MANILA – The Court of Appeals (CA) acquitted a man convicted by a Manila court of illegal possession of a homemade firearm when he was accosted by the police for allegedly urinating in public in Sta. Cruz, Manila three years ago.
The CA’s 17th Division ruled on Monday that John Michael Evite’s arrest at the corner of Doroteo Jose and Oroquieta Streets on April 30, 2019 was done without a warrant and it was not considered one of the exceptional instances when a warrantless arrest is allowed.
Under the law, warrantless arrest is allowed when the person has just committed or is actually committing an offense in the presence of the police.
Upon frisking, he supposedly yielded the improvised firearm with one round of live ammunition.
Evite was sentenced by the Manila Regional trial Court to up to 14 years in prison on Dec. 5, 2019 for illegal possession of firearms and violating the Commission on Elections gun ban.
Prosecutors failed to prove that relieving oneself in public is illegal in Manila, thus the warrantless arrest was not justified.
“The improvised firearm and ammunition allegedly discovered and confiscated from accused-appellant on the occasion of such unreasonable search and seizure are inadmissible in evidence and cannot be used in any proceeding against him,” the CA ruled.
The CA turned down the prosecution’s claim that the accused was at the time in violation of a Manila city ordinance against urinating in a public place.
The CA noted that “a copy of the city ordinance was not presented in evidence; neither was a copy found in the records of the case.”
“There is no crime if there is no law punishing it,” the CA said. (PNA)
