Commonwealth Act No. 181, enacted on November 13, 1936, establishes a Division of Investigation within the Department of Justice in the Philippines, tasked with aiding in crime detection and prosecution, as well as managing criminal identification records. The Chief and personnel of this division are appointed by the Secretary of Justice and are designated as peace officers, granting them the authority to serve warrants, make arrests, and conduct searches under legal provisions. A budget of seventy-five thousand pesos is allocated from the Philippine Treasury to support the division's operations, with expenditures overseen by the Secretary of Justice and the President. The Act took effect upon its approval.
November 13, 1936
COMMONWEALTH ACT NO. 181
AN ACT CREATING A DIVISION OF INVESTIGATION UNDER THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, DEFINING ITS POWERS AND DUTIES, AND APPROPRIATING THE NECESSARY FUNDS THEREFOR
SECTION 1. A Division of Investigation under the Department of Justice is hereby created. It shall be composed of such personnel as may be necessary, in the discretion of the Secretary of Justice, and its duties shall be to help in the detection and prosecution of crimes; to acquire, collect, classify and preserve criminal identification records; and to obtain information on all matters affecting the public interest. HaDEIc
SECTION 2. The Chief of the Division of Investigation and its subordinate personnel shall be appointed by the Secretary of Justice, who shall fix their compensation, subject to the approval of the President.
SECTION 3. The Chief of the Division of Investigation and such of his subordinate personnel as may be specifically designated by the Secretary of Justice in their respective appointments or commissions, shall be peace officers, and as such are empowered to serve warrants and subpoenas issued under the authority of the Government of the Commonwealth; to make searches and seizures under legal warrant for violations of the laws of the Philippines; to make arrests without warrant for a crime which has been committed in their presence, or within their view, or in cases where the person making the arrest has reasonable grounds to strongly believe that the person so arrested is guilty of such crime and where there is a likelihood of the person escaping before a legal warrant can be obtained for his arrest, but the person arrested shall be immediately taken before the competent court of justice.
SECTION 4. To carry out the purposes of this Act, there is hereby appropriated out of any funds in the Philippine Treasury, not otherwise appropriated, the sum of seventy-five thousand pesos or so much thereof as may be necessary, to be expended in the discretion of the Secretary of Justice, subject only to the supervision of the President.
SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
Approved, November 13, 1936.