Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 1521

Introduced by Representative 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the PNP in crime investigation are outdated. These procedures have long been
replaced by their counterparts in first world countries.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

Tights of the accused and diminish the people's confidence in the criminal justice
system.

|, therefore, urge my colleagues for the immediate passage of this proposed bill.

GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO
Second District, Pampanga


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 4521

Introduced by Representative GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO

AN ACT MODERNIZING THE CRIME INVESTIGATION TECHNIQUES OF LAW
ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES

Be it enacted by the Senate of 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 2016.”

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. — It 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:

+ 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;

+ One of the most important aspects of securing the crime scene is to preserve
the scene with minimal contamination and disturbance or 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;

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

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

+ 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;


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

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

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, local, and national laws;

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;

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;

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

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

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

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;

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 pos-scene responsibilities;

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

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 Modernization Committee
(CIMC). — The Crime Investigation Modernization Committee (CIMC) is hereby created
and shall be composed of the following:

+ The Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government as
Chairperson;

+ The Chief of the Philippine National Police;
+ The Director of the National Bureau of Investigation; and
+ 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:

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

+ 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;

+ 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;

+ 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;

+ 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,