The Department of Justice is determined to file strong cases that will convict defendants.

"We will not file them for the sake of filing cases, we will not file cases for the sake of having an accomplishment. We will file cases because people have to suffer for the crimes that they committed," DoJ Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said in an interview over Daily Tribune's digital show "Straight Talk" last Tuesday.

Remulla said reforming the criminal justice system under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. would involve strengthening the case build-up system through a higher standard for law enforcement and prosecution.

He lamented the low prosecution rate of drug cases because of the existing practice of defendants opting for plea bargaining — a process whereby the accused and the prosecution work out a mutually satisfactory disposition of the case subject to court approval.

"We have to stop making quotas as the 'be-all' and 'end-all' of law enforcement," he said, adding that a lesson in the anti-drug campaign is not to engage in the arrest of street peddlers but to focus on the big-time sources.

Probable cause, he added, has been abused by many law enforcers who just want to fill up their quotas for their accomplishments.

Trumped-up charges
"The prosecutors and the police will be trained to work together in all cases so that no case will be filed by the police without the prosecutors reviewing them properly before filing," Remulla said.

He reminded everybody in the law enforcement system that they all are members of the executive branch hence, they are not in a position for quasi-judicial functions.

"The case build-up system will go to a higher level that no cases will be filed without any real basis. We are trying to do away with trumped-up charges that will pass the test of probable cause or the test of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt," he added.

Prosecutors, he said, are now undergoing the training while police will commence theirs in February or March 2023. Even the Rules of Criminal Procedure, he added, would be reviewed by the Supreme Court for the purpose.

"There's even a proposal to take out preliminary investigation from the Rules of Court because it is a purely executive function. So, all of these changes are actually game-changing in our criminal justice system," Remulla said.

Much to change
Meanwhile, amid the recent controversies hounding the Bureau of Corrections — an agency under DoJ, he said there is just so much to change within the culture of the country's correction system.

"I know that given the right leadership, BuCor will be able to do it very well. It is a massive change that we are implementing right now," he said.

Under a five-year plan, Remulla said jails and detention facilities will be decongested.

"We want to close down Muntinlupa. We want to close down Bilibid. We want to regionalize the jails. We want smaller jail facilities. We want our parole and probation officers to be very active so that we can decongest the jails. We want more of a proactive stance towards or towards the correction system as a pillar of the criminal justice system that we should seek," he said.

Improving BuCor, he said, will actually be a reflection on how we are as a country in terms of how civilized we are.

"I think that it's just right that we improve our correction system better. We improve it the way it should be improved. The Corrections is a natural function of governance, and that those who lose their way should be made to find a way again," he said.