By: PNA
GENERAL SANTOS CITY — The Police Regional Office 12 (Soccsksargen) launched an intensive training program for police investigators to address concerns over the dismissal of some cases in local courts due to technicalities.
Chief Supt. Eliseo Tam Rasco, PRO-12 director, said Friday the training program is aimed at improving the capability of investigators in handling cases, from the investigation to the filing of formal charges against suspects.
He said the 45-day investigation officers’ course, which formally started last Wednesday at the regional headquarters in Barangay Tambler here, involves 50 commissioned police officers assigned in parts of Soccsksargen.
The course is part of the requirements for the assignment of commissioned officers as chiefs of police and heads of investigations sections, he said.
Rasco said in a statement that the training, which is facilitated by the Regional Investigation and Detective Management Division-12, mainly focuses on the enhancement of the investigation capability of commissioned officers.
“Our goal is to make them well-versed on investigation matters and improve the operations of their respective units,” he said.
Citing records from the Philippine National Police’s Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management, the police official said numerous cases filed by police investigators had been dismissed by the courts in favor of the accused due to some technicalities.
He said these include violations on the standard operating procedures in the filing of cases that were overlooked by investigators and the chiefs of police.
Several drug-related cases were previously dismissed in some courts in the region due to problems with the handling of evidence and the application of search warrants.
In some instances, Rasco said investigators and police chiefs were charged with criminal and administrative cases “because they know very little about the law that they were supposed to enforce.”
“Every commissioned officer must be knowledgeable in all police-related works, especially on investigation matters to ensure the filing of airtight cases against suspected criminals,” he added.
