by Christopher Lloyd Caliwan/Philippine News Agency
MANILA — The conviction rate for cases filed by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) against drug personalities in 2018 increased by 46.82 percent compared to 2017.
This is the first ever recorded high conviction rate for drug cases filed by PDEA since 2017.
PDEA Dir. Gen. Aaron Aquino said the higher rate of conviction in 2018 can be attributed to the active participation of PDEA lawyers in pre-trial proceedings of PDEA-initiated drug cases.
In 2018, a total of 41,583 cases were filed, resulting in 13,111 cases of conviction, which is 81.82 percent of all cases filed. This is 46.82 percent more than the 35 percent conviction rate of the 41,224 cases filed in 2017.
“With this guidelines, all lawyers assigned in the Legal and Prosecution Service have been authorized to appear in court on behalf of the agency for the purpose of availing pre-trial measures and remedies, as well as actively participating in the pre-trial proper on drug cases,” Aquino said.
Other factor that contributed to the higher conviction rate is the initiation of PDEA’s project court watch, which monitors the status and progress of the drug cases filed.
“Our efforts are bearing fruits, but much is still to be done. One measure of the success of our campaign against illegal drug is the filing of airtight cases that will result in the conviction of the accused,” Aquino said.
