DOJ eyes drug summit, review of drug law next year

Justice Undersecretary Jesse Andres on Thursday said the Justice Department is eyeing to hold a drug summit next year where it will tackle the possible review of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Andres issued the remark during the National Jail Decongestion Summit of the Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC)— which is composed of the Supreme Court, the Department of Justice, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government. 

“The next big project will be the drug summit, where we will have a chance to review this law together with all the important stakeholders. And this will lead to amendments of the law so that less people will be incarcerated in relation to drug cases,” Andres said. 

“While we are going against low-level offenders in a different manner… we will continue to be hard on big-time drug dealers and suppliers,” he added.

Andres said they seek to modify the Dangerous Drugs Act “to be more attuned to the times” and new developments in the drug problem such as new drugs emerge.

“Sometimes people are charged with non-bailable offense even with a miniscule amounts. So we have to review the threshold amounts and how to afford them bail during the course of the trial so that we don’t congest our jails,” he said in an ambush interview. 

The Justice undersecretary called on all stakeholders to participate.

“There’s the civil society organizations, ito 'yung health organizations. The Department of Health should be heavily involved here. And the DOJ on the law enforcement side and all other stakeholders,” he said.

When asked if the International Criminal Court, which is seeking an investigation on the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, will be invited, Andres replied in the negative.

“No. Local lang muna, (it will only be local)” he said.

Through the National Jail Decongestion Summit, top officials from various government agencies and diplomats came together to address the congestion in the country’s prison and penal facilities. 

The first day was attended by Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo and other justices, Speaker Martin Romualdez, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Senate President Miguel Zubiri, and Justice Undersecretary Raul Vasquez.

Also present were United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Programme Office Country Manager Daniele Marchesi, Australian Ambassador to the Philippines HK Yu, and European Union Delegation Head Luc Veron.

When asked if he believed the summit has been successful so far, Andres said that gathering all the stakeholders together is “success in itself.”

He said that after the DOJ circular directing the cooperation between prosecutors and law enforcers, the DOJ observed a 20% decline in the number of cases filed in court.

“I think that is because we are still cascading it. We predict that it can be half. And we don’t mind that only half of cases are filed in court but the conviction rate will be very, very high. Even 90%. That is our target,” he said.

For Andres, a weak case that is filed in court will not attain justice.

“We are not dismissing a weak case but we will build up this case. We will use forensics, we will use all sorts of innovations because that is now the trend that is trying to pursue using forensics as an instrument to strengthen cases,” he said.—AOL, GMA Integrated News