Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo said the Supreme Court (SC) will soon release the rules on the use of body-worn cameras by law enforcers in their operations, particularly in the service of arrest, search and seizure warrants.
Gesmundo said that in crafting the rules, the SC took into account “the delicate balancing act of ensuring an individual’s constitutional rights vis-à-vis arrest, search and seizure, while assuring the unhampered operational requirements of law enforcers in the execution of laws.”
The crafting of the rules and their immediate release were announced by Gesmundo during a courtesy call on the SC justices by Philippine National Police (PNP) officials led by PNP Chief Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar on Friday, July 2, at the SC offices on Padre Faura Street in Ermita, Manila.
The use of body-worn cameras was one of the measures adopted by the SC in the light of rising reports on deaths in connection with the service of warrants by the PNP and other law enforcement agencies.
Gesmundo told the PNP officials that the rules will also provide for conditions which judges must require whenever they grant applications for warrants, and which law enforcers must comply with.
“We assure you that the courts will do its part in ensuring that the constitutional rights guaranteed under the Constitution, as well as your responsibilities and duties as law enforcers, are properly considered and balanced,” he said.
The Chief Justice added: “We try to achieve that balance so that the end goal is we do not disregard the constitutional rights of people, but at the same time, the law enforcers are also given adequate leeway to effectively discharge your functions. That’s the main goal of this special rule that we are coming out.”
He said the working draft on the rules was submitted by Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen and the SC justices individually and collectively gave their comments and suggestions.
At the same time, Chief Justice Gesmundo told the PNP officials that “the SC will make an arrangement soonest with the Philippine Judicial Academy, the SC’s judicial education arm, to provide the training of all those involved in the implementation of these rules.”
He then invited the PNP to send participants to the training.
The SC’s public information office (PIO) said those who joined the Chief Justice during the PNP’s courtesy, either in person or online, were Associate Justices Leonen, Rosmari D. Carandang (joined via video conferencing), Rodil V. Zalameda, Samuel H. Gaerlan, and Jhosep Y. Lopez, as well as Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez and SC Spokesperson Brian Keith F. Hosaka.
The PIO said that with PNP Chief Eleazar were M/Gen. Arnel Escobal of the PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management, B/Gen. Ferdinand Fuentes of the Police Security and Security Group, B/Gen. Albert Ferro of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, Col. Thomas Valmonte, and Col. Gregory Bogñalbal.