MANILA — Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said law enforcement agencies and prosecutors blaming each other on bungled cases have to end, as government agencies vowed closer collaboration with each other.

Remulla, along with Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, National Bureau of Investigation Director Jaime Santiago, Philippine National Police Chief General Nicolas Torre, officials of the Philippine Coast Guard and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, led the official launch of the training and educational program for law enforcers and prosecutors on case build-up.

The training is part of the rollout of DOJ’s Department Circular No. 20 which mandates government prosecutors to take an active role in the investigation of crimes to achieve a reasonable certainty of conviction.

“Every time there is a case to be solved, a case to be prosecuted, each department blames the other, the police blames the fiscals, the fiscals blame the police,  this time it stops, this time we work together,” Remulla said.

DOJ Sec. Remulla noted that closer collaboration between the police and prosecutors also happened during the Estrada administration with the defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force or PAOCTF.

“The idea is simple, when we file a case we are ready for trial,” Remulla said.

DOJ Assistant Secretary Mico Clavano said around 1,800 law enforcers and prosecutors were already trained before the official launch of the program.

Clavano said closer coordination between prosecutors and law enforcers have been implemented on various cases such illegal drugs and illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations.

“Nakita naman ho natin sa mga POGO raids na kasama ang mga prosecutors at malaking bagay ho iyan dahil pagpasok pa lang sa isang POGO hub makita agad ng mga prosecutor na ito pwede itong ebidensya, yung CCTV kunin na natin, iyong mga testigo, iyong mga victims kunin na natin ang mga pinaka-credible dyan,” Clavano said.