Practice question
If a person under custodial investigation cannot afford counsel, what follows from Article III, Section 12(1)?
- The right disappears
- A police officer may act as counsel solely because of rank
- Poverty itself constitutes a waiver
- Any available nonlawyer automatically becomes counsel
- The person must be provided with counsel; inability to pay is not waiver
Legal references
- 1987 Constitution, Article III, Section 12(1) and (3), custodial rights and waiver: https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/3/353
- Republic Act No. 7438, Sections 2 and 3, rights and counseled written waivers: https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra1992/ra_7438_1992.html
- People v. Mahinay, G.R. No. 122485, February 1, 1999, main decision, meaningful warnings and written waiver in counsel's presence: https://lawphil.net/judjuris/juri1999/feb1999/gr_122485_1999.html
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