Court Appearance Allowance for Police Witnesses Should be Implemented the Soonest

This writer sponsored a resolution before the Cebu City Anti Drug Abuse Council endorsing to the Cebu City Council and City Mayor to allocate a budget for the POLICE WITNESSES COURT APPEARANCE ALLOWANCE. The allowance shall be given to police witnesses assigned in the Cebu City Police Office who act as witness/witnesses in a drug case.

The mechanism suggested is that the police officer after securing his certificate of court appearance shall submit this to the Cebu City Office for Substance Abuse Prevention or COSAP so they could claim to allowance of P300 pesos.

Presently, our PNP has not been receiving or funds allocated for anti-drug operations especially on court duties. Under the Labor Code and the Civil Service Law, the work station of an employee is its office, however attending court hearings deviates from the location of its work station. In Cebu City, the Cebu City Prosecutors Office is located at the Palace of Justice in Capitol Site (it is where our police file its case for Inquest and Preliminary Investigation). However, the Regional Trial Courts, which has exclusive jurisdiction over violations of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 is done at the Quemonda Building in Reclamation Area.

A police officer assigned at the Mambaling Police Station (Station 11) who is part of anti drug operations testifies in an anti drug operations case he has to travel from Mambaling to the reclamation area. No budget has been allocated to defray these expenses even if this is not his work station. He has to wait at the court for his case, and often eats at the vicinity of the new location of the court. This has been the scenario for years.

It is unfair for the police witness to spend his own money for attending and testifying. Our elected officials may not mind this because majority of them (our city officials and barangay officials) are issued government vehicles with fuel allowances that is why they could attend to weddings, burials and baptisms even if these may not be necessary to the position of which they were elected.This also applies to national government officials and employees, their travels are spent by their offices, but this is not so with our police officers. Providing them with COURT APPEARANCE ALLOWANCE is the most concrete way that our city legislators show their support in the war against illegal drugs.

Rich and well off officials and citizens may not understand this, but honestly there are police officers who struggle day by day looking for rice and fare for him and his children going to school. If we are to win the war against illegal drugs, let us look after the welfare of our warriors. It will not hurt financially our city if they provide this allowance to our police officers. People have been commenting that illegal drug is most dangerous problem of the city yet we are not doing anything to help our police. The legal battlefront is an important battle we should win.

Unfortunately, in Cebu alone, there a number of police officers who have been dismissed for failure to attend court hearings, some with malicious reasons but others solely anchored on the problem of fares going to and from the court. If we could afford allowing our city officials going abroad why cannot we spare a dime for our police officers to ensure the conviction of those they have arrested?

Let us be serious in our war against illegal drugs, and you my dear reader could help this by helping this campaign to allocate court appearance allowance to our police witnesses. Tell your councilor to support this call. We cannot forever remain as silent observers while war is going on. Your words could make a difference and enlighten our city officials.

About the Author: Clarence Paul V. Oaminal is a lawyer and author of ‘The Textbook on The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002’. He is the Vice-chairman and Undersecretary of the Dangerous Drugs Board and is the current adviser and presiding officer of Cebu City Anti-Drug Abuse Council. He also hosts the local advocacy program ‘Krimen ug Drugas’ in CCTN Channel 47.