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DOJ to probe 'negligence,' 'ignorance' of prosecution in bungled P1B drug case

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Mike Navallo, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday said it will probe the “negligence” and “ignorance” flagged by the Supreme Court in the prosecution of a billion-peso drug case that led to the acquittal of all 6 accused, alleged to be members of a drug syndicate.Speaking through Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, the high court acquitted 2 of the accused due to the law enforcers’ non-compliance with the chain of custody rule under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 (RA 9165) which requires that every link in the custody of illegal drugs seized during an operation be documented.The SC scored the “ignorance” of the law enforcement agents in complying with section 21 of RA 9165, but did not stop there.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/03/23/sc-chastises-cops-prosecutors-court-for-bungling-p1-b-drug-case">SC chastises cops, prosecutors, court for bungling P1-B drug case that led to acquittals of 5 Chinese, 1 Filipino</a></li></ul>“This ignorance extends to the prosecution because the records are woefully bereft of any attempt on its part to even invoke justifiable circumstances to excuse the failure of the law enforcement agents to even attempt to comply with the mandatory requirements of Sec. 21 of R.A. No. 9165. The utter disregard for the law demonstrated by these actors is reprehensible,” it said.“The law enforcement agents and the prosecution must exercise more prudence and care in their compliance with the requirements of Sec. 21 of R.A. No. 9165,” it added.It also questioned why the regional trial court imposed a lower penalty of up to 14 years and 8 months in prison when the law imposes life imprisonment for possession of large volumes of illegal drugs.It again took a swipe at the prosecution.“Even the prosecution&#x27;s failure to appeal the incorrect penalty imposed on Willie Gan astounds the Court. Truly, the acquittal in the instant case is ordained by the multiple errors, whether through negligence or misfeasance, committed by the prosecution, the defense, and the trial court,” it said.In a press conference Tuesday, DOJ spokesperson Asec. Mico Clavano said they will look into the concerns raised by the high court.“The decision was received by the office today. We will thoroughly study the decision and we will probe kung anong nangyari doon sa ano dahil it is incumbent sa prosecutor na i-appeal yung ganung irregularity. So kung may makita siyang mali doon sa decision, especially na ang trabaho po ng prosecutor ay i-convict doon sa tamang penalty kung ang na-rule ng judge ay mas mababa doon sa inexpect nya o dun sa tama, then he is expected to appeal the decision,” he said.“So we will have to wait and see kung ano yung nangyari dito. Syempre kailangan nating alamin from the side of the prosecutor handling this case kung ano talaga ang nangyari sa kaso na ito,” he added.The case stemmed from a November 2003 successive operation which led to the recovery of 9,384.7 grams of shabu delivered through a car and illegal possession of 119.080 kg of shabu and 111.2 kg of chloromethamphetamine hydrochloride found in a search in a warehouse in Valenzuela.But because of issues surrounding the handling of the drugs confiscated, all 6 accused were eventually acquitted — 4 by the regional trial court first then the remaining 2 by the Supreme Court.Clavano acknowledged compliance with the strict requirements of the chain of custody rule is a big problem for law enforcers.“Problema ho ito at alam ho natin ito. Inidentify na po ni Secretary Remulla to noong start pa lang ng term niya. Nakita niya na marami po tayong cases na dini-dismiss dahil sa technicalities dahil sa paglabag ng proseso,” he said.“Dahil po yung mga law enforcement agents natin, doon sa mismong scene of the crime, minsan nagmamadali o hindi nila nakikita yung value ng ibang mga evidence or yung proseso. These are things na kailangang ayusin,” he explained.The chain of custody requirement was envisioned to prevent abuses in drug operations to ensure that the drugs seized are the same ones that would later on be presented in court.“The chain of custody has always been, and I think will be something that the law enforcement agencies will have to respect and comply with so that the integrity of the cases are kept,” Clavano said.“There’s usually no exception except this one case, Nepomuceno, which says, that if the preservation of the evidence is kept, then it provides for an exception to the general rule. But we don’t want to rely on that anymore,” he continued.Clavano touted a recent DOJ department circular that required prosecutors to take a more active role in case buildup by establishing closer coordination with law enforcers.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/04/23/doj-requires-prosecutors-to-take-active-role-in-case-build-up">New DOJ circular requires prosecutors to take &#x27;active role&#x27; in case build-up</a></li></ul>Under Department Circular 20, prosecutors are required to provide legal guidance to law enforcers in all planned operations like buy-bust, controlled delivery operation, entrapment and application for search warrant from the inception until the termination of the case.They are also mandated to be available for consultation regarding the proper collection and preservation of evidence.“I think it’s just a matter of guidance from our prosecutors kasi sila po yung may backgtound sa law. May legal background po yung mga prosecutors natin so pag sumama ang mga prosecutors sa mga law enforcers natin, mas lalo silang magiging mindful doon sa proseso. Mas malalaman nila na kailangan nilang sumunod sa bawat hakbang no ng proseso ng chain of custody,” the Justice spokesperson said.The DOJ started training Philippine National Police officers at the National Capital Region last week and is expected to go around the country for more symposiums.Clavano said he hopes the training and the new setup under DC 20 will eventually lead to a higher conviction rate and avoid acquittals.The PNP reported last week only a 21.4% conviction rate in criminal cases filed in court. Most of these dismissals are due to non-compliance with the chain of custody rule.“In the coming days and months dito sa training natin, ay siguro matutunan na rin ng mga law enforcement agencies ang kahalagahan nitong chain of custody para wala nang ma-aacquit nang basta-basta. Lahat ng mga kasong ifa-file natin, will yield to convictions,” Clavano said.“So now, especially with the pronouncement of the Supreme Court, it’s a reminder to us and it’s a motivation also for the Department of Justice to comply further with the chain of custody, which from the very beginning is something that we put pressure on ourselves to comply with,” he added.

The Department of Justice will probe the supposed negligence flagged by the Supreme Court in the prosecution of a billion-peso drug case.

DOJ to probe 'negligence,' 'ignorance' of prosecution in bungled P1B drug case

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DOJ to probe 'negligence,' 'ignorance' of prosecution in bungled P1B drug case

Mike Navallo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 04, 2023 06:42 PM PHT

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