PDEA To Blur All Mug Shots
In a statement, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency said the blurring of mug shots was part of the set of protocols that it adopted in March this year.
Following criticisms against the supposed special treatment accorded to the son of Justice Secretary Jesus Cripin Remulla, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) reiterated on Thursday, Oct. 20, that it has adopted updated guidelines on arrested suspects.
Remulla’s son, Juanito III, was arrested by authorities in a controlled delivery operation in Las Piñas last week.
It took a few days before the incident was reported to the media, and when it finally came out, the PDEA rleased a blurred mug shot of Remulla.
House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro questioned the blurred mug shot and described it as a “special treatment.”
In a statement, the PDEA denied according special treatment to the son of the justice secretary.
“We adopted a set of protocols in March this year, measures that would better align our anti-drug operations with the spirit of Republic Act 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012”, PDEA Director General Wilkins Villanueva said.
He said the protocols include doing away with parading drug suspects in press conferences.
Villanueva said this was banned by the PDEA after determining that the practice violated the constitutional rights of the accused, particularly the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
The practice of publishing pictures or images of arrested suspects, particularly mug shots, was also stopped, he said.
“Pictures provided to the media which contain images of the suspect must have the individual’s face obscured or blurred, similar to what is practiced for pictures containing the faces of law enforcement agents,” Villanueva said.
While the public has a right to access to information, Villanueva said they also put equal importance to human rights and due process.
“We hope the public understands that this is a difficult, but necessary balancing act,” he said.
Remulla was arrested last week after receiving a package containing suspected high-grade marijuana weighing 893.31 grams and with an estimated street value of P1.25 million.
The Las Piñas City Prosecutor’s Office last week filed a complaint of possession of illegal drugs against Remulla.
The raffle of Remulla’s case was moved to next Thursday as the judges attended a seminar yesterday.
The Pasay City Prosecutor’s Office created a special panel of prosecutors to conduct a preliminary investigation on Remulla’s case.
