(File photo)
MANILA – The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday reported an increased case disposition rate and higher prosecution success rate in the previous year.
During the House appropriations committee hearing on the agency's proposed PHP40.6 billion budget for 2025, DOJ Undersecretary Frederick Vida said the National Prosecution Service (NPS) handled a total of 436,883 cases, wherein 414,714 cases are due for resolution.
Of these cases due for resolution, Vida said the NPS has resolved 410,450 cases, thus achieving a 98.97 percent case disposition rate.
"This is a marked improvement of prior years' performance of the Department of Justice," he said.
Vida noted that case backlogs were also reduced by 63.53 percent over a 5-year period, bringing the number of pending cases down to 4,264 in 2023 from 11,691 case backlogs in 2019.
He said the department's prosecution success also rose to 89.55 percent in 2023 from 88.65 percent in 2019.
"With regard to court disposition, the department was able to sustain high prosecution success rates over the five-year period… This reflects the improving efforts and proactive stance of the department on investigation and case buildup of court cases through the years," he said.
Vida said the NPS resolved 93.95 percent of the criminal complaints handled in 2023, with a further increase to 97.24 percent during the first semester of 2024.
The DOJ also processed and acted upon all applications for witness protection in 2023 and in the first semester of this year, he noted.
Regarding its special enforcement and protection units, he said the DOJ has trained 7,771 law enforcers and service providers who handle complaints involving women and children, trafficking and cybercrime offenses in 2023, while the total trained personnel has been recorded at 4,941 for the first semester of 2024.
The corrections program of the department, on the other hand, saw 99.22 percent of inmate records, applications, and petitions relative to parole and executive clemency processed in 2023.
Vida said the Bureau of Corrections has managed a daily average of 51,520 inmates under its custody for 2023, 98.13 percent of which have participated in various reformation and rehabilitation programs of the bureau.
He said the DOJ, through its Board of Claims, has also acted upon 100 percent of victims compensation claims in 2023.
In addition, for various requests for legal services pending within a prescribed period, the legal staff of the department has acted upon around 94.86 percent of the requests in 2023 and 91.52 percent of the requests for the first semester of 2024.
On its law enforcement services, Vida said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) conducted 45,812 investigations and processed over 6.6 million criminal records clearances in 2023.
Bureau of Immigration (BI) maintained a 97.70 percent processing rate for international passengers within 45 seconds.
The BI has also processed 100 percent of immigration and registration documents within six days from receipt of complete documents both in 2023 and for the first semester of 2024.
Vida said the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) reported around PHP2.58 billion of recovered amount and proceeds from administration of fully taken-over sequestered assets in 2023.
For the first semester of this year, he said the PCGG has realized already the amount of PHP1.35 billion.
"The whole department remains steadfast and optimistic in sustaining if not surpassing its high performance results," Vida said. (PNA)
