NUPL lauds SC rules on police body cams but warns vs possible loopholes
MANILA, Philippines — The National Union of People's Lawyers on Saturday said it was grateful for the Supreme Court's recently issued rules requiring law enforcement to use body cameras while serving warrants but warned that some of its provisions might be open to circumvention on the ground.
The high court on June 29 issued the Rules on the Use of Body-Worn Cameras which requires law enforcement agents implementing arrest and search warrants to use at least two recording devices for their operations.
The SC cited in its resolution its power to promulgate rules concerning the protection of people’s rights as well as mounting calls for safeguards on rules they claimed have been weaponized against dissenters and activists.
"Generally, it is grounded on abundant experience and appears to have taken into good account the clamor to address the situations that arise in rights violations," NUPL President Edre Olalia said, referring to the SC's resolution.
He also noted that the high court "incorporated or included provisions similar to" the following which were recommended by the NUPL:
- submission of recordings during an inquest
- denial of multiple search warrant applications
- limiting the scope of the power of courts to issue search warrants only within their judicial region
- inadmissibility or suppression of seized evidence in searches without use of recording devices
- protocols when deaths occur
- use of cameras by witnesses
- rules on the chain of custody
"At the same time, it is clear as well that [the SC] does not want to tie the hands of law enforcement agencies in legitimate and legal searches and arrests," Olalia said.
"It also aimed to preserve the integrity of the process as well as help strengthen the independence of the judiciary and the sound exercise of judicial power and sanction for violations."
NUPL: Some provisions open to evasion
Olalia warned, however, that "some provisions may unwittingly provide gaps, loopholes and opportunities for circumvention on the ground." He said these include:
- the very limited number of minimum mandatory recording devices to be used, leaving open-ended and to a subjective determination "such number as may be necessary to capture and record the relevant incidents during the execution"
- the non-specification of who among the whole team will actually wear such devices
- the limited battery life of continuous recording (eight hours, which may be inadequate in some operations)
- non-liability in case of purported ignorance of malfunction
- possible dispute as to when to activate the devices at the first instance ("as soon as the officers arrive at the place of arrest or search")
- instances when the devices are allowed to be turned off
- opening the option of failing to use the devices "on reasonable grounds"
"At all events, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so to speak, and we shall continue to actively cooperate, recommend and even call out as these welcome reforms are tested out there on the ground," Olalia vowed.
"After all, it is not only a matter of trust and presumptions, but ultimately a matter of experience."
In May, human rights defenders and the families of detained or killed activists sought from the SC judicial safeguards to protect activists from what they said are abuses of the law.
They cited a NUPL report released in April which found that there have been 176 work-related attacks on lawyers, including 73 killings, in the past ten years and that the numbers have surged since the start of the Duterte administration.
Of the 104 attacks which took place in the last decade, NUPL said, 86%, involved human rights and public interest lawyers.
— Bella Perez-Rubio with a report from Kristine Joy Patag
- Latest
- Trending
