Violation of Domicile

ART. 128.

Violation of domicile. - The penalty of prision correccional in its minimum period shall be imposed upon any public officer or employee who, not being authorized by judicial order, shall enter any dwelling against the will of the owner thereof, search papers or other effects found therein without the previous consent of such owner, or having surreptitiously entered said dwelling, and being required to leave the premises, shall refuse to do so.

If the offense be committed in the night-time, or if any papers or effects not constituting evidence of a crime be not returned immediately after the search made by the offender, the penalty shall be prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods.

ELEMENTS:
1. That the offender is a public officer or employee;
2. That he is not authorized by judicial order to enter the dwelling and/or to make a search therein for papers or other effects; and
3. That he commits any of the following acts:
a. entering any dwelling against the will of the owner thereof;
b. searching papers or other effects found therein without the previous consent of such owner;
c. refusing to leave the premises, after having surreptitiously entered said dwelling and after having been required to leave the same.

SPECIAL AGGRAVATING CIRCUMSTANCES:
1. nighttime
2. papers or effects not constituting evidence of a crime are not returned immediately

NOTES:

The judicial order is the search warrant.

If the offender who enters the dwelling against the will of the owner thereof is a private individual, the crime committed is trespass to dwelling (Art 280).

When a public officer searched a person “outside his dwelling” without a search warrant and such person is not legally arrested for an offense, the crime committed by the public officer is either:
- grave coercion if violence or intimidation is used (Art 286), or
- unjust vexation if there is no violence or intimidation (Art. 287)

Public officer without a search warrant cannot lawfully enter the dwelling against the will of the owner, even if he knew that someone in that dwelling is in unlawful possession of opium.

Under RULE 113 OF THE REVISED RULES OF COURT a public officer, who breaks into the premise, incurs no liability WHEN a person to be arrested enters said premise and closes it thereafter.
- The public officer should have first given notice of an arrest.

According to People vs. Doria (1999) and People vs. Elamparo (2000), the following are the accepted exceptions to the warrant requirement:
- Search incidental to an arrest;
-   Search of moving vehicles;
-  Evidence in plain view;
-  Customs searches; AND
-  Consented warrantless search.

Stop and frisk is no longer included.

“Against the will” means that the offender ignored the prohibition of the owner which may be express or implied as when the door is closed even though not locked (Boado, Comprehensive Reviewer in Criminal Law)

Bar Exam Question (2002)

Violation of Domicile vs Trespass to Dwelling (2002)

What is the difference between violation of domicile and trespass to dwelling? 

Suggested Answer:

The differences between violation of domicile and trespass to dwelling are;
1. The offender in violation of domicile is a public officer acting under color of authority; in trespass to dwelling, the offender is a private person or public officer acting in a private capacity.
2. Violation of domicile is committed in 3 different ways:

(1) by entering the dwelling of another against the will of the latter;
(2) searching papers and other effects inside the dwelling without the previous consent of the owner; or
(3) refusing to leave the premises which he entered surreptitiously, after being required to leave the premises.

3. Trespass to dwelling is committed only in one way; that is, by entering the dwelling of another against the express or implied will of the latter.