Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No, 2810

Introduced by Representatives
DIOSDADO MACAPAGAL ARROYO and GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO

AN ACT
MODERNIZING THE CRIME INVESTIGATION TECHNIQUES OF LAW
ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Article II, Section 5, of the Constitution provides for “the maintenance of peace
and order, the protection of life, liberty and property, and the promotion of the general
welfare are essential for the enjoyment by all the people of the blessings of democracy.”

Crime investigation is essential in the administration of justice. The conviction or
acquittal of an accused will depend on the quality of investigative work conducted by our
law enforcement personnel. The problem is that some of the techniques employed by
the PNP in crime investigation are outdated. These procedures have long been
replaced by their counterparts in first world countries

‘An example is paraffin testing to determine if a person in interest has handled a
gun in connection with the investigation of a possible crime. This is largely considered
unreliable in countries with advanced crime investigation techniques. When a firearm is
discharged, an assortment of vapors and particulate material are expelled in the area
around the firearm. These products of firearm discharge are collectively referred to as
gunshot residues (GSR). Gunshot residues have been used in criminalistics to estimate
firing distances, identify bullet holes, and to determine whether or not a person has
discharged a firearm. Studies in the United States have shown however that it is not
essential for a person to discharge a firearm to have gunshot residue since it can be
transferred by means other than firing a gun.


Another problem is the absence of an “evidence library” or room in most police
stations. The police investigator who gathers physical evidence from a crime scene is
responsible for the custody of such evidence until it is turned over to the courts. The
concerned police officer, if he is negligent, can even lose the physical evidence.
Tampering with the evidence also becomes possible, because the chain of custody over
the evidence is not strictly monitored.

This bill seeks to solve the problems faced by the PNP and other state
investigation agencies by laying the groundwork for the modernization of its crime
investigation techniques. Its aim is to phase out obsolete investigation techniques that
prejudice the rights of the accused and diminish the people's confidence in the criminal
justice system,

We, therefore, urge our colleagues for the immediate passage of this proposed
bill.

DIOSDAD! -ARAGAL ARROYO. GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO
Second District, Camarine Sur Second District, Pampanga



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No, 2810

Introduced by Representatives
DIOSDADO MACAPAGAL ARROYO and GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO

AN ACT
MODERNIZING THE CRIME INVESTIGATION TECHNIQUES OF LAW
ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines
in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “Crime Investigation
Modernization Act of 2013.”

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. — \t is hereby declared the policy of the
government to actively promote, induce and accelerate a sound and modern procedure
in crime investigation.

SECTION 3. Standards in Crime Investigation. — All law enforcement agencies
shall be guided by the following standards in conducting their investigations:

(A) The Constitutional rights of all parties shall be respected at all times.
Towards this end, obsolete and unreliable crime investigation methods, such as
paraffin testing, shall be phased out;

(B) One of the most important aspects of securing the crime scene is to preserve
the scene with minimal contamination and disturbance of physical evidence. The
initial response to an incident shall be expeditious and methodical. Upon arrival,
the officer shall assess the scene and treat the incident as a crime scene:


(C) The safety and physical well-being of officers and other individuals, in and
around the crime scene, are the initial responding officers’ first priority;

(D) The initial responding officers shall ensure that medical attention is provided
with minimal contamination of the scene;

(E) Controlling, identifying, and removing persons at the crime scene and limiting
the number of persons who enter the crime scene and the movement of such
persons is an important function of the initial responding officers in protecting the
crime scene;

(F) Defining and controlling boundaries provide a means for protecting and
securing the crime scene;

(G) The initial responding officers at the scene shall provide a detailed crime
scene briefing to the investigators in charge of the scene;

(H) All activities conducted and observations made at the crime scene must be
documented as soon as possible after the event to preserve information;

() The investigators in charge shall identify specific responsibilities, share
preliminary information, and develop investigative plans in accordance with
departmental policy, focal, and national laws;

(J) The scene "walk-through" provides an overview of the entire scene, identifies
any threats to scene integrity, and ensures protection of physical evidence
Written and photographic documentation provides a permanent record;

(K) Based on the type of incident and complexity of the scene, the investigators
in charge shall determine team composition. Trained personnel shall perform
scene processing;

(L) Contamination control and preventing cross-contamination at single or
multiple scenes is essential to maintaining the safety of personnel and the
integrity of evidence;

(M) The investigators in charge shall ensure documentation of the scene using
photos, videos, sketches, measurements and notes, among others;

(N) The investigators must prioritize the collection of evidence to prevent loss,
destruction, or contamination;

(0) Evidence at crime scenes that is in the process of documentation, collection,
preservation, or packaging should be handled with attention to scene integrity
and protection from contamination or deleterious change. During the processing
of the scene, and following documentation, evidence should be appropriately


packaged, labeled, and maintained in a secure, temporary manner until final
packaging and submission to a secured evidence storage facility or the crime
laboratory;

(P) Law enforcement personnel and other responders shall participate in or
initiate a crime scene debriefing to ensure the crime scene investigation is
complete and to verify post-scene responsibilities;

(Q) The investigators in charge shall direct another walk-through at the
conclusion of the scene investigation and ensure that the scene investigation is
complete; and

(R) Reports and other documentation pertaining to the crime scene investigation
shall be compiled into a "case file" by the investigators in charge of the crime
scene, This file shall be a record of the actions taken and evidence collected at
the scene. This documentation shall allow for independent review of the work
conducted.

SECTION 4. Creation of the Crime Investigation Modemization Committee
(CIMC). - The Crime Investigation Modernization Committee (CIMC) is hereby created
and shall be composed of the following:

(A) The Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government as
Chairperson;

(B) The Chief of the Philippine National Police;
(C) The Director of the National Bureau of Investigation; and
(D) Two (2) experts in forensic science to be appointed by the President.

SECTION 5. Duties of the CIMC. - The CIMC shall have the following
responsibilities:

(A) Conduct a study on the modern methods of criminal investigation and their
applicability to the Philippines;

(B) Send scholars abroad for training in forensic science; they shall be required
to render government service for at least five years after completion of their
study;

(C) Create a manual for law enforcement officers according to the standards
enumerated in Section 3 of this law. This manual shall serve as the basic
requirement in all subsequent criminal investigations. It shall be the
responsibility of the CIMC to train the members of all law enforcement agencies
according to the procedures outlined by the manual;



(D) Complete a study on the feasibility of creating a course on Forensic Science
in State universities to be submitted to Congress within two (2) years after the
creation of the Committee;

() Engage in dialogues with foreign police agencies on possible sharing and
transfer of technology in forensic investigation;

(F) Within three (3) years after the creation of the CIMC, it shall submit a report to
Congress on the costs and ways of implementing a comprehensive program of
modernization of crime investigation

SECTION 6. Separability Clause. — If any provision or part hereof, is held invalid
or unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall
remain valid and subsisting

SECTION 7. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance,
executive order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to
or is inconsistent with the provision of this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended
accordingly.

SECTION 8. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after
its publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation

Approved,