Inquests go online amid COVID-19 emergency —DOJ

Inquests will be done online among internet-capable law enforcement units and prosecution offices due to the COVID-19 emergency, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said Monday.

An inquest is a summary investigation by prosecutors of criminal complaints involving persons arrested without a warrant. In an inquest, prosecutors may dismiss the complaint and order the release of the respondent; release the respondent pending preliminary investigation; or file charges in court.

"It's just the same procedure done online (e.g. filing, teleconferencing, etc) among internet-capable PNP units, courts, and prosecution offices," Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said of e-inquests.

Prosecutor General Benedicto Malcontento said e-inquests are applicable in capable police units and prosecution offices nationwide.

Department undersecretary and spokesman Markk Perete also said the DOJ is coordinating with the Department of the Interior and Local Government, which oversees the Philippine National Police, to "temporarily release booked suspects" even before a preliminary investigation starts.

Though also a proceeding in which prosecutors decide whether or not to charge a person in court, a preliminary investigation applies in cases not covered by warrantless arrests, Perete said.

E-inquests will apply to persons who were arrested for violating the rules of the Luzon enhanced community quarantine, he said.

"If after e-inquest, the prosecutor finds probable cause, then the information will be immediately filed in court," he told reporters.

On the other hand, if the e-inquest results in the conversion of proceedings into a regular preliminary investigation, the release procedure will apply, he said.

E-inquests are among the latest operational changes the DOJ has implemented as a measure against the highly transmissible COVID-19, which has infected more than a thousand people in the Philippines and more than 600,000 worldwide.

Before this, the DOJ ordered the physical closure of all prosecution offices in the country, but staff remained on call. —LDF, GMA News