In Partial Fulfillment of the Subject

Practicum II (LAW 328)

Submitted to:

Prosecutor Gerard D. Babate

Submitted by:

Aubrey Meg Y. Gajete

JD II

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Practicum Interview

I. REPORT:

The interview was conducted at 10:00 in the morning at PNP Station 2 Camdas in the presence
of Police Corporal (PCpl) Gregory Wayne C. Lamen. The interview lasted for about 45 minutes.
Be it noted that the answers were in the Pilipino dialect and were just interpreted in English.

AUBREY MEG Y. GAJETE: Good morning, Sir. First of all, I would like to introduce myself. I am
Aubrey Meg Y. Gajete, a third-year law student at CCDC and presently working at Quirino Hill
Health Center.

I would like to extend my gratitude to you for accommodating me on this humble request for
an interview regarding your office’s criminal procedure which I will be needing for the
completion of my requirement in Practicum II under Prosecutor Gerard D. Babate. Thank you
very much.

Before we start with the interview, may I know your name please.

PCpl LAMEN: I am Police Corporal Gregory Wayne C. Lamen, one of the investigating officers
here at PNP Station 2 Camdas.

AUBREY MEG Y. GAJETE: Thank you sir. I have prepared some questions here for the interview.
May we start with the interview proper?

PCpl LAMEN: Yes ma’am we may.

AUBREY MEG Y. GAJETE: Upon receipt of a complaint, what are the procedures and
requirements you observe or conduct?

PCpl LAMEN: First of all, we get the specific information or circumstances. We determine the
correct spelling or the full name of the accused and offended party. In case of unknown identity
of the accused, temporarily we will name him/her “Jane Doe”. We will determine when did the
crime happen and the approximate time it was committed. We will also make sure that the
complete address (including house or building number if applicable) of the crime is asked for
investigation purposes and what offense or crime is committed.

AUBREY MEG Y. GAJETE: Sir, what if the accused is not from Baguio or what if the complainant
is not a resident here in Baguio City?

PCpl LAMEN: For complainants who are not from Baguio City and unaware of the exact address
where the crime was committed, we accompany them to the place of incident. If the accused is
not from Baguio and the identity is unknown, an investigation will be done to determine the
identity of the accused.

AUBREY MEG Y. GAJETE: Okay sir, thank you. What if the client came in at your office with a
complaint needing urgent action?

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PCpl LAMEN: We will be utilizing the Patrol Mobile for immediate response and for possible
arrest of the person if applicable.

AUBREY MEG Y. GAJETE: In cases sir when a client came in with a complaint that happened a
week ago or more?

PCpl LAMEN: In this case, we will advise the complainant to file their case already in the regular
courts.

AUBREY MEG Y. GAJETE: Okay sir noted. In the case that you receive a complaint that can be
resolved in the Katarungang Pambarangay, what is usually the process?

PCpl LAMEN: We will determine who is the accused and his/her residence. We will then make
a referral to the barangay. We will deliver or hand-carry the documents to the respective
barangay either to the place of residence of the accused or the residence of the complainant.

AUBREY MEG Y. GAJETE: Thank you for enlightening me on this matter. How do you then
collect evidences and perform crime scene investigation?

PCpl LAMEN: First and foremost, we determine the scope of the crime scene. We also identify
possible witnesses who can be a potential lead in the investigation of the crime committed. For
all cases involving founded body, example suicide or murder, the SOCO will be notified to
investigate the crime scene. We usually put a cordon at the location of the crime.

AUBREY MEG Y. GAJETE: Are there other case which require the presence of SOCO to
investigate?

PCpl LAMEN: Yes ma’am. These crimes include crimes committed by a prominent person and
also lost of money amounting to Php 500,000.00 and above.

AUBREY MEG Y. GAJETE: In offenses involving the Dangerous Drugs Act, are personnel from
SOCO involved?

PCpl LAMEN: It depends. For buy-bust operations, there is no need. But for example, in the
investigation of an alleged drug warehouse containing massive number of prohibited drugs,
SOCO will be involved.

AUBREY MEG Y. GAJETE: In general, during the conduct of investigation who are usually
present?

PCpl LAMEN: As to investigation, mostly are the suspect and his family, the victims and their
family and their lawyers.

AUBREY MEG Y. GAJETE: How do you then treat or preserve the evidences collected?

PCpl LAMEN: We have an evidence custodian to preserve the integrity of the evidence. So first,
our patrol man will turn it over to the investigator. The investigating officer will likewise turn
over the evidence to the evidence custodian.

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AUBREY MEG Y. GAJETE: With regards to custodial investigation and commencement of
inquest proceeding, are you following a step-by-step process that is stipulated in your manual?

PCpl LAMEN: Yes. We first get the statement of the victim and witnesses. Next is we prepare
the evidence. Upon preparing the evidence, we communicate within 1 hour with our higher ups
through SMS the initial information of the investigation. Within 3 hours, a spot report must be
already ready. We then process the documents needed like referrals and IRFs. After these
processes, we will be preparing 8 copies of the case folder per suspect. We then file this
complaint at Justice Hall with the prosecutor on duty if during working hours or if outside
working hours, we will be calling first the prosecutor in charge to determine his whereabouts
before hand-carrying the documents to the said prosecution.

AUBREY MEG Y. GAJETE: In relation to the preceding question, how do you file a complaint in
the prosecutor’s office?

PCpl LAMEN: First of all, we prepare the 8 copies case folder per suspect. The investigating
officer will determine the sufficiency of the facts/statements/evidences provided. If the
evidence collected are insufficient, we will ask for additional proof. However, if the evidence is
sufficient, we will file the complaint at Justice Hall with the prosecutor on duty. Initially, the
investigating officer will do initial assessment on the sufficiency of the complaint/evidence
before forwarding it to the Prosecutor’s Office /Justice Hall because if the prosecutor
determines that there is no probable cause, he/she will return the complaint and evidences
forwarded to them and will ask us to provide more substantial/additional evidences which can
delay the time of prosecution.

AUBREY MEG Y. GAJETE: What can you say about your investigation in general sir?

PCpl LAMEN: We are guided at all times by the Police Manual on the Operational Procedures
but many times if an offense are less grave and can be possibly settled in the Katarungang
Pambarangay, we will refer the dispute to the barangay for a speedy settlement of dispute. But
if the offense is a grave one and that it is in the best interest of the offended party, then we
now follow the guidelines set by the PNP Operational Manual

AUBREY MEG Y. GAJETE: That would be all Sir. Thank you very much and God bless.

II. OBSERVATIONS

There was a separate room with a door and lock mainly for VAWC cases to ensure privacy and
confidentiality of the victims. Even if there is no timeline on the turnover of evidence to the
evidence custodian, they still see to it that they observe the earliest possible time of turn-overs.

The investigators also admitted that they sometimes do not follow verbatimly the guidelines set
by the Revised Philippine National Police Operational Procedure in some cases because there is
a difficulty in its implementation due to the fact that the nature of the offense needs a lot of
innovation on the part of the PNP personnels to be able to arrest the offender/suspect. The
investigators also mentioned that if a dispute can be possibly settled in the Katarungang
Pambarangay, they will refer it to the barangays for a speedy settlement of dispute. According
to the investigators themselves, they had undergone pertinent trainings to qualify them such as

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the Criminal Investigation Courses and Summary on Pre-charge Evaluation. These are all
conducted by the Philippine National Police for their personnel.

III. RECOMMENDATIONS

It is good that technology is already integrated in the peace and order system. So far, I am
satisfied on the implementation of the PNP Station 2 using their PNP procedure and involving
the barangay in dispute resolutions. Atleast by this method, the Katarungang Pambarangay is
activated and somewhat the court is decongested. My recommendation is that in the barangay
setting, I hope the officials are knowledgeable enough in settling complaints.

IV. ATTACHMENTS
- Revised Philippine National Police Operational Procedure
- Certificate of Appearance
- Letter of Permission (to interview an investigating officer)
- IRF(additional attachment)
- Photo (depicting the student with the resource person/officer in charge at the office)

Name of student: Gajete, Aubrey Meg Y. Gajete

Date of Submission: January, 2023