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People vs. Alagaban y Bonafe

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE, VS. RUEL ALAGABAN Y BONAFE, ACCUSED-APPELLANT.

G.R. No. 244842 | 2023-01-16

D E C I S I O N
 
LEONEN, SAJ.:
 
A search warrant application should generally be filed in the court where criminal proceedings have been instituted. If not yet instituted, the application should be filed in a court with territorial jurisdiction over the place of the crime's commission or of the warrant's implementation. These rules pertain to venue, which is non-jurisdictional but crucial in the proper issuance of a search warrant.
 
The exception to these venue rules—that an application may be filed with a court lacking territorial jurisdiction over the crime's place of commission—has seen repeated...