SC: Tip no basis for warrantless search

EDITORIAL

A tip given by an anonymous informant cannot alone legalize an intrusive, warrantless search of a vehicle, the Supreme Court ruled.

In a decision dated June 16 and released Tuesday, the SC dismissed illegal drug possession charges against Jerry Sapla, who police said was caught with a sack containing four marijuana bricks in a passenger jeepney in 2014.

In the 35-page decision penned by Associate Justice Alfredo Caguioa, the SC voted 11-3 to reverse the earlier decision of the Court of Appeals, acquit Sapla and order his immediate release.

“Law enforcers cannot act solely on the basis of confidential or tipped information. A tip is still hearsay no matter how reliable it may be. It is not sufficient to constitute probable cause in the absence of any other circumstance that will arouse suspicion,” the SC said.

Sapla was arrested at a checkpoint in Tabuk City, Kalinga in 2014 after police said they received a tip that a man fitting his description would be transporting illegal drugs.

The SC noted that the police did not ask how the informant gathered the information and that they violated a rule that any information should be properly written in a logbook or police blotter.

The SC also said that Sapla did not give his consent when the police searched the contents of the sack.

Sapla was in a “coercive environment” since he was being confronted by several armed police officers at a checkpoint, the SC said.

This should serve as warning to police officers who abuse their positions like in arresting suspects.