Who may organize an agency
- Section 4 allows any Filipino citizen, or a corporation, partnership, or association one hundred percent owned and controlled by Filipino citizens, to organize a security, watchman, or detective agency.
- Section 4 requires the agency operator or manager to be at least twenty-three years of age, a high school graduate, of good moral character, with no previous record of any conviction of a criminal offense involving moral turpitude, and not suffering from these disqualifications:
- Section 4(1) dishonorable discharge or separation from the Armed Forces of the Philippines;
- Section 4(2) mental incompetence;
- Section 4(3) addiction to narcotic drugs; and
- Section 4(4) habitual drunkenness.
- Section 4 prohibits elective or appointive government officials and government employees involved in implementation and enforcement from holding any interest, directly or indirectly, in any security guard, watchman, or private detective agency.
Hiring and employment qualifications
- Section 5 provides that no person shall be employed as a security guard or watchman or private detective unless the person is:
- (a) a Filipino citizen;
- (b) a high school graduate;
- (c) physically and mentally fit;
- (d) not less than 21 nor more than 50 years of age;
- (e) at least 5 feet and 4 inches in height; and
- (f) free from the disqualifications in Section 4.
- Section 5 exempts foreigners already employed as watchmen or security guards prior to the approval of Republic Act No. 5487 from the listed requirements.
- Section 5 directs that veterans shall be given priority in employment as security guard, watchman, or private detective.
- Section 5 bars employment of any person convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude as security guard, watchman, or private detective.
Licensing requirement and application
- Section 6 prohibits any person from engaging in the business of or acting as a private detective or detective agency, or engaging in the occupation of watchmen or watchman’s agency, without first obtaining the necessary permit from the Chief, Philippine Constabulary.
- Section 6 makes the Chief, Philippine Constabulary’s permit an approved prerequisite for obtaining a license or license certificate.
- Section 6 grants existing private detective, watchman, or security guard agencies one (1) year from the approval of the Act to secure the required license.
- Section 6 requires existing agencies and any new agency applying for a license to certify under oath that their private detectives, watchmen, or security guards have received appropriate training from:
- the Philippine Constabulary;
- the National Bureau of Investigation;
- a local police department; or
- any other public or private institution duly recognized by government to conduct police training.
- Section 7 requires license applications to be in writing and filed with the Chief, Philippine Constabulary.
- Section 7 requires the application to state the applicant’s full name, age, civil status, residence, and location of business, and, if the applicant is a corporation/association/partnership, to submit a copy of the SEC certificate of registration together with by-laws and articles of incorporation, with the Bureau of Commerce.
Fees, bonds, and license handling
- Section 8 requires issuance of a permit for license upon compliance with all requisites, by the Chief of the Philippine Constabulary or a duly authorized representative, and registration in the office.
- Section 8 sets the national and local license fees as follows:
- PHP 100.00 per annum as national license fee;
- PHP 50.00 per annum as municipal license fee in any city where the agency operates, payable to the City treasurer concerned; and
- PHP 25.00 per annum as municipal license fee for any municipality where it operates, payable to the municipal treasurer concerned.
- Section 8 requires private detective and watchman agencies, in addition to the foregoing, to pay a fixed Internal Revenue Tax of PHP 100.00 per annum in lieu of percentage taxes.
- Section 8 requires individual private detectives and/or watchmen to pay Mayor’s Permit, Health and/or Sanitary fee an amount not exceeding PHP 3.00 per annum, and requires the agency to pay not exceeding PHP 10.00 for Mayor’s Permit and Health and/or sanitary fees.
- Section 8 requires an appointment over the signature of the Chief (or authorized representative) with the seal of the office for each license and appointment, and imposes PHP 1.00 per license/appointment.
- Section 8 requires a bond from a competent or reputable surety or fidelity or insurance company accredited by the Insurance Commissioner in an amount not less than PHP 5,000 nor more than PHP 10,000, at the discretion of the Chief, Philippine Constabulary, answering for valid and legal claims against the agency by its clients or employees.
- Section 8 provides that licenses issued in the province by an authorized representative of the Chief of Constabulary are subject to review by the Chief of Constabulary.
- Section 10 requires the license to be displayed at all times in a conspicuous and suitable place in the agency’s office or headquarters, and exhibited upon request of any person whose jurisdiction relates to the business or employees, or upon request of the Chief of the Philippine Constabulary or a duly authorized representative, or a peace officer.
- Section 9 provides that every person operating, managing, directing, or conducting a licensed private detective or watchmen agency is considered licensed, and that no person shall be employed or used in private detective work unless the person is a licensed private detective or watchman.
- Section 9 clarifies that the licensing requirement does not apply to persons employed solely for clerical or manual work.
Agency operations, limits, and supervision
- Section 11 provides that, upon approval of the Act, the Philippine Constabulary exercises general supervision over the operation of all private detective and watchman or security guard agencies.
- Section 12 authorizes city or municipal mayors, in emergencies, disasters, or calamities, to muster or incorporate the services and duly licensed personnel of the nearest agency to help maintain peace and order and to prevent or apprehend law violators and preserve life and property.
- Section 12 requires deputized private detectives, watchmen, or security guards, during fire, inundation, earthquakes, riots, or other emergencies, to take direct orders from the Chief of Police for the duration of the emergency.
- Section 16(1) limits agency employment by location:
- Section 16(1)(a) in the City of Manila and suburbs: not more than 1,000 watchmen or security guards;
- Section 16(1)(b) in other cities and first class municipalities: not more than 500; and
- Section 16(1)(c) in municipalities other than first class: not more than 200.
- Section 16(2) prohibits any person, corporation, partnership, or association from organizing more than one agency in any one city or municipality.
- Section 16(3) prohibits agencies from offering, rendering, or accepting services to gambling dens or other illegal enterprises.
- Section 16(3) provides that an agency’s security service shall not go beyond the whole compound or property of the person or establishment requesting security service, except when escorting big amounts of cash.
- Section 15 requires watchmen or security guards to receive a salary not lower than that prescribed in the Minimum Wage Law.
Firearms, uniforms, and governing rules
- Section 13 allows a watchman or security agency to possess firearms only after satisfactorily passing requirements prescribed by the Chief, Philippine Constabulary, for possession of any caliber not higher than 45 caliber, with a maximum of one firearm for every two watchman or security guards in its employ.
- Section 13 allows not more than one riot gun or shotgun for adequate security when circumstances so demand.
- Section 13 requires that the firearms be carried by the watchman or security guard only during the tour of duty, in proper uniform, within the compound of the establishment, except when escorting big amounts of cash or valuables in and out of the compound.
- Section 14 requires that the uniform of watchman or security guard, and uniforms of those organized, maintained, or employed by government or government-owned and/or controlled corporations and entities, must be different from the uniform worn and prescribed for members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the City and Municipal Police Force.
- Section 14 authorizes the Chief, Philippine Constabulary, through a duly authorized representative, to prescribe the uniform or ornaments, equipment, and paraphernalia worn by security guards and watchmen throughout the Philippines.
- Section 17 authorizes the Chief of the Philippine Constabulary, in consultation with the Philippine Association of Detective and Protective Agency Operators, Incorporated, and subject to existing laws, to issue rules and regulations necessary to carry out the purpose of the Act.
Penalties and cancellation consequences
- Section 18 provides that any violation of the Act or any rule or regulation issued under it is punishable by: suspension, or a fine not exceeding PHP 200.00, or cancellation of the person’s or entity’s licenses to operate, conduct, direct, or manage a private detective, watchman, or security guard agency and all its members, at the discretion of the court.
- Section 18 provides that the penalty includes forfeiture of the bond filed with the Philippine Constabulary.
- Section 18 provides that if the violation is committed by the persons mentioned under paragraph two, Section 4, the penalty is imprisonment ranging from one to four years and a fine ranging from one to four thousand pesos, at the discretion of the court.
Repeal and effectivity
- Section 19 repeals all laws, rules, resolutions, municipal ordinances, regulations, and administrative orders that are contrary or inconsistent with the provisions of Republic Act No. 5487.
- Section 20 provides that the Act takes effect upon approval.
- Republic Act No. 5487 was approved June 21, 1969, and it governs private detective and watchman or security guard agencies under its terms.