A checkpoint is something that motorists have to contend with. Only recently, a “concerned Filipino citizen” raised some issues with respect to PNP/AFP checkpoints. The issues raised are valid, as the Supreme Court itself noted that it “has become aware of how some checkpoints have been used as points of thievery and extortion practiced upon innocent civilians. Even the increased prices of foodstuffs coming from the provinces, entering the Metro Manila area and other urban centers, are largely blamed on the checkpoints, because the men manning them have reportedly become “experts” in mulcting travelling traders. This, of course, is a national tragedy.”
Still, the power of the authorities to install checkpoints is conceded. Military or police checkpoints are not illegal per se, as long as the vehicle is neither searched nor its occupants subjected to body search, and the inspection of the vehicle is merely visual. This is part of the people’s right to privacy, as well as against unreasonable search and seizure (more discussion here). The search which is limited to routine checks — visual inspection or flashing a light inside the car, without the occupants being subjected to physical or body searches. In other words, in the absence of probable cause, the authorities:
(a) cannot compel the passengers to step out of the car;
(b) cannot conduct bodily searches; and
(c) cannot compel the motorist to open the trunk or glove compartment of the car, or any package contained therein.
A search of the luggage inside the vehicle would require the existence of probable cause. On the other hand, no probable cause is required if the accused voluntarily opens the trunk and allows the search, as waiver of one’s right against unreasonable search and seizures is one of the exceptions noted above.
The negative impressions on checkpoints, however, should not be an excuse to be rude to the officers manning them. If I’m flagged down at a check point, I usually roll down the driver’s window halfway, address the officer in a courteous manner, then mentally note his name plate.
What is your recourse in case of abuse? In the words of the Supreme Court: “where abuse marks the operation of a checkpoint, the citizen is not helpless. For the military is not above but subject to the law. And the courts exist to see that the law is supreme. Soldiers, including those who man checkpoints, who abuse their authority act beyond the scope of their authority and are, therefore, liable criminally and civilly for their abusive acts. This tenet should be ingrained in the soldiery in the clearest of terms by higher military authorities.”
