Duterte’s first SONA, one year later: Police oversight

Every State of the Nation Address is both a look back and a look ahead—to the President's accomplishments the previous year, and to what he or she plans to do next.

When President Rodrigo Duterte delivered his first SONA on July 25, 2016, he had only been in office for less than a month. However, many of the issues he talked about were already familiar to Filipinos as being close to his heart, thanks to the presidential campaign and his long tenure as Davao City mayor.

GMA News Online looks at some of the issues he discussed in his first SONA, and what the administration is doing to address them.

The National Police Commission says it has resolved some 700 old and new complaints filed before it in the year since President Duterte took office.

According to NAPOLCOM  vice-chairman and executive officer Rogelio Casurao, this is due to procedural changes, streamlining, and special projects that have been implemented to deal with the cases.

Not a week after his inauguration, Duterte accused several officials of protecting the illegal drug trade: National Capital Region Police Officer chief Director Joel Pagdilao, former Quezon City Police District Office director Chief Supt. Edgardo Tinio, Western Visayas police chief Director Bernardo Diaz, retired Deputy Director General Marcelo Garbo, and former Chief Superintendent and now Daanbantayan, Cebu Mayor Vicente Loot.

Garbo and Loot were already retired by then, while Pagdilao, Tinio, and Diaz were still in active service. They were relieved from their posts and ordered to report to the national headquarters.

Casurao said the police commission probed only the three who were still in active service.

NAPOLCOM has submitted to the President its reports on Pagdilao and Tinio, while the report on Diaz is being worked on.

"Yung dalawa for final authority na ni President, yung isa about to be completed, final touches na lang yung kay Gen. Diaz," Casurao said in a phone interview with GMA News Online.

He said they have been receiving an average of 60 complaints each month, the prevailing figure even before he came in.

Of the new complaints filed and cases that have been pending before the commission for years, they were able to dispose 40 to 50 cases.

"Around 40 to 50 cases and nadi-dispose namin, syempre may maiiwan na 20 pero normal naman 'yan," he said.

He said they are trying to resolve every case within a 60-day prescribed period.

To address the backlog, NAPOLCOM invited its lawyers from other regions to come to Manila to help—a move the commission describes as a "special project."

Casurao said that they now conduct monthly en banc meetings, with all the commissioners are present.

"We now have actual en banc sessions. We [commissioners] are all there, kaya 'yung mga resolutions at decisions napipirmahan na agad hindi gaya dati na iniikot pa sa opisina ng mga commissioners kaya matagal," he said.

Previous "trial-type" proceedings have been replaced with the parties concerned submitting "position papers," said Casurao. This modification has allowed NAPOLCOM to reach a 80-percent disposal rate of cases.

"Yung position papers speaks of their defense already," he said.

"Malaki na talaga ang improvement sa area ng disposal; na speed up na namin dahil binago 'yung procedure."

Asked how slow was the process before, Casurao said they are now handling cases filed 10 years ago.

"Retired na yung mga inireklamo hindi pa natatapos ang kaso nila," he said.

He added that they are literally pulling the case folders out of sacks.

However, Casurao added, they are hampered by the lack of legal staff.

"We wanted to hire additional lawyers, pero walang takers. So we have to make do with what we have, the present composition. Nagmu-multi-tasking na lang kami, double time, things are being strategized," he said.

Casurao said that the commission will continue to invite lawyers from other regions to group together and help it deal with the cases against police officers and officials. — BM, GMA News