House OKs bill restoring PNP CIDG’s power to issue subpoena

House of Representatives Session hall is all set as the Congress will convene in a special session on Saturday, July 22, to tackle the extension of President Rodrigo Duterte’s martial law in Mindanao.
EDWIN BACASMAS

The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved on third and final reading the bill restoring the power of the Philippine National Police’s Criminal Investigation Group (PNP-CIDG) to issue subpoena.

Majority of the House lawmakers voted in favor of the bill’s approval. At least 193 lawmakers voted “Yes” while seven voted “No.”

“It’s a welcome development,” PNP spokesperson Chief Supt. Dionardo Carlos said in a text message to Inquirer when asked to comment on the matter.

The House Bill no. 4863 strengthens the capacity of CIDG, the PNP’s prime investigating arm, by allowing the unit to administer oath and summon witnesses in the conduct of its investigations.

The bill amends the Republic Act No. 6975, otherwise known as the Department of the Interior and Local Government Act of 1990.

In an earlier statement, Surigao del Norte first district Rep. Francisco Jose Matugas II, principal author of the bill, noted that the CIDG, being the “the main enforcement agency of the country, does not possess such power to issue administrative subpoena which plays a significant role in any fact finding or investigation.”

At present, Matugas said that only the Ombudsman, Department of Justice, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, National Police Commission, Bureau of Internal Revenue, and the Cybercrime Operation Center of the Cybercrime Investigation Coordination Center have the power to issue administrative subpoena and subpoena duces tecum.