De Lima lauds SC’s move assigning 240 courts for drug cases

Senator Leila de Lima on Thursday lauded the Supreme Court’s (SC) move to assign 240 courts for the resolution of cases involving illegal drug activities.

De Lima said the designation of additional 240 courts is expected to expedite the estimated 120,000 drug-related cases pending in 715 courts across the country.

She added it would reduce the bottlenecks that have been preventing the court from making swift resolution of drug-related cases.

“The Supreme Court’s decision paves the way for expeditious delivery of justice. The volume of workload will be significantly reduced, and cases will hopefully be resolved at a sooner time,” De Lima said in a statement.

“Now we need more lawyers to handle these drug cases. I’m confident that Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre would appoint without delay more prosecutors and public lawyers to meet the demands of the 955 courts,” she added.

Pointing out the need to strengthen, streamline and rationalize the criminal investigation process in the country, De Lima said she would push for the immediate passage of the Senate Bill No. 369 known as the “Criminal Investigation Bill.”

The bill, she said, seeks to standardize the roles of the law enforcer and investigating prosecutor by repealing Republic Act No. 5180 that prescribes the preliminary investigation by fiscals and authorities.

De Lima said the bill would allow investigating prosecutors to immediately endorse cases to courts upon careful assessment, “thereby removing additional proceedings that only delay the investigation.”

“This criminal investigation bill that I propose is a holistic approach with systematic and procedural solutions. If passed, we would be able to reduce the time a case is resolved,” De Lima said.

The senator urged investigators and prosecutors to work hand in hand in clearing the court’s backlogs of cases, adding that they must ensure a more efficient investigation, prosecution and litigation of cases. Kathryn Jedi V. Baylon, trainee/TVJ