Dear PAO,

Is it true that police officers and members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines cannot be held liable for serious illegal detention? My neighbor always brags about his brothers who are members of the police and the armed forces. He says that he can have his brothers arrest and detain some of our other neighbors if he wants to and for as long as he wants, and his brothers cannot be charged for kidnapping because they are 'in the service.' Is this really how it is in our legal system, even if a person is not doing anything illegal, he can just be arrested, and the arresting officer cannot be held liable just because he is a law enforcer?