What should I do if police try to pick me up in anti-tambay ops?

This week, thousands of people have been detained for loitering in the streets following President Rodrigo Duterte's order to crack down against "tambays."

The Commission on Human Rights has raised concern about the operations, saying they had no basis in law.

In the "Kapuso sa Batas" segment on Unang Hirit, lawyer Gaby Concepcion noted that vagrancy (bagansya) was decriminalized in 2012 via Republic Act No. 10158.

"[Vagrancy] is actually really vague at kaya nga matagal na talagang na-criticize ang batas na ito," Concepcion said.

• A vagrant in Article 202 of the Revised Penal Code was defined as:
• Any person having no apparent means of subsistence, who has the physical ability to work and who neglects to apply himself or herself to some lawful calling;
• Any person found loitering about public or semi-public buildings or places or trampling or wandering about the country or the streets without visible means of support;
• Any idle or dissolute person who ledges in houses of ill fame; ruffians or pimps and those who habitually associate with prostitutes; and
• Any person who, not being included in the provisions of other articles of this Code, shall be found loitering in any inhabited or uninhabited place belonging to another without any lawful or justifiable purpose.

The fourth one, being a "catch-all" for anyone idling on the streets, made it easy for authorities to have an excuse to unlawfully detain citizens.

"[Madalas] itong ginagamit ng mga pulis na source of harassment. Kung wala kang krimen [na ginaiawa] o batas na nilalabag, madadampot ka nang pulis on the ground of vagrancy," Concepcion said.

In an interview with GMA News Online, lawyer Jonas Azura said that "any public officer or employee, including police officers, who detains a person for 'vagrancy' is guilty of arbitrary detention as punished under Article 124 of the Revised Penal Code, which punishes detention 'without legal grounds.'"

"Other than charging the arresting officers with the crime of arbitrary detention, a writ of habeas corpus may also be filed against the officer concerned, as the writ includes all cases of illegal confinement or detention by which any person is deprived of his liberty," Azura added.

If you are being arrested or "invited" to the police station for vagrancy, Azura said that you are not required to comply and you may contact your lawyer or the Public Attorney's Office.

Right to due process

Every Filipino citizen is guaranteed the right to due process.

"Hindi ka puwedeng damputin ng mga alagad ng batas nang walang warrant of arrest, unless halimbawa, you are caught in the act of committing a crime," Concepcion said.

Concepcion and Azura both noted that there are places like Quezon City and Iligan that enforce their own Anti-Vagrancy Ordinances, along with a curfew and other provisions, i.e. apprehending people who are shirtless.

But even with ordinances against vagrancy and curfews or even with a verbal proclamation by the president, Concepcion said that the right to due process, the right to be secure, the right to travel, and the right to privacy are guaranteed by the Philippine constitution and should always be respected.

"Dapat allergic tayong lahat sa kahit anong lalabag sa ating karapatan [at] hindi bawal sa batas ang mamasyal at magpahangin," Concepcion said.

Arrest based on "the potential to commit a crime" sets a terrible precedent, said Concepcion, especially if these arrests are made based on a person's appearance. "Mahirap ang nahuhusgahan base sa aniyo lamang," she said. —JST, GMA News