Yamsuan bill to get rid of paraffin testing, other unreliable crime investigation methods

(MANILA BULLETIN)

Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Brian Yamsuan has filed a bill that aims to get rid of an obsolete method in crime investigation, particularly on whether or not a person had discharged a firearm. 

House Bill (HB) No.7975 or the proposed Act modernizing the crime investigation techniques of law enforcement agencies intends to solve this problem and more. 

Through the measure, Yamsuan wants law enforcers to get rid of obsolete and unreliable investigation procedures such as paraffin testing to make way for modern, science-driven techniques in gathering and preserving evidence in crime scenes.  

These modern techniques should be complemented by continuing education and retraining on police operational procedures, added the former Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) assistant secretary. 

He said one obsolete technique—the use of paraffin tests on persons suspected of discharging a firearm--has long been ruled by the Supreme Court (SC) as unreliable more than 30 years ago, and abandoned as part of casework in other countries.  

“Out with the old, in with the new. Our law enforcers should ditch outdated crime investigation methods and embrace technology and science  in doing their job. This would not only ensure airtight cases against crime suspects, it would help build the public’s trust in police investigations,” said Yamsuan. 

“Out with the old, in with the new. Our law enforcers should ditch outdated crime investigation methods and embrace technology and science  in doing their job. This would not only ensure airtight cases against crime suspects, it would help build the public’s trust in police investigations,” said Yamsuan, a former assistant secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), which supervises over the PNP.  

The SC has already held in several rulings that paraffin tests for gunpowder residue is inconclusive in proving whether or not a person has fired a gun, Yamsuan noted.  

Yamsuan recalled that former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief and current Senator Ronaldo “Bato” dela Rosa also said that even a non-shooter can yield a positive paraffin test result if someone fired a gun near him or her. 

Aside from doing away with obsolete crime investigation methods, Yamsuan said HB No.7975 also stresses the importance of securing crime scenes and preserving them with minimal contamination and disturbance of physical evidence. 

Yamsuan said this is important because a report quoting the Department of Justice (DOJ) found that 90 to 95 percent of cases filed by law enforcement agencies before state prosecutors are dismissed “due to lack of documents or technicalities". 

Also, 80 to 90 percent of cases filed by prosecutors are dismissed by the courts because of lack of evidence or also due to technicalities. These shortcomings are often committed by law enforcers at the scene of the crime. 

The measure also calls for the creation a Crime Investigation Modernization Committee (CIMC) chaired by the Secretary of the DILG and with the chief of the PNP, the director of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and two forensic experts appointed by the President as members.  

The DILG supervises the PNP.