Supreme Court approves destruction of inspected illegal drugs even before case filing

THE SUPREME Court (SC) has approved the destruction of seized drugs that were already inspected by designated authorities even before a case is filed. The rule, published on Sunday and takes effect on March 16, is contained under A.M. 21-02-01-SC titled Rule on the Destruction of Seized Dangerous Drugs, Other Substances, and Instruments Prior to the Filing of an Information. The resolution cites the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, which provides that the law enforcement agent who seized the drugs must immediately file an application for destruction before the court that issued the search warrant or has territorial jurisdiction over the case and the place of seizure. The new rule states that “if the seized drugs amount to 1 kilogram or more… the judge shall conduct an ocular inspection… within 72 hours from the time the application is filed.” Further, within 24 hours after the ocular inspection, the court must issue an order for the retention of a representative sample of the seized drugs that will be kept in the forensic laboratory of the operating unit that seized the drugs. The taking of the representative sample must be witnessed by either the person from whom the drugs were seized or a representative counsel, an elected public official or a media representative who witnessed the inventory and documentation of the seized drugs, or a National Prosecution Service official. Within the same 24 hours after the ocular inspection, law enforcement agents must immediately turn over the remaining seized drugs to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency for immediate destruction. The actual destruction of the drugs must be witnessed by the same parties present during the taking of a representative sample. Seized drugs may be exempted from destruction if these are to be used for training K9 dogs in detecting narcotics. In July last year, the country’s highest court ordered lower court judges to comply with the law by ensuring the immediate inspection and destruction of seized drugs. —