SEC. 11. Receipt for the property seized. The officer seizing the property under the warrant must give a detailed receipt for the same to the lawful occupant of the premises in whose presence the search and seizure were made, or in the absence of such occupant, must, in the presence of at least two witnesses of sufficient age and discretion residing in the same locality, leave a receipt in the place in which he found the seized property. (Rule 126, Rules of Criminal Procedure)


The detailed receipt of the inventory must be given to the lawful occupant 

The detailed receipt of the inventory must be given to the lawful occupant. In this case, however, PO3 Petallar admitted that the inventory receipt was given to the barangay tanod despite the presence of the appellant and her grandmother which is a violation of the rule. (People vs. Del Castillo, G.R. No. 153254. September 30, 2004)


It is the police officers who confiscated the property who should sign the detailed receipt. Inventory Receipt signed by the suspect is inadmissible for being violative of his custodial right to remain silent

● In People vs. Policarpio, this Court held that such practice of inducing suspects to sign receipts for property allegedly confiscated from their possession is unusual and violative of the constitutional right to remain silent, viz:

What the records show is that appellant was informed of his constitutional right to be silent and that he may refuse to give a statement which may be used against him, that is why he refused to give a written statement unless it is made in the presence of his lawyer as shown by the paper he signed to this effect. However, he was made to acknowledge that the six (6) small plastic bags of dried marijuana leaves were confiscated from him by signing a receipt and to sign a receipt for the P20.00 bill as purchase price of the dried marijuana leaves he sold to Pat. Mangila.

Obviously the appellant was the victim of a clever ruse to make him sign these alleged receipts which in effect are extra-judicial confessions of the commission of the offense. Indeed it is unusual for appellant to be made to sign receipts for what were taken from him. It is the police officers who confiscated the same who should have signed such receipts. No doubt this is a violation of the constitutional right of the appellant to remain silent whereby he was made to admit the commission of the offense without informing him of his right. Such a confession obtained in violation of the Constitution is inadmissible in evidence.

The Inventory Receipt signed by appellant is thus not only inadmissible for being violative of appellants custodial right to remain silent; it is also an indicium of the irregularity in the manner by which the raiding team conducted the search of appellants residence.

Assuming arguendo that appellant did waive her right to counsel, such waiver must be voluntary, knowing and intelligent. To insure that a waiver is voluntary and intelligent, the Constitution requires that for the right to counsel to be waived, the waiver must be in writing and in the presence of the counsel of the accused. There is no such written waiver in this case, much less was any waiver made in the presence of the counsel since there was no counsel at the time appellant signed the receipt. Clearly, appellant affixed her signature in the inventory receipt without the assistance of counsel which is a violation of her right under the Constitution. (People vs. Del Castillo)

● While PO3 Petallar testified that appellant was read her constitutional right, it was not clearly shown that she was informed of her right not to sign the receipt and that it can be used as an evidence against her. If appellant was indeed informed of her constitutional right, it is unusual for her to sign the receipt acknowledging ownership of the seized items without the assistance of counsel considering that she wanted to get a lawyer. (People vs. Del Castillo)