(MANILA BULLETIN) Even without the enactment of a law, the Philippine National Police (PNP) should make it a requirement to have those sent to anti-drug operations use body-worn cameras, Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada said on Monday, April 17.
Estrada said the Supreme Court (SC) already promulgated a ruling in 2021 necessitating law enforcement agents to have these recording devices when serving arrest and search warrants.
‘’Kung sa mga simpleng pag-serve ng search at arrest warrants ay requirement na ito, mas higit na dapat ginagawa sa mga anti-drug operations (Since the use of body-worn cameras is a requirement in search and arrest warrants, it is with more reason to use them in anti-drug operations),’’ he pointed out.
Estrada emphasized that the SC, in its administrative ruling, even stated that failure to comply with the regulation would make the evidence seized during an operation inadmissible to the court.
Estrada said Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) agents in Western Visayas have been compliant with the SC circular.
‘’The problem lies, I believe, in the lack of funds for the procurement of these devices. Out of the 260,000-strong police force, only 3,000 has body-worn cameras. Congress can allocate funds in tranches for the acquisition of these units,” he said.
‘’But with or without the augmentation of the yearly budget of the PNP and the PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency), we hold our law enforcers accountable for their actions and misdeeds,’’ Estrada added.
‘’Kung mayroon man na lihis ang gawain sa kanilang hanay (If there are misdeeds in their ranks), the leadership of these agencies are well-within their authority to cleanse and rid their ranks of so-called scalawags,’’ he said.
Last October, PNP operatives were caught on closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera footage reportedly placing some of the P6.7-billion ‘’shabu’’ drug haul in Sta. Cruz, Manila inside their vehicles during an anti-illegal drug operation.