THE Regional Trial Court-Davao Region has started the implementation of the Supreme Court Circular that mandates to exempt special courts for drugs from all newly filed drugs cases and instead that these be distributed to other trial courts last week.
The Executive Judge Emmanuel Carpio in signaled last September 1 the implementation of the circular A.M. No 160-07-06 SC of the Supreme Court, signed by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno last July 19, 2016.
Based on the copy of the document, the issuance of the guidelines was done to help special courts under RA 9165 or Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 to manage the increasing number of drug cases.
“There is an urgency to authorize more courts to hear and decide drug cases considering the already heavy dockets of specially-designated drug courts and other RTCs handling drugs cases,” the guidelines read.
The guidelines which exempt courts exclusively hearing drugs cases pursuant to 9165 from the raffle of newly filed cases, gives way for regular courts to hear try and decide drugs cases.
With the guidelines, all newly filed cases shall be raffled to, heard, tried, and decided by all RTCs, except family courts and overburdened courts.
While it was made mentioned that family courts were exempted from drug cases, they are still mandated to hear, try and decide on all newly filed drugs cases involving minors.
The guidelines read that the system of distribution of drugs cases shall continue until the number of drugs cases in the various court stations has become, manageable, as determined by the OCA or until otherwise ordered discontinued by the Supreme Court.
The guidelines, however, also read that all newly filed cases shall continue to be raffled to heard to or tried to by specifically designated drug courts in stations where the average caseload of the specifically designated drug court is lower than the average caseload of other courts on those stations, and this may only be changed until such time when the average caseload of the specially designated drug courts is higher than the average caseload of regular courts in those stations as determined by the OCA.
It also states that courts which may later be designated to assist specially designated drug courts shall be exempt from the raffle of the newly filed drug cases.
The OCA is hereby directed to closely monitor all courts handling drugs cases, and undertake necessary measure to ensure the efficient distribution, handling disposition of drugs cases.
RTC-Davao has Branch 9, and Branch 13 as special courts for drug cases, and under the circular now allows also Branch 10, 15, 17 and 54 to hear and decide on drug cases.
A staff from Branch 13 in an interview with VoxPop Davao on Tuesday said that with the circular they were relieved, and could concentrate more on resolving the active cases on their branch.
The personnel said that an influx of cases they receive monthly is really evident, as it ranges from additional 90-100 cases in the previous months, adding that they felt this “overburden” on their branch since 2015. (KVC)