THE Philippine National Police(PNP) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) are strengthening their case monitoring effort thru their respective ‘Project Court Watch’ in order to further improve their drug conviction rate, the Journal Group was told.

“We’re monitoring the progress of all drug cases being filed by our men in the field as part of our effort to increase our conviction rate,” said PNP chief, General Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar.

The top cop said they are also very strict when it comes to attendance of policemen-witnesses in drug cases and assured the public that members of the PNP who ‘bungle’ a drug case by being absent in court face stiff sanctions including dismissal from the police force.

The PNP Drug Enforcement Group (PNP-DEG) has a 74.95 percent drug conviction rate although Gen. Eleazar said the same cannot be said when it comes to other PNP anti-narcotics units.

“Sa whole of the PNP, tingin ko hindi ganun kataas pero kaya nga meron tayong committee sa dismissed drug cases kasi ang intention natin is mapataas ang ating drug conviction. Sinisiguro natin na nandiyan lahat ng policies natin when it comes to lapses resulting in the dismissal of drug cases,” Gen. Eleazar said.

The PNP chief earlier vowed to further improve the conviction rate of the national police force when it comes to violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

To do it, he ordered all concerned police commanders to review their dismissed RA 9165 cases thru their respective Committees on Dismissed Drug Cases. The order is not actually new since it has always been a PNP policy but Gen. Eleazar said they need to actually evaluate the drug cases they lost particularly during since 2016, the start of the Duterte presidency.

Gen. Eleazar said they are always holding their officers and men on the ground accountable for their failure to observe Police Operational Procedures specifically when it comes to anti-drug operations, resulting in a number of RA 9165 cases being dismissed outright by prosecutors or drug offenders going free after regional trial courts acquitted them on mere technicalities.

At present, major drug cases filed by the PNP Drug Enforcement Group against arrested drug lords and their ilk are yet to be resolved. However, the Unit now headed by Brigadier Gen. Remus B. Medina recorded a 74.57 percent conviction rate this year and is hoping to further exceed their conviction rate by seeing to it that arrested drug lords will rot to jail.

PDEA HAS 80 PERCENT CONVICTION RATE

PDEA chair, Director General Wilkins M. Villanueva said they have achieved an 80 percent drug conviction rate as a result of their much-improved case monitoring system in which PDEA operatives monitor cases for violation of RA 9165 filed by their men in different regional trial courts and the prosecutor’s office nationwide.

The PDEA’s high conviction rate has been attributed to the active participation of PDEA lawyers in pre-trial proceedings of PDEA initiated drug cases, through the issuance of PDEA Guidelines in the Active Participation of PDEA Attorney’s in Pre-trial Proceedings and Trial of PDEA-Initiated Drug Case.

“With this guidelines, all lawyers assigned in the Legal and Prosecution Service have been authorized to appear in court on behalf of the agency for the purpose of availing pre-trial measures and remedies, as well as actively participating in the pre-trial proper on drug cases,” Villanueva pointed out.

PDEA officials said that before, they have recorded a considerable number of RA 9165 cases which were dismissed by the prosecutor’s office or trial courts or were indeterminately delayed because of the failure or negligence of some prosecutors to take advantage and make use of pre-trial measures and remedies under the rules of court and other relevant issuances.

Villanueva also mentioned the PDEA Project Court Watch as a major contributory factor to their high conviction rate. The project ensures that Case Monitors assigned in the different PDEA regional offices will serve as liaison officers to the courts and prosecution offices to monitor the status and progress of the drug cases filed.

The PDEA also regularly conducts moot court sessions to personnel appearing as witnesses in courts in order to instill on them the confidence and competence they need during actual court proceedings.

Villanueva said that another measure of the success of their anti-drug campaign is the filing of airtight RA 9165 cases with the end in view of sending captured drug lords and their ilk to jail for life.

“We in the PDEA have officers assigned to monitor every RA 9165 case filed by our operational units. These personnel are out there in the court doing their job right from the start of the filing of the case and its entire pendency,” he said.

Villanueva said it’s a major reason why they have increased their drug conviction rate. “Nabawasan ang mga witnesses na hindi umaattend ng bista, ng court hearings. We also send a report to the PNP regarding the presence of PNP personnel na hindi uma-attend ng court hearings despite repeated summons,” he added.

“Eighty percent ang conviction rate namin as of now. Mahirap paniwalaan but totoo,” he said while adding that automatic dismissal from the Agency faces a PDEA agent who will be found ‘bungling’ a drug case.