I hope and pray that the young Marcos administration will really succeed in making genuine reforms in the country’s justice system which will benefit all Filipinos, especially the poor as the government continues to fight corruption and help bring real justice to the people.

When he spoke during the 70th founding anniversary of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group headed by Brigadier General Bong Caramat at Camp Crame, Justice Secretary Boying Remulla caught the attention of the huge audience as he enumerated their effort to make significant reforms in all agencies under the DOJ.

The official said the Anti-Money Laundering Council will continue to be a very important body in fighting ‘criminals who masqueraded as legitimate people.’ On the other hand, he said they are pouring all efforts to address what has been described as ‘institutional corruption’ at the Bureau of Correction.

Sec. Remulla said that the BuCor has gained notoriety for corruption as it manages the New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa City which he described as the ‘biggest mega prison in the world’ with over 50,000 prisoners prompting them to draft a plan to have a regional prison system in which convicted felons in a region would serve their time in a regional prison facility where they can be easily visited by their families.

The official revealed that shortly after he got the top DOJ post, he was ‘flooded’ by requests from some people wanting to corner the catering business in Bilibid Prisons where each inmate should be given three meals a day worth P70.

Remulla said that a corrupt caterer, in connivance with corrupt officials could reduce the daily prisoner food allowance to P35, the balance automatically going to some people’s pockets. The amount is staggering since prisoners are being fed 365 days a year.

The DOJ chief said it is the main reason why prisoners depend on their families to have a good meal although corrupt guards also get their share from the money sent by the prisoner’s relatives thru G-Cash. He said that it is a main reason why malnutrition is a common condition in the NBP and other penal colonies in the country as evidenced by the looks and subsequent medical examination of inmates recently given presidential pardon.

Sec. Remulla said that medical findings also showed that majority of the at least 170 NBP inmates whose bodies were found lying in a Muntinlupa funeral parlor were afflicted by tuberculosis or cancer. “This is why we want to reform our corrections system and help prevent prisoners from further suffering from inhumane condition while in jail,” he said.

The DOJ chief said that there is already ‘very deep corruption’ in the BuCor which the PBBM administration wants to fully address. He said that the PNP will play a major role in addressing the problem, foremost of which is going the real criminals and ensuring that only the guilty ones are put in jail, not arresting a person for playing ‘cara y cruz’ on a Monday and later booking him for a drug offense the next day.

He also cited corruption in the Bureau of Immigration specifically the involvement of some of its personnel in the so-called ‘pastilyas’ or human trafficking activities and in turning foreign fugitives like the four Japanese nationals into milking cows.

Sec. Remulla said that the Japanese Embassy requested the previous administration to deport the four three years ago but their appeal fell on deaf ears. To prevent their deportation, lawyers of the Japanese even paved the way for the filing of criminal charges against their clients to ensure they won’t be able to leave Manila until their cases are heard with finality.

Last week, Immigration and NCRPO agents searched the BI jail in Camp Bagong Diwa and discovered that the jailed Japanese nationals were using 24 mobile phones to defraud more victims in Japan. All four have been deported this week to answer for their crimes in Japan after the DOJ made representations with the court to withdraw the charges previously filed against the accused.

Sec. Remulla also mentioned the following: the need to address corruption in the Land Registration Authority; the need for the Public Attorney’s Office which he described as the ‘biggest law firm’ in the country to refrain from prosecuting criminal offenders and instead concentrate their efforts in defending destitute people; the need for the Office of the Solicitor General to watch the Presidential Commission on Good Government and ensure that ill-gotten wealth acquired by people they are investigating will go to the government coffers and not in the pockets of a very few directors.

The brilliant pride of Cavite as introduced by PNP Deputy Chief for Administration, Lieutenant General Rhodel Sermonia, said they are hell-bent on improving the government’s conviction rate and for a start, has partnered with the Supreme Court in paving the way for the amendment of the conduct of a Preliminary Investigation or PI under the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedures.

Remulla particularly cited Rule 112 on PI. According to the official, they are in constant dialogue with the High Tribunal and so far have reached an agreement in which the DOJ will lead efforts to amend Rule 112.

Sec. Remulla has also suggested “reasonable certainty of conviction” instead of probable cause as requirement before prosecutors file criminal court cases. He maintained that the DOJ is focused on pushing for an increase in the “degree of proof” necessary for the filing of criminal cases in court, adding that to file “high-quality” cases, prosecutors should not just pursue cases based on a finding of “probable cause,” but also on the existence of a reasonable certainty of conviction.

In his speech, Sec. Remulla called on officers and men of the PNP-CIDG to help the government realize its vision of ensuring that Filipinos will be provided with the real justice they deserve. For a start, the DOJ chief underscored the need for the PNP in general and the PNP-CIDG in particular to ensure the conviction of jailed crime offenders by providing quality evidence and solid testimony in court.

Last July, Remulla and DILG chief Benhur Abalos collaborated to make the president’s vision a reality. In order to change the previous landscape, he said that police and DOJ prosecutors are now working hand-in-hand to further improve the government’s conviction rate.

He maintained that success of the police force must be measured by its conviction rate, not with the number of arrests and seizures it is making. “It encompasses the quality of evidence needed to convict a criminal, not the number of criminals arrested,” he said.

Well said Secretary. But on a personal note, I would like to congratulate my friend Brig. Gen. Caramat and his men and women for their record accomplishments since last year. The PNP-CIDG really is a main cog of the PNP headed by Gen. Jun Azurin in fighting criminality and corruption.