Evidence in drug cases flushed

CEBU, Philippines -  About 250 grams of shabu were destroyed yesterday in the sala of Judge Macaundas Hadjirasul pursuant to Republic Act 9165 or Comprehensive Dangerous Acts of 2002.

Hadjirasul said the destruction of evidences were mandatory under the said law once the proceedings of cases has been terminated.

One of the cases was People of the Philippines versus Randy Nuñez. The case was decided on February 3, 2012, wherein the police seized one heat-sealed transparent plastic from the possession of Nuñez weighing 0.02 gram.

Aside from the shabu, there were also 1.70 grams of marijuana.

There were 71 decided cases of illegal drugs from 2010 to 2012.

The destruction of evidences were witnessed by the members of the media, Judge Hadjirasul and his staff, PO2 Joseph Bucayan from the Crime Laboratory,  Atty. Gladys May Barriga from Public Attorney’s Office, State Prosecutor Mario Ley Gidayawan of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Ma. Jonah Pinanonang, from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-7.

After the inventory, Bucayan and Pinanonang placed the shabu into a pail filled with water and mixed it. The diluted shabu was then flushed in a bowl inside the chamber of Hadjirasul.

While the marijuana and the plastic packs where the shabu was placed were burned outside the Palace of Justice.

Meanwhile, Hadjirasul said that out of 100 percent drug cases in his sala, less than ten percent of the accused were convicted. He said this was because of the non-compliance of the procedure of the responding police.

He said there must be a chain of custody from the time of the seizure of the evidence up to its submission to the laboratory. He added that the chain of custody must be properly established to prevent allegations of corruption or planting of evidence.

He said the markings of evidence must be made in the crime scene with the presence of the media, local government unit representatives and others. (FREEMAN)