Julian Ongpin—Photo Courtesy of Philippine National Police-PRO1
MANILA, Philippines — Newly installed Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Dionardo Carlos on Tuesday said they will review the drug case against Julian Ongpin, son of business tycoon Roberto Ongpin, which was dismissed by a regional trial court (RTC) in La Union.
The case was junked due to non-compliance to the chain of custody, which requires authorities to strictly follow the procedure in handling illegal drugs.
In Ongpin’s case, the court said that the confiscated cocaine was not immediately marked during the seizure.
“We will look back. We will investigate how come this case was dismissed based on mishandling of the evidence. We will review [and] we’ll look at [whether[ the procedures were followed,” Carlos said in a television interview on ANC.
“If the investigator or evidence custodian failed to follow the procedure, then we’ll make him responsible. We’ll make him answer for the mistake,” he added.
Carlos said the PNP has adhered to procedures in their campaign against illegal drugs, which is why “the bigger majority of their campaign [was] very successful.”
“We continue to cooperate in the prosecution until a final verdict of a court is given so if the case or cases are dismissed, we again review why these cases and make sure that we learn from the mistakes,” the police chief added.
Last month, the Department of Justice filed a non-bailable case against Ongpin for the possession of illegal drugs. He was the last person who saw visual artist Bree Jonson alive.
Authorities discovered 12.6 grams of cocaine in the hostel room where Jonson was earlier found unconscious on the morning of Sept. 18.