Guidelines on Handling Voluntary Surrender of Drug Personalities

August 3, 2016

DDB BOARD REGULATION NO. 03-16

 

WHEREAS, it is a declared policy of the State to provide effective mechanisms or measures to re-integrate into society individuals who have fallen victims to drug abuse or drug dependence through sustainable programs of treatment and rehabilitation;

WHEREAS, due to the strong commitment of the President to immediately address the country's drug problem, there are unprecedented responses from both law enforcement and the public, and one of which is the voluntary surrender of self-confessed drug personalities nationwide;

WHEREAS, there is no provision in RA 9165 providing guidelines on handling voluntary surrender of drug personalities;

WHEREAS, under Section 81 (b) of RA 9165, the Dangerous Drugs Board is given the power to promulgate rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the purpose of the said Act;

NOW THEREFORE, be it RESOLVED, as it is hereby RESOLVED, to provide guidelines on handling voluntary surrender of drug personalities, as hereunder provided:

SECTION 1. Objective. —

This Regulation aims to establish clear guidelines to be followed by PDEA, PNP, NBI, other law enforcement units, national government agencies, and Local Government Units in dealing with self-confessed surrenderer who voluntarily submitted themselves to authorities and admitted their involvement in the illegal drug trade. AcICHD

SECTION 2. Policies and Guidelines. —

A. General Guidelines

1. Voluntary surrender by drug personalities shall not be an assurance that they will not be subjected to drug law enforcement operation when they engage in the illegal drug activity after their voluntary surrender.

2. Upon voluntary submission of the drug personality/ies to the authorities, the whole process shall be covered by video recording.

3. The Duty Officer (DO) shall immediately conduct body search on the surrenderer as a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to determine presence of any deadly weapon or dangerous drugs. However, Women and Children shall only be searched by a female officer or any members of the Women and Children Desk.

4. The surrenderer shall be requested to bring out the contents of his/her pockets and similar clothing appendage.

5. Thereafter, the DO shall get the personal circumstances of the surrenderer and record it in the blotter registry book. The DO shall then refer the surrenderer to the Investigator of the concerned Office for processing and documentation.

6. Prior to interview, the surrenderer shall be informed of his/her Constitutional rights and the consequences of his/her voluntary confession. Thereafter, the surrenderer shall be required to sign an AFFIDAVIT OF UNDERTAKING and WAIVER (Annex A) allowing the conduct of physical/medical examination and drug test that he/she is in good shape, and that he/she shall fully cooperate with law enforcement, among others. The presence of a counsel of his choice/PAO lawyer, nearest kin or any person, of legal age, who knows him/her personally shall be mandatorily required during the execution of the AFFIDAVIT OF UNDERTAKING and WAIVER.

7. The AFFIDAVIT OF UNDERTAKING and WAIVER shall be subscribed before and by any competent authority including but not limited to the Office Legal Officer, elected public officials and the like.

8. Any lawyer, except the lawyer of the Office where he/she surrendered, shall administer the oath prior to the execution of the voluntary confession. The confession must be:

a. in writing;

b. in the presence of his/her counsel of choice, PAO lawyer, nearest kin or any person, of legal age, who knows him/her personally as the case may be;

c. under oath; and

d. voluntary or freely given by the drug personality.

9. The voluntary confession shall be signed by the surrenderer and his/her counsel or by any other counsel except the lawyer of the Office where he/she surrendered to avoid perceived conflict of interest.

10. The Investigator shall conduct interview on the surrenderer alleged involvement and elicit all vital information regarding his illegal drug activity which shall not be limited to the following:

a. Personal information including the sketch map of his/her house;

b. How long has the subject been involved in illegal drug activities;

c. How much does he/she earn from illegal drug activities?

d. Specify his/her other source of income

e. Specify his/her participation in the illegal drug activity (user, pusher, courier, maintainer of drug den, etc.);

f. Types of illegal drugs being used, sold and/or smuggled; TAIaHE

g. If the surrenderer is a user, determine the subject's frequency of use, volume of drug sold, cost of drug use per intake, and if he/she is an injecting drug user;

h. Determine his/her source of illegal drugs (name of supplier and place of origin);

i. Identify his/her cohorts;

j. Identify his/her protectors and/or linkages (politicians, law enforcers, prosecution, etc.);

k. Determine his/her area of operation;

l. Identify his/her clients/consumers of illegal drugs being sold to;

m. Determine if the subject has previous drug cases. Status of the case;

n. Is he/she part of a drug group, if any:

• How many years is he/she in the group?

• What is his/her role in the group?

• Determine the profile of the group

- Strength/manpower

- Arms, equipment, and mobility

- Types of illegal drugs being distributed

- Modus operandi

- Area of operation

- Links/connections of the group with politicians and/or police units, armed, terrorist group/s or organization/s and determine the identified connections, if there are any; and

• Determine if the group is involved in manufacturing/production, smuggling, and/or distribution.

- If the group is into smuggling or distribution, source and/or place of origin of illegal drugs

- If the group is into manufacturing/production, where is the location of the laboratory? Are there Chinese or other foreign nationals involved? Production capability (small/kitchen type, medium scale or large scale)

- If the group is involved in marijuana plantation cultivation, where is the location of the mj plantation site/s? production capability per harvest.

11. The Office shall immediately conduct record check to verify if the surrenderer person is included in the PDEA and PNP Target List, Wanted List and Watch List or has any other pending criminal case/s.

12. The result of the interview with the surrenderer shall be prepared and shall be used as reference for validation and cross validation with the existing target-list. If possible, get photographs/descriptions of the persons he/she named.

13. If the result of the initial interview is actionable, the surrenderer may be requested to submit his/her cellular phones for forensic examination to obtain more data and to support his/her voluntary confession. This has to be officially covered by a receipt and the procedure laid down in cybercrime law shall be followed for the evidence to be admissible in court.

14. Thereafter, the Investigator shall perform the procedures in booking an arrested person. However, the surrenderer should not be handcuffed.

15. No clearance or certificate shall be issued to the surrenderer. cDHAES

B. Specific Guidelines

1. If the surrenderer has a pending warrant of arrest or criminal case with the Prosecutor's Office or Court, and has not posted bail, the concerned Office shall have temporary custody pending verification of the status of the said warrant or charges before the Prosecutor’s Office. If said warrant has not been secured, the surrenderee shall be delivered to the judicial authorities or Prosecutor's Office.

2. If the drug personality has no pending warrant of arrest, the following shall be conducted by the Office:

a. If the surrenderer is a high value target, the procedure under the general guidelines shall be observed. Further, his/her affidavit shall be subject to verification and investigation and he/she will be required to execute waiver to allow the Office where he/she surrendered to conduct financial investigation in coordination with the AMLC and declare or submit his/her assets and liabilities and related documents and an appropriate intervention shall be provided.

b. If the surrenderer is a pusher/protector and an appointed or elected official or government employee, the procedure stated under the general guidelines shall be observed. Further, a copy of his/her voluntary confession and other pieces of evidence gathered shall be endorsed to the appropriate court, tribunal or quasi-judicial body for the conduct of administrative disciplinary actions.

c. If the surrenderer is a pusher, he/she shall be required to surrender, if any, dangerous drugs in his/her possession. Then, follow the legal safeguards of Section 21, RA 9165, as amended, on the marking, inventory and photograph with the required witnesses. Make sure that his/her voluntary surrender of such drug items has been written down in his/her voluntary confession and appropriate intervention shall be provided.

d. If the surrenderer is a pusher but does not have dangerous drugs in his/her possession, the procedures stated under the general guidelines shall be observed and appropriate intervention shall be provided.

e. If the surrenderer is a user, determine if rehabilitation is applicable in his/her case and follow the issued board regulation on procedures on treatment and rehabilitation for that purpose. The surrenderer shall state in the AFFIDAVIT OF UNDERTAKING AND WAIVER that he/she shall undergo voluntary treatment and rehabilitation. Any monetary consideration in relation to rehabilitation shall be borne by the surrenderer, or if he/she is indigent, a request may be made to the Local Government Unit concerned for assistance. If he/she cannot avail or afford treatment and rehabilitation, he/she shall submit himself/herself to community-based treatment and rehabilitation program, if available.

f. If the surrenderer is a minor, he/she shall be immediately endorsed to the local social welfare office in accordance with Republic Act 9344, or Juvenile Justice Welfare Act of 2006.

g. If the surrenderer is an OFW who wanted to surrender abroad, he/she shall submit her/himself to Labor Attache assigned in their respective embassies and same shall be referred to the Migrant Workers and Other Overseas Filipinos Resource Center and the procedure stated under the general guidelines shall be observed.

SECTION 3. Monitoring of Surrenderer. —

The surrenderer, shall be under the supervision of the LGUs thru the City or Municipal Anti-Drug Abuse Council (CADAC/MADAC), and shall report to the Chief of Police at least once a week for a period of six (6) months and may be subjected to random drug testing. ASEcHI

SECTION 4. Reporting System. —

All law enforcement agencies shall maintain a separate file of drug personalities who voluntarily surrendered in their respective offices. Said information shall be submitted to the PNP in the area to have a one list of surrenderer.

The PNP shall designate a Secretariat that will collate reports and maintain periodic statistics on drug personalities who voluntarily surrender to authorities for evaluation/analysis and continuing enhancement of processes and procedures.

The concerned police unit in the City/Municipality shall submit monthly reports on drug personalities who voluntarily surrender to the PNP Chain of Command. The Chief, PNP, thru the PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Group shall submit a consolidated report to the PDEA.

SECTION 5. Coordination with the Government and Non-Government Organizations. —

The LGUs in the area shall coordinate with the government and non-government organizations for the provision of livelihood and training programs to the drug personalities who surrendered voluntarily.

SECTION 6. General Supervision of Handling Voluntary Surrender of Drug Personalities. —

For purposes of effective monitoring and accounting of drug personalities who voluntarily surrendered to authorities, the Director General, PDEA shall be the Officer Primarily Responsible (OPR) for providing general supervision over the implementation of this Regulation pursuant to Section 84 of RA 9165.

SECTION 7. Sanctions. —

Any violation of this Regulation shall be penalized with the sanctions embodied in Section 32, Article II of RA 9165 without prejudice to any appropriate administrative sanctions provided under the Act.

SECTION 8. Effectivity. —

This Regulation shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation and after registration with the Office of National Administrative Register (ONAR), UP Law Center, Quezon City.

APPROVED and ADOPTED, this 3rd day of August, in the year of Our Lord, 2016 in Quezon City.

(SGD.) SECRETARY FELIPE L. ROJAS, JR., CEO VIChairman, Dangerous Drugs Board

Attested by:

(SGD.) ASST. SECRETARY AMADOR S. PABUSTANOIC-Secretary of the Board

ANNEX A

Republic of the Philippines )

X---------------------------------X

Affidavit of Undertaking and Waiver

I, ____________________________, of legal age, Filipino citizen, married/single, and with permanent address at __________________________________________, after being duly sworn to in accordance with law, hereby depose and state that:

1. On __________ 2016, I went to the ____________ Office ____ with office address at ____________________________________ for the purpose of subjecting myself to voluntary surrender as a _______ (pusher/user) of dangerous drugs.

2. I voluntarily acknowledged that as a ______ (pusher/user) of dangerous drugs, I have committed a crime in violation of Republic Act No. 9165 or the "Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002".

3. I am authorizing ______ through its Laboratory Service to take my urine sample and to conduct physical/medical examination for any purpose that it may serve the Agency. ITAaHc

4. I am authorizing the ________ to take my photos, fingerprints (tenprints) and any information in relation with my involvement in the proliferation of illegal drugs in _______ as well as other information known to me about my cohorts.

5. I am committing to do the following:

a. I shall reform myself and resolve not to engage anymore in the illegal drug business;

b. I further submit to record check and background investigation of __________ and other law enforcement units, whenever necessary to prove my truthfulness and integrity;

c. I shall join all anti-drug activities undertaken by the municipality/city of ___________;

d. I shall report to the Office of __________ once a week for a period of six (6) months and shall subject myself to any random drug testing;

e. I shall immediately report all drug-related information to the authorities; and

f. I am willing to voluntarily submit myself for treatment and rehabilitation.

6. I understand and agree that my voluntary surrender and this waiver does not in any way absolve me from any criminal liability nor shall it result in the removal of my name from the list of drug personalities.

7. I hereby WAIVE any and all claims, criminal, civil, or administrative against the Agency and officers thereof, and further RELEASE and DISCHARGE them from any and all liability. Likewise, I hereby authorize _______ to utilize the result of my urine sample for any legal purpose that it may serve.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I hereby affixed my signature this ____ day of ____ 20___ at _____________________.

______________________________

CONFORME: ____________________ (by the accompanying person)

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this ____ day of __________ 2016 at ____________________________________, affiant exhibiting to me his valid identification card issued by ______ on _______ at ___________. I hereby certify that I have examined the affiant, explained to him/her the consequences of his acts, and I am satisfied that he understood the contents of this document.

______________________________

ANNEX B

(Instruction: Use the vernacular language or local dialect that the person understands. You can incorporate however the English translation of the given vernacular questions and responses following this form.)

Voluntary Confession of Mr. . . .

Mr. . . . , ___ years ____ old, married, resident of . . . , who claims that he is and has been a drug user or pusher of dangerous drugs, has presented himself to surrender to this office, ____ on July ___, 2016. Accompanying him to this office is Barangay Captain . . . of Barangay No. . . . , Quezon City. Mr. . . . has manifest to give his voluntary confession about his direct involvement as well as the other persons he knows who are also involved and connected in the illegal drug trade.

Mr. . . . before proceeding in questioning you, I am informing you that under our new Constitution, you have the right to the following:

A. You have the right to remain silent and not answer . . . my questions?

1Q: Do you understand your right?

A: Yes, sir.

2Q: Are you going to use your right?

A: Reflect the response of the person.

 (For example: I would rather not sir because I would tell the truth as to what had happened.)

B. If you answer or say anything to my questions, it might be that I or our office might use your answers or confession against you or favorable to you.

3Q: Do you understand this consequence if you answer and give your confession to me?

A: Yes, sir.

4Q: Do you want to continue to answer my questions?

A: Yes, sir.

C. You have the right to avail of the services of a counsel of your choice to help you in this investigation, and if you cannot afford to hire the services of a lawyer, the government will provide you with free legal service from the PAO, or free legal services of a lawyer from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP).

5Q: Do you understand your right? CHTAIc

A: Yes, sir.

6Q: Are you going to use your right?

A: Reflect the response of the person.

 (For example: I have my own lawyer, he is Atty. . . ., we already had a talk and he made me understand . . . my rights, and he also made me understand about this investigation where I will voluntarily narrate what I . . . know.

D. You can waive your rights to remain silent and to counsel of your own choice only in writing and in the presence of counsel.

7Q: Do you understand your right?

A: Yes, sir.

8Q: Are you willing to waive your rights to remain silent and to counsel of your own choice in writing in this investigation?

A: Write the response of the person.

 (For example: Yes, sir.)

9Q: Do you have a counsel of your own choice to assist and advise you in waiving your rights?

A: No need, sir.

10Q: Do you want that our office provide you a counsel to assist and advice you?

A: Yes sir if that is necessary.

11Q: In the waiver of your rights, Atty. . . ., from PAO office of Quezon City, is here to explain and advise you your rights and the consequences of waiving your rights. Do you want Atty. . . . to explain and advise you?

A: Yes, sir.

12Q: After Atty. . . . has explained and advised your rights and the consequences of waiving your rights, did you understand his/her explanation to you?

A: Yes, sir.

13Q: Do you want to give your confession without the assistance of your own counsel in this investigation?

A: Write the response of the person.

 (For example: Yes, sir.)

14Q: Did anybody give you money or promise to give you a reward, or did anybody intimidate you in giving this affidavit?

A: Reflect the response of the person.

 (For Example: Nobody, sir.)

15Q: Are you willing to sign your certification together with Atty. . . ., who assisted you, to show that I and Atty. . . . have explained to you your rights and that you understood and willing to waive your rights to remain silent and to counsel of your own choice?

A: Yes, sir.

Certification

I certify that I signed this certification, in the presence of my counsel, to show that I understood my rights mentioned and explained to me by the investigator, IO2 . . ., and my own counsel, Atty. . . ., and that I have freely waived my rights in the presence of my counsel so I can continue to give my confession.

 

Name of Person

I certify that I have personally explained to Mr. . . . his rights and I am convinced that he understood the waiver of his rights and that he is willing to give his confession in writing in the absence of his own counsel in this investigation.

Name of Lawyer

PAO

(Instruction: If the person is willing to give a voluntary confession but has desired to be assisted by his own counsel, the Certification should read like this:

I certify that I signed this certification, in the presence of my counsel, to show that I understood my rights mentioned and explained to me by the investigator, IO2 . . ., and my own counsel, Atty. . . ., and that I have asked the assistance of Atty. . . . to be my own counsel to assist and advice me in giving my confession in this investigation.)

Name of Affiant

I certify that I have personally explained to Mr. . . . his rights and that he is willing to give his confession in writing and that he has asked my assistance to serve as his own counsel to assist and advise him in this investigation. ISHCcT

Name of Lawyer

PAO

16Q: State your personal circumstances:

A:

17Q: Are you employed?

A:

18Q: Since when you have been employed? (or Since when you were not employed?)

A:

19Q: Where are you employed? (or Who support you financially?)

A:

20Q: What made you decide to surrender to our office?

A:

21Q: What are your specific involvements in illegal drug?

A:

(Instruction: Continue the question and answer, detailing his/her PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE of his/her (1) illegal drug activities and specific involvement, if possible with exact or approximate date or period of transactions, (2) the names and sources of his/her dangerous drugs, (3) the names of persons or "cohorts" who served as intermediaries between him/her and his/her suppliers, (4) the names of people or drug users whom he/she sold the dangerous drugs directly from him/her, or (5) with whom he/she had occasion to join in "pot session" where he/she was present, (6) location of drug den, dive and resorts he/she frequented/visited and their known owners or operators, (7) names of his/her "protectors" and "coddlers" in the government service, both "appointive" and "elective"; (8) or those who "received grease money" from him/her and how much money per week or month he/she gives per head and in what particular time, week, month and year, (9) his/her bank or on-line transactions and deposits, if any, (10) the places and locations where he/she had been selling or using dangerous drug, (11) volume and price of dangerous drugs he/she sold per day, week or month, and (12) such other relevant information.

Note further that a "confession is not voluntary" if it contains facts and details which appear to have been supplied by the investigators themselves.

22Q: I have no other questions, do you have anything to say?

A: No more sir.

23Q: Are you willing to swear under oath and sign this voluntary confession you have given to me?

A: Yes sir.

This is to certify that I have read the foregoing statements consisting of five (5) pages of which I have initiated and signed in the presence of Atty. . . ., PAO lawyer, and I state that the foregoing are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.

I have executed this voluntary confession this ___ day of ____, 2016 at (__________, Quezon City).

Name

(If assisted by a counsel) Assisted by counsel:

Atty. . . .

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this ____ day of _____, 2016 at ______________, Quezon City. I have personally examined the affiant and I am convinced that he voluntarily executed his voluntary confession and understood his statements.

ANNEX C

Date: ________________________

Request for Physical/Medical Examination

The duty Physician:

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

Sir/Madam:

Respectfully request for the Physical/Medical Examination of the following person/s who voluntarily surrendered to this Office on ________________ 20____:

1.	__________________________________________	sex _______
2.	__________________________________________	sex _______
3.	__________________________________________	sex _______
4.	__________________________________________	sex _______
5.	__________________________________________	sex _______
6.	__________________________________________	sex _______
7.	__________________________________________	sex _______
8.	__________________________________________	sex _______

Please furnish this Office a copy of the result for our reference.

Rest assured of our continuous support on matters of mutual interest. Thank you. CAacTH

________________________________________

ANNEX D

Memorandum

 

1. Reference: ___________________.

2. May we request for the drug test of the following person/s who voluntarily surrendered to this Office on ___________________ 20____:

3. Kindly furnish us results thereof for our investigation reference.

4. Request appropriate action.

ANNEX E

Booking Sheet

ANNEX F