The Philippine National Police (PNP) should measure its success in fighting criminality with conviction rates and not with the number of persons arrested and cases filed in courts, Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla said on Friday, Feb. 10.

“That’s the most important metric of success,” Remulla stressed in his speech during the 70th founding anniversary celebration of the PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).

Remulla pointed out to PNP and CIDG officers and men that “the duty must not end upon the filing of the case, rather, it must encompass the quality of evidence gathered which is enough to convict a criminal.”

“Success must not be measured by the number of cases filed or the number of suspects caught. Success must not be measured by meeting a certain quota. Instead, success in the service must be measured by the conviction rate yielded by the cases filed,” he said.

Then he advised the country’s police force: “Huwag tayo kukuha ng tao para lang po meron tayong accomplishment (let’s not make arrests just to say there’s an accomplisment).”

“Sana po yung ating hinuhuli ay talagang makakatulong sa pagsugpo ng krimen at kriminalidad sa buong lipunan (I hope that those we arrest will truly lead in solving crimes and criminality in society),” he said.

At the same time, Remulla asked the CIDG “to focus on bigger crimes.”

“‘Pag meron po tayong nasipat na gumagawa talaga ng kalokohan, ‘yung mga malalaki unahin na natin. Huwag na natin patulan yung pipitsugin sa kalye. Hindi ko ho sinsabi na huwag natin huhulihin ‘yung mga lumalabag sa batas. Hulihin po natin sila pero hanapin po natin ‘yung mga malalaki na mas malaki perwisyo ang ginagawa sa ating lipunan (When see crimes taking place, prioritize the big fishes. Ignore the small fishes in the streets. I am not saying not to arrest them but ensure that you run after the big fishes who truly cause problems in society),” he explained.

He then assured the PNP that the DOJ “is behind you every step of the way.”

He said that “last July, Secretary Abalos (DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr.) and I joined forces as we launched our collaborative effort to change the landscape of case build-up.”

“Our initiative aims to have our prosecutors and police work hand in hand,” he added.

“In other words, preliminary investigation will start and end in the Department of Justice at an executive role. In this set up, the prosecutors under the DOJ will assist and encourage the police force in their fight against criminality on the streets,” he explained.

Thus, he said that the role of government prosecutors would “now shift from a passive quasi-judicial one to an active executive role” so that “the quality of evidence collected and presented in court will improve and, as a result, the conviction rate will ultimately improve.”

“Today, the Department of Justice is in constant dialogue with the Supreme Court to amend the Rules of Court, specifically, we have reached an agreement whereby the Department of Justice will lead the efforts to amend Rule 112 on preliminary investigation in the Rules of Court,” he said.

TAGS: #DOJ #PNP #CIDG #Sec. Remulla