MANILA -- The conviction rate arising from illegal drug cases filed in courts increased by more than 200 percent in 2017, Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Menardo Guevarra said on Monday.
During the budget deliberations of the House appropriations committee on the DOJ's proposed PHP21.353-billion budget for 2019, Guevarra said the rise in conviction rate last year is a major achievement of the justice department, in contrast to the dismal rate in 2016.
Guevarra said from 2,279 convictions in 2016, that figure jumped to 7,032 in 2017 with a conviction rate of 208.5 percent.
"With respect to dangerous drugs, the number of cases filed last year rose by 9 percent and with a conviction rate of 208.5 percent, considering the relatively low number in 2016," Guevarra said.
He noted that a total of 72,212 drug cases were filed in courts last year, which is 9 percent higher compared to 2016 with a total of 66,306 drug-related complaints filed.
Meanwhile, the conviction rate of criminal cases also rose by 59.52 percent in 2017 with 42,042 cases resulting in a conviction, compared to only 26,355 cases ending in a conviction in 2016.
A total of 294,196 criminal cases were filed last year, 4.27 percent higher than the 282,154 cases filed in 2016.
Guevarra said the DOJ's PHP21.353-billion budget for next year saw an upward adjustment of 8.59 percent from this year's PHP19.664-billion budget.
Of the 2019 allocation, 77.3 percent (PHP16.317 billion) of the entire budget will go to personnel services, 20.56 percent (PHP4.391 billion) will go to maintenance and other operating expenses, and only 2 percent (PHP445 million) will go to capital outlay. (PNA)
