the (1) harm, (2) parental, (3) morality, (4) donation
and (5) statist principles.

Scope and Limitations

 The major focus of data gathering is to describe the factors that affect the local
government and participants’ awareness with the law concerning Citizen’s Arrest in line
with its legal and social space aspects as to the five (5) principles, namely, harm,
parental, morality, donation and statist. Also, strengthening the implementation of
Citizen’s Arrest is the focus of data gathering in this research. There were five hundred
(500) participants in this study. It consisted of the representatives from the local
government and randomly chosen citizens of Bacolod City. The data gathering was
conducted in the areas of Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, Philippines as it is the main
attention of the study.

Significance of the Study

This research helped illustrate the challenges in the implementation of the
Citizen’s Arrest law. The research could help in evaluating the policy and to disseminate
wide engagement with the population and the government. This research would benefit
the following:

Bacolod City’s Local Government

This research would help the local government in examining their
implementation of the Citizen’s Arrest law as active instigators. This could help in
strengthening and developing laws and regulations in Bacolod City. This research also
aimed to help identify challenges and possible ways to develop programs and initiatives
that could support the citizens.

Citizens of Bacolod City

The citizens of Bacolod City are the main subjects of this research. This research
will help in strengthening the provisions and jurisdiction that underlines the law
concerning Citizen’s Arrest for citizens can be either victims or perpetrators. This could
also help them appreciate and be conscious of the legal, social and political world and
engage them to the civil life. This research also aimed to help identify challenges and
feasible ways to control and develop programs and initiatives that could support the
former and the latter.
Hence, this research would also enable the citizens to advocate and give their
thoughts to the LGUs; A venture to gauge the leadership and capabilities of the LGUs.
This research also aims to help the citizens distinguish their rights and the amenities and
platforms that they could avail for the welfare of themselves.

Society
This research may be significant to the society since current laws change and
adapt to what the norm is – for the human mind is hieroglyphic and tends to have lucid
intervals.

University of Saint La Salle

This research can be a help for the University to enhance student’s knowledge
and familiarity with the fundamental law of the land that can later on produce
competitive graduates equipped with effective communication skills, critical thinking
and values of social responsibility.

The Researchers
As law students, the study will also help them put into application the knowledge
learned through books, researches and lectures. The proposed study will help the
researchers widen their knowledge about the existing laws of the Republic of the
Philippines.

The Future Researchers

In the long run, the study can serve as a guide and reference for the future
researchers of the same or related topic as to help them meet their goals and
understand the whole research process.
Definition of Terms
 Age. It is the amount of time a being has lived. (Kotler, 2006)
Factors. They are elements contributing to a particular result or situation
(Chapman, 2007). In this study, these are the factors that influence participants’
preference on the legal and social space for citizen’s arrest.
Level of Education. Is typically divided into a number of Educational stages
covering early childhood education, primary education, secondary education and
tertiary (or higher) education (Manitoba, 2014). In the study, it is the level of school the
participants are in, undergraduate or graduate.
Sex. It refers to biological differences; chromosomes, hormonal profiles, internal
and external sex organs (Nobelius, 2004). In the study, it is the division of either two
categories, male or female, which the participants identify themselves as.
Socio-economic. Is commonly conceptualized as the social standing or class of an
individual or group. It is often measured as a combination of education, income and
occupation (Ruiz, 2011). In the study, it is used to be the profile of the participants,
which includes sex, age, occupation, and level of education.
Citizen’s Arrest. Is an arrest made by a person who is not acting as a sworn law –
enforcement official. (Madera, 2011)
Harm Principle. Laws created under the Harm Principle are written to protect
people from being harmed by others. Laws against violent crime and property crime fall
into this category. Without basic Harm Principle laws, a society ultimately degenerates
into despotism -- the rule of the strong and violent over the weak and nonviolent. Harm
Principle laws are essential, and every government on Earth has them. (Head, 2003)
Parental Principle. In addition to laws intended to discourage people from
harming each other, some laws are written to prohibit self-harm. Parental Principle laws
include compulsory attendance laws for children, laws against neglect of children and
vulnerable adults, and laws banning the possession of certain drugs. Some Parental
Principle laws are essential to protect children and vulnerable adults, but even in those
cases, they can be oppressive if they are not narrowly written and sensibly enforced.
(Head, 2003)
 Morality Principle. Some laws are based not strictly on harm or self-harm
concerns, but also on promoting the personal morality of the law's authors. These laws
are usually, but not always, grounded in religious belief. Historically, most of these laws
have something to do with sex -- but some European laws against Holocaust denial and
other forms of hate speech also appear to be motivated primarily by the Morality
Principle. (Head, 2003)

Donation Principle. All governments have laws granting goods or services of

some kind to its citizens. When these laws are used to control behavior, however, they
can give some people, groups, or organizations unfair advantages over others. Laws
promoting specific religious beliefs, for example, are gifts that governments extend to
religious groups in hopes of gaining their support. Laws punishing certain corporate
practices are sometimes used to reward corporations that are in the government's good
graces, and/or to punish corporations that are not. Some conservatives argue that many
social service initiatives are Donation Principle laws intended to buy the support of low-
income voters, who tend to vote Democratic. (Head, 2003)

Statist Principle. The most dangerous laws are those intended to protect the
government from harm or to increase its power for its own sake. Some Statist Principle
laws are necessary -- laws against treason and espionage, for example, are essential to
the stability of government. But Statist Principle laws can also be dangerous -- laws
restricting criticism of the government, such as flag burning laws that prohibit the
desecration of symbols that remind people of the government, can easily lead to a
politically oppressive society full of imprisoned dissidents and frightened citizens who
are afraid to speak out. (Head, 2003)