THE National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) and the National Prosecution Service of the Department of Justice (DOJ) have started a series of talks aimed at ensuring their solid partnership to improve the police force’s conviction rate specifically when it comes to violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

NCRPO director, Brigadier General Jonnel C. Estomo initiated the talks between the NCRPO and Metro Manila prosecutors amid the big need to provide real justice to the people.

Officials have agreed that the absence of reliable police witnesses, the dearth of public prosecutors and public attorneys and the weak presentation of evidence by the prosecution in relation to the rules on chain of custody and inventory of seized drugs and paraphernalia are the major reasons behind the delayed ruling or dismissal of RA 9165 cases in the metropolis and the rest of the country.

Last week, the NCRPO chief emphasized that the prosecution service, being the 2nd pillar in the country’s criminal justice system plays an unquestionable role in achieving genuine justice towards the attainment of a safe and peaceful community.

“In as much as the other pillars are equally important in the whole process, law enforcement and prosecution must be in tandem in initiating an air-tight/solid legal action that guarantees an irrefutable conviction,” Brig. Gen. Estomo said.

Brig. Gen. Estomo and Prosecutor General Benedicto A. Malcontento spearheaded the dialogue held at the NCRPO Hinirang Multi-Purpose Hall in Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig City.

Eighteen Chief City Prosecutors in Metro Manila and all five NCRPO Deputy District Directors for Operations and their Assistant Chiefs of Police for Operations attended the meeting.

The dialogue centered on issues concerning complaints pending before the prosecutor’s offices, cases of suspects being released for further investigation (RFI) and other related topics in order to raise the quality of referred complaints, preparation of pieces of evidence and documentation as well as the appointment of top-caliber police investigators.

Brig. Gen. Estomo said these will translate into the an ideal brand of justice for victims and aggrieved parties in any crime taking place in the metropolis.

Atty. Alcontento said the dialogue focused on fostering a positive and fruitful connection between the prosecutors and law enforcement personnel.

“Ang trabaho namin ay iprosecute ang kriminal, so dapat magsama kami at mag-unite para umpisa pa lang ng kaso ay magkatulong na kami at mapaghandaan ang trial. It’s more on assistance with each other,” he said.

“ Itong nangyaring ito ay first time in history, na yung NCRPO saka yung lahat ng ating heads of offices natin ng piskal sa buong NCR kasama na po ang inyong lingkod na prosecutor general ay nandito sa isang lugar para yung purpose ng unity at pagpoprosecute ng criminal cases ay ma-achieve nating lahat,” the DOJ Prosecutor General added.

NCRPO Deputy Director for Operations, Brig. Gen. Jack L. Wanky described the dialogue initiated by Estomo as a success.

“It was indeed a very fruitful activity. We agreed with the prosecutors that they will be conducting continuing legal education to our policemen, upang sa gayon ay matututunan ng ating mga investigators kung paano ang paglatag ng airtight na kaso at maiiwasan na ma RFI,” the official said.

“Para kapag nagfile tayo or nag-inquest tayo sa piskalya sure ball na tayo na hindi na ibabalik sa atin. Hindi na masasayang yung effort ng ating investigators at mga kapulisan. At the same time hindi na din masasayang yung resources ng ating gobyerno,” he added.

Brig. Gen. Estomo expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the members of NPS -DOJ and to the City Chiefs Prosecutors of Manila for finding time to attend the dialog inside Camp Bagong Diwa.

“I am thankful that with your cooperation and support, we will be able to come up with improved strategies in the conduct of our mandate to timely and properly present suspects before your office for filing of appropriate complaints. We want to hold this regularly. There is a lot more to improve. But we shall ceaselessly carry on in the continuing pursuit of providing quality and dependable service to the people we ought to serve and protect,” the NCRPO chief said.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, General Rodolfo S. Azurin Jr. earlier said they are strengthening their partnership with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the DOJ in order to win the government’s war on drugs and further improve their conviction rate when it comes to violation of RA 9165 offenses.

Gen. Azurin has also welcomed a move by Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin ‘Benhur’ C. Abalos Jr. and Department of Justice (DOJ) Sec. Jesus Crispin ‘Boying’ C. Remulla to help them ensure more court victories for the police force specifically when it comes to prosecuting RA 9165 cases.

Sec. Abalos said he wants some matters addressed jointly by the DILG and the DOJ including concerns over the presence of RA 9165 cases being dismissed by the court due to mere technicalities such as lack of required witnesses during the on-site inventory of confiscated drugs.

A former long-time Mandaluyong City mayor, Abalos had said he was also considering a measure that will require local government units to assign their employees who will serve as ‘dedicated witnesses-representatives’ at DOJ offices during anti-illegal drug operations.

On orders of Azurin, all 17 Police Regional Offices have been reviewing their conviction rate on RA 9165 cases amid a significant low conviction rate attributed to some technicalities. Some of these cases were either dismissed or the suspects were ordered released for further investigation by the prosecutor’s office.

The PNP Drug Enforcement Group (PNP-DEG) headed by Brig. Gen Narciso D. Domingo however said that last year, they achieved a 69.57 percent conviction rate which he attributed to the filing of airtight cases against arrested drug personalities and their no-nonsense court monitoring activities.

The official added during the period, 423 court hearings were attended by 163 PNP-DEG personnel which greatly contributed to the successful resolution of cases.

The PNP-DEG said that among the arrested drug traffickers they recently convicted were Lonely Arroza, Jesrell Arador, Diane Irene Cambalicer, Louie Mark Cuerdo and Angelo Buenaventura who were all found guilty beyond reasonable doubt by different regional trial courts for sale and possession of prohibited drugs under RA 9165.

The five were all sentenced to life in prison and ordered to pay fines ranging from P500,000 to as much as P1 million.

The PDEA’s case monitoring system reported 405,062 drug cases filed in court from Calendar Year 2002 up to 2022. These cases include those filed by PDEA as well as other law enforcement agencies such as the PNP and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

Twenty-eight percent or 114,610 of these 405,062 drug cases filed in court have been resolved or have been handed out decisions by the judiciary. From 2020 up until the present alone, the PDEA accounted for 1,668 of these resolved cases.

PDEA chair, Director General Wilkins M. Villanueva said 60.43 percent of these cases have been meted with convictions, 26.98 percent were acquitted and 12.59 percent of the cases were dismissed.

The outgoing PDEA chief noted that the conviction rates increased with the introduction of plea bargaining in drug cases in 2017.