The Department of Justice (DOJ) will soon come up with a draft on “Case Build-Up Guidelines” intended to improve the conviction rate in the prosecution of criminal cases in courts.
The DOJ said there will be “the two game-changing paradigms” that will be introduced in the guidelines, which are “close coordination between the prosecutors and law enforcement agencies (LEAs) and higher quantum of proof.”
Under the guidelines, “prosecutors will be required to certify that there is reasonable certainty of conviction based on the evidence presented,” the DOJ said in a statement.
The draft of the guidelines is the result of its consultations with various LEAs, prosecutors, lawyers’ organizations, advocacy groups, and other justice stakeholders. The last consultation was held last Jan. 4.
The DOJ said the Case Build-Up Guidelines was initiated by Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla who “intends to introduce the game-changing mechanism on case build-up to elevate the country’s prosecution success rate by improving the current investigation system.”
“There’s this saying that goes: ‘Why fix it if ain’t broke?’ But I think there’s something wrong with our system, that’s why we are trying to fix it,” Remulla said.
“We have detention facilities full of people with 600 percent occupancy, correction facilities at 350 percent occupancy; we have case load of judges reaching unsurmountable levels; we have practices of law enforcement, where filing of charges is based on probable cause but without a reasonable certainty that these people charged would be convicted, and their cases drag on for years,” Remulla said, explaining why “there is need for improvement.”
“The presumption of innocence should not be overturned by a mere probable cause. It has to be a more pro-active stance such that if one would be held to account for a crime, the investigator or prosecutor holding that person accountable should at least be certain that the evidence is enough to convict him,” Remulla stressed.
Aside from the Jan. 4, 2023 consultation, other dialogues with stakeholders were held in 2022 on Sept. 13, Nov. 22, and Dec. 6.
The DOJ said the participants in the consultations included the National Networks of the Child Protection Units, University of the Philippines (UP) Department of Pathology, UP-Philippine General Hospital (PGH) Child Protection Unit, Philippine Society of Criminologist and Criminal Justice Professionals (PSCCJP),
Calayan Educational Foundation, Inc. (CEFI), Coalition Against Trafficking of Women (CATW), Kalipunan ng mga Mamamayang Pilipino Laban sa Katiwalian (KASAPI), Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC), Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), National Capital Region (NCR) City Prosecutors,
Regional Prosecutors, representatives of various LEAs such as the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Bureau of Customs (BOC), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC).