Appellant's arrest being lawful, the search and seizure made incident thereto is likewise valid, albeit conducted without a warrant. In the case of People vs. Acol, where the unlicensed firearms were found when the police team apprehended the accused for robbery and not for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, this Court held that the unlicensed firearms may be seized without the necessity of obtaining a search warrant. Expounding thereon, it stated that: '''x x x The illegality of the search is independent from the illegal possession of prohibited arms. The illegality of the search did not make a legal an illegal possession of firearms. When, in pursuing an illegal action or in the commission of a criminal offense, the offending police officers should happen to discover a criminal offense being committed by any person, they are not precluded from performing their duties as police officers for the apprehension of the guilty and the taking of the corpus delicti. [G.R. No. 110569. December 9, 1996]
