FIFTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
) 
SENATE 
S.B:No. 2592 
~l!l'llltr 
(!irf". of t~.;iiw,j",ij 
'10 
NOV 15 A9 :28 
lWCEIVCO BY. 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The value of properly preserved biological evidence has been enhanced by the discovery 
of modern DNA testing methods, which, coupled with a comprehensive system of DNA 
databases that store crime scene and offender profiles, allow law enforcement to improve its 
crime-solving potential. 
The Innocence Project, established in 1992 at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law of 
the Yeshiva University in New York City and dedicated to exonerating the innocent through 
post-conviction DNA testing, has helped in the expneration of more than 215 people in the 
United States. The Innocence Project's groundbreaking use of DNA technology to free innocent 
people has provided irrefutable proof that wrongful convictions are not isolated or rare events but 
instead arise from systemic defects. 
The Philippines can only benefit from these learnings and use it to enhance local 
investigative and law enforcement procedures. 
Tapping the potential of preserved biological evidence requires the proper identification, 
collection, preservation, storage, cataloguing, and organization of such evidence. Simple 
but 
crucial enhancements to protocols for properly preserving biological evidence can solve old 
crimes, enhance public safety, and settle claims of innocence. 
Innocent people mistakenly convicted of the serious crimes for which biological evidence 
is probative cannot prove their innocence if such evidence is not accessible for testing in 
appropriate circumstances. 
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Aside from the wrongfully convicted and their families, crime victims, law enforcement, 
prosecutors, courts and the public are harmed whenever individuals guilty of crimes elude justice 
while innocent individuals are imprisoned for crimes they did not commit. 
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,>I?flatr 
FIFTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
) 
(liff". of t~.j;mrt"'~ 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
) 
'10 
NOV 15 A9 :28 
SENA'W 
S. B. No. i!:J92 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
AN ACT 
TO IMPROVE THE PRESERVATION AND ACCESSIBILITY 
OF BIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE 
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 "Evidence Preservation Act." 
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the policy of the State to convict the guilty and 
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protect the innocent. 
Towards this end, enhancements to protocols for properly preserving 
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biological evidence can solve old crimes, enhance public safety, and settle claims of innocence. 
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SECTION 3. Definitions. - For purposes of this Act, the term: 
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(a) 
"Biological evidence" means the contents of a sexual assault examination kit; and 
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any item that contains blood, semen, hair, saliva, skin tissue, fingernail scrapings, bone, bodily 
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fluids, or other identifiable biological material that was collected as part of the criminal 
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investigation or may reasonably be used to incriminate or exculpate any person for the offense. 
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This definition applies whether the material is catalogued separately (e.g., on a slide, a swab, or 
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in a test tube) or is present on other evidence (including, but not limited to, clothing, ligatures, 
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bedding or other household material, drinking cups, cigarettes, etc.); 
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(b) 
"DNA" means deoxyribonucleic acid; 
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(c) 
"Custody" means persons currently incarcerated, civilly committed, on parole, 
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probation, or subject to sex offender registration; 
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(d) 
"Profile" means a unique identifier of an individual, derived from DNA; 
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(e) 
"State" refers to any governmental or public entity within (including all private 
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entities that perform such functions) and its officials or employees, including but not limited to 
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law enforcement agencies, prosecutors' offices, courts, public hospitals, crime laboratories, and 
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any other entity or individual charged with the collection, storage, and/or retrieval of biological 
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evidence; and 
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(1) 
"Secretary" means the Secretary of Justice. 
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SECTION 4. Preservation of Evidence Procedures. -
(a) 
(b) 
The State shall preserve all biological evidence: 
(1) 
That is secured in relation to an investigation or prosecution of a crime for 
the period of time that the crime remains unsolved; or 
(2) 
(3) 
That is secured in relation to an investigation or prosecution of a crime for 
the period of time that the person convicted of that crime remains in 
custody; and 
That is in the custody of a law enforcement agency of the State on the 
effective date of this Act. 
This Act applies to evidence that: 
(I) 
(2) 
Was in the possession of the State during the investigation and prosecution 
of the case; and 
At the time of conviction was likely to contain biological material. 
(c) 
The State shall not destroy biological evidence should additional co-defendant(s), 
convicted of the same crime, remain in custody and shall preserve said evidence for the period of 
time in which all co-defendants remain in custody. 
(d) 
The State shall retain evidence in the amount and manner sufficient to develop a 
DNA profile from the biological material contained in or included on the evidence. 
(e) 
Upon written request by the defendant, the State shall prepare an inventory of 
biological evidence that has been preserved in connection with the defendant's criminal case. 
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(f) 
The State may destroy evidence that includes biological material before the 
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expiration of the time period specified in subsection (a) of this section if all of the following 
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apply: 
(g) 
(I) 
No other provision oflaw requires the State to preserve the evidence. 
(2) 
The State sends certified delivery of notice of intent to destroy the 
evidence to: 
(i) 
All persons who remain in custody as a result of the criminal 
conviction, delinquency adjudication, or commitment related to 
evidence in question; 
(ii) 
The attorney of record for each person in custody; and 
(iii) 
The Department Of Justice. 
(3) 
No person who is notified under the preceding subsection does either of 
the following within one hundred eighty (180) days after the date on 
which the person received the notice: 
(i) 
Files a motion for testing of evidence; or 
(ii) 
Submits a written request for retention of evidence to the State 
entity which provided notice of its intent to destroy evidence under 
the preceding subsection. 
If, after providing notice under Section (4)(f)(2) of this Act of its intent to destroy 
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evidence, the State receives a written request for retention of the evidence, the State shall retain 
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the evidence while the person remains in custody. 
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(h) 
The State shall not be required to preserve physical evidence that is of such a size, 
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bulk, or physical character as to render retention impracticable. When such retention is 
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impracticable, the State shall remove and preserve portions of the material evidence likely to 
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contain biological evidence related to the offense, in a quantity sufficient to permit future DNA 
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testing before returning or disposing of said physical evidence. 
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(i) 
Should the State be called upon to produce biological evidence that could not be 
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located and whose preservation was required under the provisions of this statute, the chief 
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evidence custodian assigned to the entity charged with the preservation of said evidence shall 
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provide an affidavit in which he or she stipulates, under penalty of perjury, that describes the 
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efforts taken to locate that evidence and that the evidence could not be located. 
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SECTION 5. Remedies For Noncompliance. - If the court finds that biological evidence 
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was destroyed in violation of the provisions of this Act, it shall impose appropriate sanctions and 
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order appropriate remedies. 
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SECTION 6. Creation oj a Task Force to Recommend Procedures and Practices to 
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Improve the Preservation oj Biological Evidence. - A Task Force for the Preservation of 
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Biological Evidence shall be convened and headed by the Secretary of Justice, and shall be 
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composed often (10) members: 
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(a) 
(b) 
(c) 
(d) 
(e) 
(f) 
(g) 
(h) 
(i) 
(j) 
A member of the Philippine Judicial Academy; 
A dean of a Philippine law school; 
A representative of the Philippine National Police; 
A representative of the Office of the National Prosecution Service; 
A representative of the Public Attorney's Office; 
A member of the Committee on Justice and Human Rights of the Senate; 
A member ofthe Committee on Justice of the House of Representatives; 
A representative of the National Bureau of Investigation; 
An expert in forensic science; and 
A representative of a victims rights organization. 
SECTION 7. Duties oj the Task Force. - The Task Force for the Preservation of 
Biological Evidence shall: 
(a) 
Establish standards regarding proper identification, collection, preservation, 
storage, cataloguing and organization of biological evidence; 
(b) 
Recommend essential components of training programs for law enforcement 
officers and other relevant employees that are charged with preserving and retrieving biological 
evidence regarding the methods and procedures referenced in this Act; and 
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(c) 
Issue recommendations regarding the creation of a centralized tracking system 
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through which laboratories, facilities and other related entities may locate biological evidence 
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connected'to felony cases, which include: 
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(1) 
Protocol for the retrieval of biological evidence for cases that have already 
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resulted in felony convictions; 
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(2) 
Protocol for the retrieval of biological evidence for unsolved felony cases; 
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and 
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(3) 
Practices, protocols, models, and resources for the cataloguing and 
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accessibility of preserved biological evidence already in the possession of 
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State entities that preserve such evidence, 
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(d) 
Formulate and issue the implementing rules and regulations of this Act. 
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SECTION 8. Standards and Training of Evidence Custodians, - In consultation with the 
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Task Force, the Department of Justice shall administer and conduct training programs for law 
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enforcement officers and other relevant employees charged with preserving and cataloguing 
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biological evidence regarding the methods and procedures referenced in this Act. 
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SECTION 9, Appropriation. -
To carry out the provisions of this Act, such amount as 
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may be necessary is hereby authorized to be appropriated from the National Treasury, 
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Thereafter, such amount necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act shall be included in the 
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annual appropriation of the Department of Justice. 
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SECTION 10. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof is held invalid or 
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unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall remain 
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valid and subsisting. 
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SECTION II. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
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order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule, or regulation contrary to or is inconsistent 
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with the provision of this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly. 
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SECTION 12, Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
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publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved, 
lacs 
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