DOJ to prioritize drug cases, says chief

Seized shabu (PNA photo by Joey Razon)

MANILA – Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra is set to issue a memorandum ordering prosecutors to give priority to the resolution of drug cases to complete the requirements under the law for the immediate destruction of seized narcotics.

“In accordance with the President’s directive, the Department of Justice (DOJ) will issue a memo circular to all prosecutors investigating drug cases to give top priority to the resolution of the same, to file the informations ASAP, and to move for a court order to conduct an ocular inspection of and destroy the seized drugs, precursors, within the time specified in RA (Republic Act) 9165,” Guevarra said Wednesday.

RA 9165 is the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.

His statement came after President Rodrigo Duterte directed law enforcement agencies to destroy seized illegal drugs, including shabu, by next week.

Duterte said destroying the recovered prohibited drugs would prevent their recycling and reselling in the illegal drugs market.

Guevarra said the President’s directive to immediately destroy seized illegal drugs was under the context of Sec. 21(4) of RA 9165, which requires the trial courts to conduct an ocular inspection of the illegal drugs and paraphernalia, within 72 hours from the filing of the criminal information.

Afterward, seized items have to be destroyed, through the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, within 24 hours after the inspection.

Under the law, a representative sample of the seized drugs will be retained for use during the trial of the case.

“Thus, law enforcement agents must file the criminal complaints immediately so that the destruction of the seized drugs could proceed as early as possible,” Guevarra said.

Last July, the Supreme Court ordered lower court judges handling drug cases to immediately inspect and order the destruction of the seized or surrendered illegal drugs held as evidence.

In Circular 118-2020, Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez said regional trial court judges are mandated under RA 9165 to conduct ocular inspections of the seized dangerous drugs within 72 hours from the filing of a criminal complaint in court.

This came as Marquez met with some judges and then Philippine National Police chief, Gen. Archie Gamboa, who raised that seized or surrendered dangerous drugs remain in the custody of law enforcement agents due to the delays in the issuance of court orders for their destruction.

In cases where the seized dangerous drugs are physically brought to the court, the court shall issue the order of destruction of the drugs “within 24 hours therefrom,” Marquez said.

Under Marquez’s directive, courts with pending drugs cases where the seized dangerous drugs amount to more than 5 kg., which have not yet conducted the necessary ocular inspection of the seized drugs and issued orders for their destruction, “shall immediately conduct the ocular inspection and within 24 hours therefrom, issue the destruction orders after retaining the required representative samples thereof.”