The Philippine Bar Association, the oldest voluntary national organization of lawyers in the Philippines established in 1891, expresses its concern that certain courts are reportedly turning into “warrant factories”. Public reports create the impression that one particular court is single-handedly responsible for issuing tens of search warrants targeting a particular group of citizens.
Our Constitution mandates that “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures of whatever nature and for any purpose shall be inviolable”. No search warrant shall issue except upon probable cause to be determined personally by a judge after examination under oath or affirmation or the complainant and his witnesses.”
Thus, our courts act as our people’s shield against unwarranted searches and seizures. As such, judges must be deliberate, circumspect and prudent in the discharge of this constitutional duty. To guard against abuse, our Supreme Court has investigated and imposed administrative sanctions in the past against judges who have taken lightly this most important responsibility imposed upon them in our Constitution. We remain confident that our Supreme Court will remain vigilant and continue to safeguard our people’s Constitutional rights.
The Rule of Law requires a fair and just application even to those whose views we may not agree with. As Justice is blind and favors none, so should her instruments not serve as tools for political persecution. Whenever the fairness of our Laws is not accorded those we vehemently disagree with, the perceived oppression only tends to fuel their cause and weaken our own.
As lawyers, we all took an oath to support the “Constitution and obey the laws as well as the legal orders of the duly constituted authorities” of the Republic of the Philippines. It is thus the duty of lawyers, as officers of the court, to ensure that any search and seizure is legally conducted and does not violate the constitutional rights of anyone.
We urge our colleagues in the profession and the general public to express our confidence in our system of government by insisting on fairness even to those who seek to subvert it. If we are to defend against the erosion of the values of our democratic society, we should all stand guard and make sure that justice is rendered with an even hand even to those perceived as enemies of the State by the government of the day. Justice must remain blind and her scales always balanced. Because in a crusade to prove our democratic system is better than what others seek to impose, we cannot discard its most central tenet — that the Rule of Law applies to all, or we will have none at all.