BARBERS CALLS FOR CREATION OF DANGEROUS DRUGS COURT IN ALL CITIES

SURIGAO del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers has filed a bill seeking the creation of a Dangerous Drugs Court in all cities and provinces aimed to speed up disposition of at least 300,000 drug cases pending resolution in various courts nationwide.

Barbers, chairman of the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, said based on latest data provided by the Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency (PDEA), there were 405,062 drug cases filed in court from P2000 to 2022, and they include those filed by PDEA, the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation.

“Out of this figure, only 28 percent or 114,610 cases have been resolved or have been handed decision by the judiciary. This means there are about 300,000 drug cases or approximately 72 percent have remained pending in courts as we speak,” he said.

The delay in the resolution of drug cases, he explained, clearly indicate that the country’s congested trial courts cannot keep up with such problem and, if not properly addressed, “would only lead to more clogging of court dockets, impairing our already slow-paced justice system in the country.”

In his House Bill No. 9446 entitled “An Act Promoting the Speedy Disposition of Drug Cases by Creating a Special Court to be Known as “Dangerous Drugs Court” in Every City and Province Nationwide,” the solon from Mindanao said the absence of drug courts also causes the delay in the issuance of court orders and other processes in connection with the destruction of seized or confiscated drugs.

The fact was learned by solons during a Dangerous Drugs panel hearing in March this year when it was revealed that the PDEA and PNP still have in their respective custody a total of “un-destructed” 8,662 kilograms of shabu and 4,233 kilograms of marijuana.

When asked why they are still in possession of such huge volume of seized illegal drugs, both the PDEA and PNP reasoned that its immediate destruction, as mandated under RA 9165 or the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2202, could not be done because of the difficulty in obtaining court orders to carry it out.

“This has opened windows of opportunity for rogues in uniform, popularly known as ‘ninja cops,’ to operate by recycling illegal drugs for the purpose of planting evidence, or worse, selling it back on the streets,” Barbers said.

“Sa pag-likha ng ‘Dangerous Drug Courts’ sa lahat ng lungsod at probinsya sa ating bansa, inaasahan natin na made-decongest na at mapapabilis ang pag-resolba sa mga libu-libong drug cases na nakabinbin ngayon sa iba’t ibang korte sa buong bansa. At mapuputol na rin dito ang ilegal na gawain ng mga ‘ninja cop’ dahil agaran nang susunugin or sisirain ang lahat ng mga nakukumpiskang ipinagbabawal na gamut,” the Mindanao solon said.