DAVAO CITY, June 30 (PIA) Mayor
Rodrigo Duterte ordered the Davao City Police Office to create a new office
with the sole function just to serve subpoenas and summons.
Speaking in the Regional Peace and
Order Council 11 meeting at the Meng Seng Hotel, he pledged to provide the
office with a car and three motorcycles to be used solely for the delivery of
court orders.
“The police must see to it that the
summons and subpoena reach the persons concerned immediately,” Duterte said.
He asked the court to give the City
Mayor’s Office 15 days to set up the office.
Duterte also urged the courts to
furnish the office the summons and subpoenas for it to act accordingly.
He expressed dismay to the
non-appearance of policemen in court which usually leads to the dismissal of
cases.
Duterte also reiterated the warning
that there is a penalty for either intentionally or unintentionally avoiding
testimony in court.
“It can result to the dismissal of
cases,” he stressed.
Duterte also ordered to resort to
arrest policemen who receive the summons but remain absent in court hearings.
“A complaint against them might be
filed before the Police City Director or the Philippine National Police, copy
furnished the Justice Secretary, and surely they will have trouble explaining,
because the law itself specifies a high penalty for their absence in court,” he
said.
Earlier during the meeting, Regional
Trial Court Branch 13 Presiding Judge Rowena Adlawan revealed that one of the
issues and concerns besetting the drug courts is the non-appearance of
policemen as witnesses which is one of the reasons for the delay in the
disposition of cases and dismissal of drug cases against accused
respondents.
She cited their difficulty of
looking for the policemen who have either retired from the service or have
transferred assignments.
Adlawan also observed that as the
cases drag on, only the prosecutor would show interest in pursuing the
deliberation while the police loses the enthusiasm and would intentionally
forget the details of the operation.
“That is why in the future, I will
ask the Supreme Court to give us a Closed-Circuit Television so that for future
reference they can assess the demeanor of the policeman testifying in court
whether he would bungle the case or not, coupled with our stenographic notes.
Our court means business,” she stressed.
Adlawan said RTC Branch Nine and RTC
Branch 13 are the courts designated by the Supreme Court to hear drug cases in
the city. (PIA 11-Joey Sem G. Dalumpines)
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