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Monday, July 11, 2005
Law enforcers to apply biotech forensic DNA
IF YOU think Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) units in the US are lending sheer drama to forensics work, wait till you see how Philippine law enforcement agencies are doing the same thing as their counterparts in other countries.
With the aid of biotechnology in forensic DNA investigation, these local agencies can now speed up the investigation of crimes, thus enhancing the criminal justice system.
Top crime investigators from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Philippine National Police (PNP) and other sub-agencies learned more of the intricate processes using DNA evidence in crime investigation at a seminar held at the DILG office in Quezon City Friday.
The seminar is part of the weeklong series of activities in celebration of the National Biotechnology Week, which was recently proclaimed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
DILG Undersecretary Margarita Cojuangco told participants that DNA science now being applied in forensics is improving police investigation and the criminal justice system.
"One such instance is the need to ensure the full and equitable application of the fruits of science and technology down at the grassroots level where justice is often out of reach," Cojuangco said.
"The latest DNA-anchored advances in forensics will mean nothing unless they benefit our people in the communities."
Cojuangco, who is also president of the Public Safety College, cited efforts by the DILG to disseminate and train law enforcement experts to spread the blessings of science for the benefit of the people.
DILG Undersecretary for Administration Melchor Rosales said the forensic process highlights once more the role of biotechnology. He said that research and development should focus on the next decade on police work and the law, besides its current emphasis on agriculture and food.
"One of the areas is the development of DNA which is significant especially in terms of crime solution efficiency among our police enforcers," Rosales said.
He said that the National Forensic Science Training Institute, in cooperation with the British Embassy, conducted a seminar-workshop for journalists and local officials on crime scene preservation, where the participants were also taught about DNA analysis.
"There is no doubt that DNA evidence has become a very important tool for effective policing," Rosales said.
"It could provide a means to establish the innocence of a person accused or even convicted of a criminal offense by demonstrating that the perpetrator was almost certainly, or even certainly, someone else."
Rosales said the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) considers the DNA identification technology as the most exciting new technique that has emerged for criminal investigators.
However, DNA analysis is an expensive undertaking.
Recognizing this Dr. Saturnina Halos, Department of Agriculture-Biotechnology Advisory Team (DA-BAT) chair, said that the University of the Philippines' DNA Analysis Laboratory (UP-DAL) has been working hard to make this technology accessible to the poor.
The UP-DAL project called: Incorporating DNA Evidence in the Resolution of Sexual Assault Cases in the Philippines, is supported by the World Bank and is a winning entry to the 2004 Development Initiatives Marketplace (DIM): Making Technology Work for the Poor.
"Through this project, the proponents hope to solve the two-pronged problem of expediting investigation and resolution of cases without unduly adding to the burden of the poor and often uneducated victims and their families," Halos said.
"The project has prioritized thousands of child victims whose agony is often prolonged because their cases cannot be easily resolved in the absence of irrefutable scientific evidence like DNA. Eventually, the pressure on the traumatized minor is quickly eased."
Dr. Francisco Supe, head of the PNP Crime Laboratory DNA Analysis Unit, said DNA can also exonerate a person from a crime he is wrongly accused of doing.
"DNA testing is already admissible as evidence in Philippine courts," Supe said. "In fact, DNA findings had been cited in several court decisions, including those in the Supreme Court.
He said some experts say the crime lab equipment are more modern than those of a few Asian countries since the DNA analysis technique referred to as "DNA Fingerprinting," was first used to determine a person's unique profile.(Joe Galvez)
(July 11, 2005 issue)
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