The Department of Justice (DOJ) is currently working hard on its reformation to further enhance its function and make "certainty of convictions" the norm when filing a case.
This is one of the reforms being introduced by Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, who is increasing the level of evidence required for a case to be filed in court by the prosecutor.
This was disclosed by DOJ Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Atty. Mico Clavano when he guested on Daily Tribune's "Straight Talk" on Wednesday, 20 September."
When asked about the reforms being initiated at the DOJ, Clavano said, "There are several reforms being made by the DOJ right now. One of them is what you mentioned, iyung pagtaas noong level of evidence needed for a case to be filed in court by the prosecutor," said Clavano.
He said that instead of probable cause, which basically means that there's some evidence to suggest that a suspect probably committed the crime, the threshold is now higher: there must be a certainty of conviction.
Clavano mentioned that it would require more evidence to show that a suspect most probably committed the crime, such as pictures or CCTV footage, or an admission of the evidence being investigated by prosecutors. This aligns with another program of the DOJ, which is the case build-up rule, he continued.
The case build-up rule requires prosecutors and the police to collaborate closely in the field. This differs from the previous process in which prosecutors, relying on preliminary investigations under Rule 112 of the Rules of Court, merely received complaints from the PNP and assessed whether a case could be filed or not. Now, the process involves prosecutors making a resolution to either file or dismiss the case.
Secretary Remulla's order requires prosecutors to accompany the police to the scene of the crime, meaning they are now involved in fieldwork."
"Yes, there is fieldwork. So that is the challenge now to prosecutors. Of course, it's a big change but we appeal to them to understand where the administration is coming from. It will be good for everybody if they, who have interest in the conviction of the person, are there from the very start," said Clavano.
In the past, the police would file the case, and it would be assigned to the prosecutors. This was often considered an accomplishment, but there was a lack of interest in securing the conviction of the person they were trying to prosecute.
"The prosecutor wants the person to be convicted because that is the measure of his success. So for him to be there at the very start of the investigation, he can already pick and choose the evidence that is needed to form a strong case. So and then when it comes to his assessment or the prosecutor's assessment, the level is now higher," said Clavano.
This leads to a reasonable certainty of conviction because the evidence they gather from the ground is now stronger compared to the past when they only received complaints."
So iyun po iyung magiging dynamics natin ngayon. And it's very exciting. We're doing a caravan now around the country explaining the new forms to the police and to the prosecutors, alike; to have a very good collaboration and synergy between the police and prosecutors," Clavano said.
