COA clears PDEA of liability for K-9 dogs’ deaths

The Commission on Audit has cleared the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) of any liability over the loss of 14 K-9 dogs from 2002 to 2011 after confirming that the animals died of old age and natural causes.

In a three-page decision, the COA commission proper granted the motion for reconsideration filed by former PDEA director general Arturo Cacdac Jr. seeking the recall of a 2014 ruling finding the agency accountable for the amount of P3.056 million, which is equivalent to the value of four K-9 dogs whose deaths were not documented immediately.

State auditors earlier took PDEA to task for failing to account for K-9s Bryan, OJ, Bobby, and Bullet after their retirement from service as part of the agency’s anti-illegal drugs search operations.

Account books put the worth of each K-9 dog at P764,000.

However, COA chairman Michael Aguinaldo and commissioners Jose Fabia and Isabel Agito unanimously ruled that certifications from duly-licensed government veterinarians indicating the date and causes of death of the dogs prove that PDEA may not be held liable for their demise.

“This Commission lends credence to the contents of the certificates issued by government officials, they being public documents. Public documents are admissible in evidence even without further proof of their due execution and genuineness …[based on] the principle of presumption of regularity,” the ruling read.

Based on records, the deceased K-9 animals belonged to a batch of 14 male dogs which were transferred to PDEA in 2002 after its predecessor, the National Drug Law Enforcement and Prevention Coordinating Center, was disbanded.

The dogs and their handlers conducted periodic security sweeps of airports, seaports and bus terminals for illegal drugs and other banned substances.

From 2002 to 2011, the dogs died one after another either due to old age or disease.

While the necropsy reports from government-accredited veterinarians indicate that the animals died from natural causes, these were not submitted immediately to COA, prompting the issuance of notices of disallowance.

PDEA eventually submitted the reports after Cacdac filed an appeal. —ALG, GMA News