On August 20, Ambassador ENDO Kazuya attended the handover ceremony for forensic equipment provided by the Government of Japan at the newly established National Forensics Institute (NFI) within the University of the Philippines College of Medicine.
This initiative forms part of the “Institutional Investigation of Custodial Deaths Support Project,” implemented over approximately two and a half years through a US$133,000 contribution from the Government of Japan to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The project is expected to contribute to the Philippines’ establishment of an institutional framework for conducting autopsies in custodial death cases, advancing institutionalization and enhancing credibility and transparency of the country’s criminal justice system.
In his remarks, Ambassador Endo emphasized that this donation marks the first tangible contribution by the Government of Japan to support NFI establishment. He highlighted that the NFI was created to strengthen forensic capabilities of law enforcement agencies and judicial authorities, recalling Japan’s cooperation with UNODC to enhance the Philippines’ capacity to investigate custodial deaths. He expressed that the donation represents the culmination of these efforts.
Additionally, the NFI has worked with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to formulate a custodial death management policy. These improvements in forensic capacity are expected to reinforce this policy and contribute to advancement of the Philippine criminal justice system, while further developing Japan–Philippines judicial cooperation.
