Warrant of Arrest: How One Issues, and When
Legal and notarial · legal
Quick answer
A judge issues a warrant only after personally finding probable cause, within 10 days of the information being filed. The officer must execute it within 10 days of receipt and report back 10 days after that period. An arrest may be made any day, any hour.
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Last verified 1 source, listed below
Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rules 110 to 1271. PHGuides is independent and not affiliated with any agency.
A warrant of arrest is issued by a judge, and only after that judge has personally found probable cause. Everything below comes from the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rules 112 and 113.
The one rule people get wrong
A prosecutor who finds probable cause does not issue a warrant. That resolution goes to a court, and the judge makes a separate finding.
Within ten (10) days from the filing of the complaint or information, the judge shall personally evaluate the resolution of the prosecutor and its supporting evidence. He may immediately dismiss the case if the evidence on record clearly fails to establish probable cause.
So there are two findings of probable cause in a criminal case, made by two different officials for two different purposes. The prosecutor’s decides whether to charge. The judge’s decides whether to arrest.
| If the judge | Then |
|---|---|
| Finds probable cause | Issues a warrant of arrest, or a commitment order if the accused is already under arrest |
| Finds the evidence clearly fails to establish probable cause | May immediately dismiss the case |
| Is in doubt | May order the prosecutor to present additional evidence within 5 days from notice, resolving the issue within 30 days from the filing |
Executing the warrant
Rule 113 puts a clock on the police, not on the accused.
| Duty | Period |
|---|---|
| Head of office causes the warrant to be executed | Within 10 days from its receipt |
| Officer assigned reports to the issuing judge | Within 10 days after that period expires |
| If it was not executed | The report shall state the reasons |
The Rules set no expiry on the warrant itself. A warrant that goes unserved does not lapse; what lapses is the period within which the officer owed the judge a report. That is why an old warrant can still be served years later.
An arrest may be made on any day and at any time of the day or night.
Arrest without a warrant
Rule 113 Section 5 is exhaustive. Three situations, and no others.
| Situation | Requirement |
|---|---|
| In flagrante delicto | In the officer’s presence, the person has committed, is actually committing, or is attempting to commit an offence |
| Hot pursuit | An offence has just been committed, and there is probable cause based on personal knowledge of facts or circumstances that the person committed it |
| Escapee | The person is a prisoner who escaped from a penal establishment, from confinement while a case is pending, or during transfer |
The second one is the one that gets litigated. It requires personal knowledge of facts, not a report from someone else, and the offence must have just been committed.
A person arrested under the first two is forthwith delivered to the nearest police station or jail and proceeded against under Rule 112 Section 7.
What the officer must tell you
| Making an arrest | The officer must state |
|---|---|
| With a warrant | The cause of the arrest, and that a warrant has been issued |
| Without a warrant | His authority and the cause of the arrest |
| By a private person | The intention to arrest, and the cause |
Each has the same exceptions: where the person flees, forcibly resists, is engaged in committing the offence, is pursued immediately after it, has escaped, or where giving the information would imperil the arrest.
The officer need not have the warrant in his possession at the time of the arrest. After the arrest, if you require it, the warrant shall be shown to you as soon as practicable.
Limits on force, and other powers
No violence or unnecessary force shall be used, and the person arrested shall not be subject to a greater restraint than is necessary for his detention. The arresting officer must deliver the person to the nearest police station or jail without unnecessary delay.
An officer may orally summon as many persons as necessary to assist, and a person so summoned must assist where he can do so without detriment to himself. An officer may break into any building or enclosure where the person is reasonably believed to be, after announcing his authority and purpose and being refused admittance, and may break out to liberate himself. If a person lawfully arrested escapes or is rescued, any person may immediately pursue and retake him without a warrant, anywhere in the Philippines.
Any member of the Philippine Bar may, at the request of the person arrested or someone acting for them, visit and confer privately with that person.
The timeline behind the warrant
Most of the clock runs before a warrant exists at all, during preliminary investigation. These periods explain why months pass between a complaint and an arrest.
| Step | Period |
|---|---|
| Investigating officer acts on the complaint | Within 10 days after filing |
| Respondent submits a counter-affidavit | Within 10 days from receipt of the subpoena |
| Clarificatory hearing held | Within 10 days from submission of counter-affidavits |
| That hearing terminated | Within 5 days |
| Investigating officer determines probable cause | Within 10 days after the investigation |
| Resolution forwarded to the provincial or city prosecutor or Ombudsman | Within 5 days from the resolution |
| They act on the resolution | Within 10 days from receipt |
| Judge evaluates and may issue the warrant | Within 10 days from the filing of the complaint or information |
Preliminary investigation is required where the penalty prescribed by law is at least 4 years, 2 months and 1 day, without regard to the fine.
Two notes on that table. The periods are directory deadlines on officials, not limits that void a case when missed, and the whole sequence can restart if a resolution is reversed on review. And the text cited here is the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure as amended 1 December 2000; Rule 112 has been amended since on who may conduct a preliminary investigation, so the provisions on investigating judges are deliberately left out above. Rule 113, and Rule 112 Section 6 on when a judge may issue the warrant, are not affected by that change.
If you were arrested without a warrant
You go through inquest rather than a full preliminary investigation. You may still ask for one, but the trade is explicit:
- You must sign a waiver of Article 125 of the Revised Penal Code, in the presence of counsel.
- Notwithstanding the waiver, you may apply for bail.
- The investigation must be terminated within 15 days from its inception.
If the complaint or information was already filed without a preliminary investigation, you may ask for one within 5 days from the time you learn of the filing.
What this page does not cover
The Rules do not publish a way for a private person to check whether a warrant exists against them, and no national lookup is cited here because none is published in this source. This page also does not cover bail and its amounts, which are set by a separate schedule, the periods in Article 125 of the Revised Penal Code itself, or the rules on motions to quash a warrant. The NBI clearance guide covers what a HIT means, which is the nearest thing to a record check an individual can run.
Related
The small claims guide covers the civil procedure that needs no lawyer, the katarungang pambarangay guide covers the barangay step that precedes many cases, and the barangay protection order guide covers an order the punong barangay issues the same day.
Frequently asked questions
- Who can issue a warrant of arrest?
- Only a judge. Under Rule 112 Section 6, within 10 days from the filing of the complaint or information, the judge shall personally evaluate the prosecutor's resolution and its supporting evidence, and issue a warrant only if probable cause is found. A prosecutor cannot issue one.
- How long is a warrant of arrest valid?
- The Rules set no expiry on the warrant itself. What they set is a duty to act: the head of office to whom it was delivered shall cause it to be executed within 10 days from receipt, and the officer assigned shall report to the issuing judge within 10 days after that period expires, stating the reasons if it was not executed.
- Can I be arrested at night?
- Yes. Rule 113 Section 6 says an arrest may be made on any day and at any time of the day or night. There is no night-time restriction on executing a warrant.
- When can police arrest without a warrant?
- Three situations under Rule 113 Section 5: when the offence is committed, being committed or attempted in the officer's presence; when an offence has just been committed and there is probable cause based on personal knowledge of facts that the person committed it; and when the person is an escaped prisoner.
- Does the officer need to carry the warrant?
- No. The officer need not have the warrant in his possession at the time of the arrest, but after the arrest, if the person arrested requires it, the warrant shall be shown to him as soon as practicable. The officer must still inform you of the cause of the arrest and that a warrant exists.
- Can the judge dismiss instead of issuing a warrant?
- Yes. The judge may immediately dismiss the case if the evidence on record clearly fails to establish probable cause. In case of doubt, the judge may order the prosecutor to present additional evidence within 5 days from notice, and must resolve the issue within 30 days from the filing of the complaint or information.
- Can a private citizen make an arrest?
- Yes, in the situations under Section 5. A private person making an arrest must inform the person of the intention to arrest and the cause, unless that person is committing an offence, is pursued immediately after it, has escaped, flees or forcibly resists.
- What if I was arrested without a warrant?
- You are delivered to the nearest police station or jail and proceeded against under Rule 112 Section 7, through inquest. You may ask for a preliminary investigation, but you must sign a waiver of Article 125 of the Revised Penal Code in the presence of counsel. Even with the waiver you may apply for bail, and the investigation must be terminated within 15 days from its inception.