PDEA conviction rate up to 81% in 2018

PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino. (File photo by NOY MORCOSO / INQUIRER.net)

MANILA, Philippines — The conviction rate on drug-related cases rose in 2018 was at 81.82 percent – that is, 13,111 of 16,024 resolved cases ended in conviction, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said Tuesday.

That 2018 conviction rate is 46.62 percentage points, or 133 percent, higher than the 35 percent conviction rate in 2017.

PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino said the rise could be attributed to the active participation of PDEA lawyers in pretrial proceedings in drug cases.

According to Aquino, many cases were “dismissed or indeterminately delayed because of the failure or negligence of some prosecutors to take advantage and make use of pretrial measures and remedies.”

“With these guidelines, all lawyers assigned in the Legal and Prosecution Service have been authorized to appear in court on behalf of the agency for the purpose of availing of pretrial measures and remedies, as well as actively participating in the pretrial proper on drug cases,” Aquino said.

The director general also attributed the rise to PDEA’s Project Court Watch program, which uses “case monitors” to keep track of the progress of cases in different PDEA regional offices.

“Our efforts are bearing fruits, but much is still to be done,” Aquino said. “One measure of the success of our campaign against illegal drug is the filing of airtight cases that will result in the conviction of the accused.”

/atm