Bohol Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) hails its Special Action Committee (SAC) to look into the proposal of streamlining the policies on chain of custody for narcotic evidence to drastically impact on desired conviction of drug offenders. The move is in the wake of an alarming disparity of ap-prehensions and court conviction rates on decided cases; a lackluster performance amid the goal of ridding Bohol of drug dealers who have been caught up by the long arms of the law. The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) here reports a total of only 4 convictions, 2 dismissed cases and 18 acquitted cases in 2013. This is of the 99 cases which the Philippine National Police and the PDEA filed against the accused. As to the dismal conviction rate at 4 over 99 cases, Provincial Prosecutor Macario Delusa explained that the courts would only need a degree of reasonable doubt to unfavorably decide on cases.

He hinted that most drug cases filed before the courts are not built-up sturdy, that these cases hardly get over the obstacles of technicality. He took the often critical factor of the unaccounted moments in chain in the custody of evidence, or the manner of the presentation of evidence, which pushes the courts to hand out unfavorable decisions. Somewhere between the time the evidence is gathered, documented, weighed, turned over to the police crime laboratory for confirmation, and then to the PDEA, often sows the doubt where tampering can happen. On this, the PPOC raises its SAC to study the possibility of streamlining the process so that there are very few people who would get custody of the evidence. Dr. Reymoses Cabagnot, in fact, wants PDEA or the police crime lab to tote in their laboratory equipment during raids or bust operations to immediately conduct the validation tests and necessary documentation. Fiscal Delusa also suggests that immediate affidavits be made in site, to make sure witnesses do not easily recant. On the other hand, the PPOC also resolves to ask the PNP to withhold the transfer of its men with pending court appearances especially in drug cases to other assignments. This should make sure that active cases do not just get quashed for lack of witnesses, the council members said. But while the PPOC insists this mainstreams the process, a study has to be made, Gov Edgar Chatto suggests. (Rey Anthony Chiu/PIA)