MANILA -- The Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) has dismissed the illegal possession of firearms case filed against National Democratic Front (NDF) consultant Rafael D. Baylosis and his companion Guillermo Roque.
In a 27-page decision released Tuesday, RTC Branch 100 Presiding Judge Editha G. Mina-Aguba ordered the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Taguig City to release Baylosis.
Roque, who posted a PHP120,000 bail for his temporary liberty, was also cleared and allowed to get back the bail he posted.
"The search being illegal, the evidence confiscated cannot be used as evidence against the two accused," Aguba said, stressing that any evidence obtained in violation of the right against unreasonable searches and seizures shall be inadmissible for any purpose in any proceeding.
"This rule prohibits the issuance of general warrants that encourage law enforces to go on fishing expeditions. (I)t is viewed that the confiscation of the subject items is illegal. It is not a product of a search incidental to a lawful arrest, or a stop and frisk search, or the plain view doctrine," she explained.
Policemen charged Baylosis and Roque with illegal weapons possession after they were arrested at the corner of Aurora Boulevard and Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City on January 31, 2018.
Recovered from the suspects were two .45 caliber pistols and one fragmentation grenade inside a platic bag containing brown rice.
The two were arrested after a police informant reported the presence of armed men in the area, prompting responding police to confront them. (PNA)
