Use of Force and Defensive Tactics
This domain tests proportionality: whether force was needed, whether it matched the threat, and whether it stopped when the threat stopped. Examiners love scenarios where the guard overreacts.
The legal basis
Self-defence under Article 11(1) of the Revised Penal Code requires three things together: unlawful aggression on the part of the victim, reasonable necessity of the means employed to prevent it, and lack of sufficient provocation from the defender. Defence of property (Art. 11(2)) is narrower - deadly force is not justified merely to protect property, because there is no unlawful aggression against a person.
The force continuum
Presence → verbal direction → soft empty-hand control → hard empty-hand → less-lethal (baton, OC spray) → lethal. You move up only in response to escalation and step down as soon as control is achieved.
Core rules
- Force must be necessary and reasonable, not retaliatory.
- De-escalate first where time and circumstances allow.
- Warn before less-lethal force where feasible.
- Stop force once resistance ceases. Restraint is not punishment.
- Never punish, slap, or coerce a restrained person - RA 9745 (Anti-Torture Act) may apply, plus physical-injury provisions.
- After handcuffing, place the person upright or in the recovery position; positional asphyxia after prone restraint has killed people.
- Handcuffs double-locked, checked for tightness, never attached to a moving vehicle or to a fixture beyond necessity.
Worked example
A drunk customer swings a bottle at the guard's head. The guard steps back, gives a verbal command, then uses a controlled takedown. Once the man is prone and compliant, the guard stops, handcuffs, sits him upright, and monitors breathing. Reasoning: aggression was unlawful and imminent, the takedown was proportionate, and force ceased when it was no longer required.
Traps that cost marks
Endorsing deadly force against a fleeing shoplifter; authorising a warning shot; continuing to strike a compliant person; treating verbal abuse as a justification for physical force.