THE chair of the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs has filed a bill seeking the creation of “dangerous drugs courts” in all cities and provinces to expedite the disposition of more than 300,000 drug cases pending resolution in local courts.
Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers filed House Bill No. 9446 entitled “An Act Promoting the Speedy Disposition of Drug Cases by Creating a Special Court to be Known as “Dangerous Drugs Court” in Every City and Province Nationwide,” saying the absence of drug courts is also delaying the issuance of court orders and other processes in connection with the destruction of seized or confiscated drugs.
Barbers said that based on data provided by the Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency (PDEA), a total of 405,062 drug cases were filed in court from P2000 to 2022 by the PDEA, the PNP and the NBI but only 28 percent or 114,610 cases have been resolved.
“This means there are about 300,000 drug cases or approximately 72 percent have remained pending in courts as we speak,” said the lawmaker, stressing the delay in the resolution of drug cases shows the country’s congested trial courts cannot keep up with the problem and if this not properly addressed, “(it) would only lead to more clogging of court dockets, impairing our already slow-paced justice system in the country.”
In one of his panel’s hearings last March, Barbers recalled that it was revealed that the PDEA and PNP still have in their respective custody a total of “un-destructed” 8,662 kilograms of shabu and 4,233 kilograms of marijuana.
