By Jennifer P. Rendon
Criminal cases that have gone cold are being investigated anew.
The Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) announced the move Friday following a meeting of the PRO-6 Regional Oversight Committee on Illegal Drugs (ROCID) and Enhanced Managing Police Operations (EMPO).
The PRO-6 headquarters has released funds to field units tasked to reinvestigate these cold cases.
Cold cases are those deemed unsolved as criminal investigation stopped for more than six months due to lack of evidence.
The PRO-6 Regional Investigation and Detective Management Division (RIDMD) earlier cited that lack of funds is the common reason why some cases go cold.
The funding of the reinvestigation of the cold cases is one of the initiatives of PRO-6 to increase crime clearance and crime solution efficiency of the region, which are bases on the unit evaluation rating of the PNP national headquarters.
During the meeting, members of the oversight committee reviewed cases that were funded by the PRO-6 headquarters and submitted in April and May 2021.
RIDMD records showed that 20 cases were funded in April and 19 in May.
The funds amounting to P1,469,000 were released to the different police stations all over the region based on the amount they requested.
To date, 10 of the 20 cases in April were already cleared after criminal charges were filed against the suspects.
10 of the 19 cases in May were also considered cleared. The remaining nine cases are still under investigation.
For April, Capiz Police Provincial Office (CPPO) has three cases that are yet to be solved; Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) and Iloilo City Police Office have two cases each; and Antique PPO, Aklan PPO, and Guimaras have one each.
For the month of May 2021, Negros Occidental PPO has four cases that are under investigation, Bacolod City PO has still three cases, and Capiz PPO has two.
On the other hand, the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) has cleared all 9 cases submitted for reinvestigation after the filing of cases against the suspects before the prosecutor’s office.
Apart from the performance evaluation, PRO-6 said that funding of the re-investigation of cold cases is their way of sending a message to the public that they are not burying cold cases.
“Hindi natin tinutulugan ang mga unsolved cases dito sa Western Visayas because by all means, this would reflect on our performance as a region,” Brigadier General Rolando Miranda, Western Visayas police chief, said.
FUND RETURN
But what happens to the station that fails to solve the case within the given time frame?
Lieutenant Colonel Kim Legada, RIDMD deputy chief, said that the chief of police will be required to explain and return the funds they requested.
“If they failed to justify how the fund was spent, the chief of police could be held liable both administratively and criminally,” Legada said.
Cases for irregularity in the performance of duty and malversation could be filed against the chiefs of police who failed to account the money they received.
Police Stations shall solve the case based on the timeline they submitted in their Case Investigation Plan (CIPLAN).
However, the oversight committee limits the timeframe to 30 days to expedite solution of the cases.
Police stations were earlier required to submit the CIPLAN of their unsolved cold cases for review by the RIDMD prior the recommendation for the release of funds they requested.
Cold cases from 2016 to 2020 are included for funding and the priority are the heinous crimes such as murder and homicide and other highly sensationalized cases.
