Agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) applied for a search warrant. The court granted it. The agents implemented the search after their entry into the premises. They seized illegal drugs and arrested their possessor. The search and arrest were successful. The possessor was brought to court and tried. He was convicted and sentenced to prison. It seemed like a swift and seamless operation and a job well done by the authorities.
There, however, was a hitch raised by the possessor-accused: the lack of specificity of the place to be searched as stated in the warrant. The trial court brushed the issue aside, and so did the Court of Appeals. But when the matter was elevated to the Supreme Court, it took a totally different view. Here is what the High Court had to say:
“The right against unreasonable search and seizure is a facet of the right to privacy, which guards against unreasonable State intrusion into its people’s private lives. While exceptions for warrantless searches and seizures exist, this case involves a search done pursuant to a warrant. Thus, the warrant’s issuance and subsequent implementation must comply with the necessary requirements for its validity.
“It is for this reason that Article III, Section 3(2) of the Constitution mandates that any evidence obtained in violation of these rights shall be inadmissible for any purpose in any proceeding. Among the requirements for a valid search warrant is that it must “particularly describ[e] the place to be searched[.]” This requirement “is essential in the issuance of search warrants to avoid the exercise by the enforcing officers of discretion to decide on their own where to search and whom and what to seize.”
“The description in a search warrant complies with the constitutional requirement if it meets the following criteria: A description of a place to be searched is sufficient if the officer with the warrant can, with reasonable effort, ascertain and identify the place intended and distinguish it from other places in the community. Any designation or description known to the locality that points out the place to the exclusion of all others, and on inquiry leads the officers unerringly to it, satisfies the constitutional requirement.
“In this case, Search Warrant No. 5368’s (2017) description of the premises to be searched is located ‘inside the subject house (please see attached sketch map of the house) located at Informal Settlers Compound, NIA Road, Barangay Pinyahan, Quezon City.’ Clearly, the search warrant’s wording fails to meet the particularity requirement as it effectively gave the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency agents free rein to search every place within the Informal Settlers Compound on NIA Road.
“This Court cannot give credence to the prosecution’s argument that the sketch attached to the search warrant distinguished the place to be searched. A perusal of the Regional Trial Court’s Consolidated Judgment shows that while Search Warrant 5368 (2017) was marked by the prosecution as an exhibit during the preliminary conference, the alleged attached sketch map was not included. The Court of Appeals even stated that the ‘sketch map is not extant in the record.’
“As such, the courts were unable to verify whether the sketch map was truly attached to the search warrant and if it described the premises to be searched with particularity. The doubtful existence of the sketch map or its failure to properly identify the premises to be searched is evident in the Regional Trial Court’s and the Court of Appeals’ recognition that the government agents were only able to locate accused-appellant’s house through the confidential informant’s assistance.
“The Regional Trial Court, in its Consolidated Judgment, stated that: While the warrant merely states ‘Informal Settlers Compound, NIA Road, Barangay Pinyahan, Quezon City,’ it shall be noted that a sketch of the house was indicated in the Search Warrant. In fact, the agents who implemented the search warrant were accompanied by the informant who pinpointed them to the exact location of the house of the accused.
“The Court of Appeals, on the other hand, was explicit that the confidential informant’s help was vital in leading them to the house: While the given address may be considered imprecise or nonspecific, the agents of the PDEA were able to locate Lucky’s house because their informant was with them and the informant knew exactly the location of the premises to be searched.
“The failure to present the sketch map, coupled with the necessity of the confidential informant’s assistance, casts serious doubt on whether the address stated in the search warrant met the definiteness or particularity requirement. As such, it is clear that the search warrant issued was so broadly worded that it constituted a general warrant proscribed by the Constitution.”
The facts and redacted decision are from SC G.R. No. 264473 (7 August 2024).