THE PHILIPPINE Justice department wants police to do away with their weekly quota system for arrests, blaming it for low conviction rates especially in illegal drug cases.
“In the last six to seven years, there has been a prevalence of cases filed that had incomplete information,” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla told a House of Representatives hearing on the Department of Justice (DoJ) budget on Wednesday.
“Under this quota system, [police] want an indication in their records that they sent [a criminal] to jail, but the conviction doesn’t matter to them,” he said.
Mr. Remulla said he had spoken with national police chief Benjamin C. Acorda, Jr. and his predecessor about permanently removing the quota system.
He also said DoJ would conduct training with police officers and prosecutors on case build-up.
The Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) has also been instructed to study and call for the withdrawal of weak cases, Mr. Remulla added.
DoJ and police records showed that 80% of criminal cases are dismissed for lack of probable cause, DoJ spokesman Jose Dominic F. Clavano IV said in June.
Mr. Remulla also urged the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to respect the Marcos government’s decision not to the rejoin the International Criminal Court (ICC) and allow state investigation of the state’s deadly war on drugs.
“When the Executive has already given a statement [on the ICC withdrawal], I believe it is the duty of the CHR to consult first with the Executive regarding this matter,” he said.
CHR has said it would cooperate with ICC in its investigation of the government’s war on drugs, Party-list Rep. Rodante D. Marcoleta said, citing news reports.
The DoJ has proposed a budget of P34.49 billion for next year or 0.6% of the national budget.
Attached agencies such as the Bureau of Corrections will get P7.24 billion, the Bureau of Immigration will get P4.25 billion and the National Bureau of Investigation will get P4.58 billion.
The Public Attorney’s Office was allotted P5.28 billion, the Office of the Secretary will get P9.1 billion and the Office of the Solicitor General will be given P1.41 billion.
The Land Registration Authority was allotted a 1.22-billion budget and the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel will get P233.26 million.
The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), which is mandated to help recover the ill-gotten wealth of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, Sr., his family and cronies, will get P159.85 million, 3.99% lower than its 2023 budget.
Justice Assistant Secretary Fredderick A. Vida said the PCGG would remit P839.89 million in income from surrendered and sequestered assets next year.
Mr. Remulla noted that a P100-million budget was allotted to establish CCTVs (closed-circuit television) in prisons, but there is no funding for body cameras.
The cameras are needed to protect prisoners and jail personnel, Party-list Rep. Bonifacio L. Bosita told the hearing. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz
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