[ad_1]
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) promised to destroy a ton of shabu seized during anti-drug operations on recent orders from President Rodrigo Duterte.
However, the PDEA said it could do nothing with some evidence without the courts and prosecutors allowing the anti-narcotics office to do so.
In a statement Tuesday, PDEA said they have followed up on the issuance of court orders to destroy the drug tests with them.
“PDEA will comply with President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s order to destroy all shabu evidence, residual or otherwise, by next week,” PDEA said.
“In relation to this, we are following up on the issuance of Court Orders for the destruction of these pieces of drug evidence in accordance with Circular 118-2020 of the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) issued by the Administrator of the Supreme Court ”, he added.
In his public address broadcast Monday night, President Duterte ordered law enforcement agencies to destroy all confiscated shabu from anti-drug operations within a week.
This was allegedly intended to prevent police officers and other officers from recycling drugs, a process in which seized substances are sold again at the street level to earn money.
The PDEA said they are also awaiting guidance from the Justice Department on what to do with the substances that are still at their disposal, as state prosecutors have yet to comply with their motions on the destruction of the illegal substances.
If prosecutors comply with the motion, they can destroy another 540 kilograms of shabu.
Court proceedings have been an obstacle to the destruction of drugs, as they can be used as evidence for the actual trial. Last July, the court administrator, José Midas Márquez, reminded the judges of the Regional Court of First Instance to follow the rules on the destruction of evidence seized as drugs.
This was after the Philippine National Police complained that the drugs stayed with them because the issuance of a warrant was delayed.
“Beginning with the Senate Hearing on September 29, 2020, we are also seeking guidance from the Honorable Secretary of Justice to issue guidance regarding the advisability of some prosecutors’ refusal to advance or at least comply with the PDEA to carry out an ocular inspection, take representative samples and subsequent issuance of a judicial order of destruction in archived cases or cases under automatic review ”, said PDEA.
The war on illegal drugs has been a primary campaign of President Duterte, who promised to rid the country’s streets of drugs during the campaign period for the 2016 presidential election.
While anti-drug operations increased in number and the amount of illegal drugs seized, Duterte has been criticized for leading a bloody campaign, which led to condemnation from human rights circles here and abroad. [ac]
Read next
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer and more than 70 other titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download from 4am and share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
For comments, complaints or inquiries, please contact us.
[ad_2]
