Proper disposal a must for seized illegal drugs

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

THE government’s anti-drugs campaign has been gaining grounds with the seizure of millions worth of shabu and the arrest of some of the suspects in the past months.

But lawyer Clarence Paul Oaminal, former vice chair of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) and an authority of the anti-drugs law, said judges, prosecutors and law enforcers must observe the proper disposal of seized drugs based on the provisions of the law.

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Oaminal said aside from the requirement of physical inventory and photography, section 21 of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 has also provided the procedure on disposal.

Under the law, he said after the inventory, the law enforcer is required to submit within 24 hours the seized item to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) crime laboratory or to the Philippine National Police, or National Bureau of Investigation crime laboratory.

Oaminal said within 24 hours, the crime laboratory shall issue a certificate of forensic examination determining whether it is positive for drugs.

“If the finding is positive, the complainant will file before the prosecutors and when the information will be filed then before the courts, the latter shall conduct an ocular inspection within 72 hours of the seized drugs. The court within 24 hours shall order the destruction of the drugs,” he said.

However, he said a representative sample will be taken in custody by the law enforcer to be used during the presentation of evidence.

“This is done to avoid possible loss and issue of recycling,” Oaminal added.

He said this is favorable to the law enforcer since they would need not store “big amounts” of evidence at the prosecutor’s office or at the courts, which have no standard storage rooms.

Oaminal’s statement came in reaction to observations that some courts hold one-time “destruction together with the seized drugs in other cases” instead of destructing it after the conduct of ocular inspection, which is before the start of the trial.

“This practice may be acceptable if the evidences are miniscule. However, if the shabu would reach five grams, it would be better to disposed it before the start of the trial,” he told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro.

PDEA-Northern Mindanao Regional Director Roberto S. Opeña said there will be a formal turnover and destruction of the seized drug items upon the order of the court.

Opeña said the disposal will be witnessed by the prosecutor, civil society, media and a government chemist supervised by PDEA, who is the authorized representative of the DDB.

He said once the seized drugs are in the custody of the courts, it should fall under their care or lookout.

“So far, wala pa namang nangyari na may nawawala or ni-recycle na mga seized drug items,” he said.

City Prosecutor Fidel Macauyag said courts in Cagayan de Oro have been observing the guidelines and provisions in destroying seized drug items. (Annabelle L. Ricalde)