Deretsahan
Dismal success rate
By Bebot Villar
THE challenge has finally started for the new set of elected barangay officials.
At exactly 12:01 noontime last Nov. 30, dapat nag- start na ng pagpapakita ng gilas ang ating mga newly elected barangay officials. Maraming problema sa barangay. Basura, kawalan ng trabaho, peace and order, kalusugan at, illegal drugs.
Tungkol sa droga, before the barangay election, mayors have asked me to sponsor seminars on how to fight illegal drugs at their level. Mahirap din naman kasing ignorante sila sa mga bagay on illegal drugs. Now that the new set of barangay officials had assumed their posts, I wonder if they will still pursue what they pledged to do. Sana nga, to prove that they mean what they say at para makita natin ang kanilang sincerity. Dapat makipagtulungan sila sa PNP at PDEA nang todo-todo!
Of course, I am aware that creating awareness campaign laban sa illegal drugs will never be enough. Mas malalim pa dun at mas mabigat pa dun ang complete solution. Nakasalalay ang success nito sa law enforcement at sa judicial action through conviction ng mga suspected drug pushers at drug lords.
Matagal na akong nalulungkot at frustrated sa bagay na ito. Lumalabas kasi na parang useless ang pagsugpo sa illegal drugs kung after mahuli ang mga suspected drug pushers and drug lords at kasuhan sila, ay i-di-dismiss lang pala ng judge ang isinampang kaso.
Mula mismo sa bibig ni Executive Judge Hermogenes Fernandez of the regional trial court in San Carlos City, malungkot din sya sa situation na ito. He is very disappointed.
Si Fernandez, president of Philippine Judges Association (Pangasinan chapter), acknowledged during a recent seminar workshop held in Lingayen for judges, prosecutors, law enforcers and other major stakeholders that only about 50 percent of the drug cases he handled led to conviction. (Hindi lang sa Pangasinan nangyayari itong scenario na ito. It’s everywhere).
It appears na maraming mali sa mga paraan ng paghuli at pagsampa ng kaso at mahina ang ebidensya o di kaya malakas lang ang hatak ng pera para mawala ang mga ebidensya? More than ever, we need to see prosecutors and law enforcers collaborating for the successful enforcement of Republic Act 9165.
Unfortunately, wala ako doon sa seminar because not only did the invitation come in rather late but the appointed date coincided with our national celebration in the DDB for its anniversary and recognition rites. Kailangan nandun ako as DDB chairman.
I also learned that Court of Appeals Associate Justice Mario Lopez who was guest of honor and speaker and lecturer on various topics in the seminar cited Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s (PDEA) statistics that show na 56% dangerous drugs cases) ay na-di-dismiss because of the failure of the arresting authorities to observe proper procedures.
He even cited an international study that showed that “out of 13,667 drug cases filed from 2003 to 2007, only 4,790 led to convictions.” Sinabi rin ni Justice Lopez na based on Supreme Court’s data, 85 percent ng acquittals and reversals from 2006 to 2011 involved failure of the prosecution to establish the arresting officers’ compliance with the procedural requirements outlined in Section 21 of Republic Act 9165.
Hindi ba’t talagang nakalulungkot ito? Napupunta lang kadalasan sa basura ang mga drug cases. Alam nating buhay ang ipinupusta ng mga strike forces, the PDEA and the police, who go against illegal drugs kaso nga lang. Unfortunately, after the successful arrests, nakadidismayang makita na wala din palang saysay in the end. Kaya more often it’s back to “business as usual” sa mga drug pushers and their cohorts.
Hahayaan na lamang ba nating ganito ang iiral na sistema? Nanawagan ako sa mga kapulisan na pag-aralan mabuti ang procedures established by law para hindi sayang ang mga pinaghihirapan nating lahat.
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