MANILA, Philippines – Prosecutors offices and the courts may be physically closed but it has not stopped functioning – thanks to technology.
The 17 “sabungeros” (cockfight aficionados) arrested in a “tupada” in Valenzuela were able to experience how the technology works when they were presented to the city’s prosecutor to undergo inquest proceedings.
An inquest is a summary process where the suspect is brought to the prosecutor. During the inquiry, the offender will be informed of the offense and the evidence against him or her. A suspect would undergo inquest if he or she was arrested without a warrant during a buy-bust or entrapment operations or caught while doing a crime or escaping.
The arrested sabungeros have been slapped with complaints for violation of P.D 1602 (Illegal Cock Fighting) in relation to Proclamation No. 922 (Declaring A State Of Public Health Emergency Throughout The Philippines) were filed against the suspects.
The police presented the suspects to the prosecutor via teleconferencing.
How does E-Inquest work?
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra earlier explained that E-Inquest is “just the same procedure,” but he said it is done online among internet-capable PNP units, courts, and prosecution offices.
In E-Inquest, the procedure will be paperless and there won’t be any more need for the parties to travel, which is fitting with the current enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in place.
The inquest prosecutor will still follow existing rules on inquest – determining whether the complaint will be dismissed, be filed in court, or subject to a preliminary investigation.
National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Major General Debold Sinas encouraged all stations to coordinate with their LGUs, judges, and prosecutors for the implementation of the electronic inquest for the continuous enforcement of criminal laws amidst COVID-19.
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