(PNA file photo)
CEBU CITY – Around 14,000 drug cases have been filed in courts here since 2016, a top official of the Philippine National Police in this city said on Wednesday.
Col. Ireneo Dalogdog, Cebu City police director, said based on the Crime Information Reporting and Analysis System, only 0.28 percent or 39 out of 13,718 drug cases filed were dismissed by courts.
He added that this only signifies that police operatives have handled the rest of the drug cases well.
“From confiscation of the illegal drugs up to prosecuting the suspects in court, our operatives were given only 36 hours reglementary period by the court to complete the inventory, submission of evidence before the Crime Laboratory for examination, and safekeeping and evidence custody. Within 36 hours, our operatives need to comply with it,” Dalogdog told the reporters in an interview.
The police chief did not say, however, the conviction rate of the cases filed. Most of these cases are still pending, he said.
He maintained though that apart from periodic case reviews, local police officers are in close coordination with drug court judges, prosecutors, and lawyers under the Cebu City Justice Zone project, to ensure that criminal cases filed in court would proceed according to established rules.
Meanwhile, the Police Regional Office (PRO)-Central Visayas reported that a total of PHP21.5 million worth of “shabu” were confiscated over the past week.
According to PRO7’s Regional Operations Division data from June 18 to 24, some 3,170.84 grams of shabu with a standard drug price of PHP21,561,712 were confiscated during the 151 anti-drug operations conducted that resulted in the arrest of 177 drug suspects. (PNA)
