Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. _ 4292

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the techniques employed by the PNP in crime investigation are outdated.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procedures have long been replaced by their counterparts in first world countries.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 tuned 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 modemization of its
crime investigation techniques. Its aim is to phase out obsolete investigation
techniques that prejudice the rights of the 2ccused and diminish the people's
confidence in the criminal justice system.

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

DIOSDADO
Second District,

JACAPAGAL ARROYO
marine Sur Second District, Pampanga


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS.
First Regular Session

House Bitl No._4292

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 2011.”

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:

(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 initia! 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;

(I) 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 Modernization 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 Nationai 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
Tequired 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;

(E) 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,