Tarlac State University-School of Law (TSU-SOL) Dean Jose Dela Rama, Jr. is lobbying the use of forensic science in the appreciation of evidence in criminal cases.
He is the son of the late CA Justice Jose Dela Rama, who penned the 1995 ruling dismissing the libel case filed against the late journalist Louie Beltran.
“It is science-based so it is more accurate rather than purely relying on positive identification and alibi. We tend to forget that the evidence needed are all in the body of the victim,” he told Manila Standard.
Dela Rama, also a remedial law professor in several law schools, will be a guest speaker at the 15th IASR International Conference on Forensic Science in New Delhi, India from August 23-25 to discuss exploration in various forensic science domains.
He shared that in foreign jurisdictions such as India, and as featured in forensic Korean dramas, courts do not simply rely on doctor’s findings but use deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and other scientific devices to ensure the accused committed the crime.
Dela Rama underscored the application of science to the legal arena is fundamentally one of reconstruction trying to assist in determining “what happened, who was involved, when and where it happened” and not concerned with “why something happened.”
Further, forensic science contributes information about what may have happened and who may have been involved.
He explained that world experts observed the courts “lack forensic practice which enables criminals to escape prosecution” as they rely solely on witness and confession.
To avoid wrongful convictions, the simple use of forensic science in criminal prosecution must be observed and lawyers as well as first responders must learn proper evidence preservation until presented in court, according to him.
Dela Rama is positive that the inclusion of forensic science in the appreciation of evidence and its addition to the present criminal procedure or rules on evidence will facilitate swift administration of justice.
The Supreme Court (SC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) can formulate rules, procedure, manual, and guidelines related to forensic investigation before a case is filed in court, he suggests.
Meanwhile, the SC held its first leg of regional consultation last week in Lipa City, Batangas to revisit and modernize the Rules of Criminal Procedure after more than two decades from its last revision.
In his keynote address, Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo pointed out that “technology plays a very significant role in the administration of justice,” adding that “adapting to technology has already become a necessity.”
The Rules “must evolve to reflect the realities of our time, ensuring that they remain potent tools for the fair, transparent and timely delivery of justice to both the accused individuals and the State,” according to the Chief Justice.
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