The Department of Justice (DOJ) vowed on Monday that they will be relentless in prosecuting 30 erring police officers involved in the planting of evidence in one of the country’s massive seizures amounting to P6.7-billion worth of shabu.
In a press briefing, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla reminded police officers about their crucial role as indispensable partners of the DOJ in upholding the rule of law.
“The alliance between prosecutors and policemen serve as one of the major foundations of our justice system since both are heavily dependent on each other in ensuring their respective mandates are achieved,” he said.
The DOJ chief added they “must not let a few misguided cops remain in service so as not to negatively influence the majority of our police force who are faithful to their sworn mandates.”
Meanwhile, Justice Undersecretary Raul Vasquez revealed they will be initiating the criminal cases in due time. He shared that the case will now undergo comprehensive case build-up under existing DOJ rules in order to ensure airtight cases are filed against the erring police officers.
The DOJ, together with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM), jointly revealed their official probe findings on the case filed before the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC).
For his part, Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon noted that based on available evidence, the case for planting and bungling of evidence against the police officers is strong enough to warrant a conviction.
Moreover, he said the DOJ is also considering the withdrawal of the initial drug charges filed in connection with the said seizure in view of the irregularities in the evidence and testimonies provided by the unscrupulous police officers.
“We believe and we are seriously considering the possibility of withdrawing these cases because it would now appear that these cases were filed based on false allegations and fallacious evidence,” said Fadullon.
He also emphasized the importance of knowing the whereabouts of the policemen charged before the court to speed up the processing of the cases against them once the warrants are available.