AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PHILIPPINE DNA DATABASE SYSTEM:

A REFLECTION
BY: JONAH FE P. ACUNO – JD1C

How would you want to see the peace and order situation of the Philippines a decade from now? Would it
be the same vision our government would want us to foresee, or would it be too fancy for the government
to realize? These questions were playing in my thoughts in the offset of this semester. This article is a
reflection of how the proposed bill introduced by Hon. Robert Ace S. Barbers, Representative of 2 nd District,
Surigao del Norte would satisfy my questions or would it meet them halfway at least.
I grew up in a locality where I can say I am fortunate to be living harmoniously despite diversities on tribes,
culture, tradition and religion where heinous crime rate is way too low that I can say it does not almost exist.
However I could not be blinded with the peace and harmony of our locality with the reality of our nation
supported with statistics gathered by reliable sources that simple and heinous crimes exists in our country.
Worst is despite the resources the government is trying to exhaust in order to prevent the future
misfortunes and to solve the existing ones, studies and even the news are telling us that it is no way
possible; but what we are trying to ask the government to do is that justice shall be served for the rich and
for the poor for based on the actual happenings in bigger communities, justice are sometimes silenced with
threats and money.
The proposed bill entitled “An Act Providing for the Establishment of the Philippine DNA Database System”
of Hon. Barbers intends to help the speedy process of identifying matches of suspected individual and
crime scene bio-makers which shall be used as evidence to support criminal investigations. The said
system is quite interesting, it appears as a solution to those families who have been mourning for the
unsolved cases of their loved ones who have been deprived of justice due to unidentified culprit, a hope of
proving actual innocence for those wrongfully accused and saving them from the unfortunate imprisonment
and most especially it could be an answer for the authorities who are always looking for evidence in order
to fast track the determination of an absolute truth behind every criminal action.
However, not everyone would look at such bill with optimism as every advantageous significance of the
advancement of the system has its equivalent consequence. Jarrett P. Ambeau of the Ambeau Law Firm,
enumerated the Pros and Cons of DNA to wit:
Pros:
 Scholars regard DNA evidence as “probably the greatest forensic advancement since the advent of
fingerprinting;
 It can prove actual innocence even when other trustworthy evidence plays in the defendants’ favor;
 If handled properly, DNA evidence can be stored for years which is helpful because investigations
and criminal court proceedings can last a long time;
 Police Officers with unidentified samples can search for matches using databases
 DNA evidence beats eyewitness evidence when it comes to reliability.
Cons:
 DNA evidence is only found in a small fraction of crime scenes;
 Evidence such as confessions, murder weapons and other forensic evidence must supplement
DNA evidence, as juries don’t always base their verdicts upon DNA evidence alone;
 Human error involving a lack of training, sloppy work and cross-contamination, among other
issues, can interfere with the reliability of DNA evidence;
 DNA samples can pose privacy concerns as they identify your family relationships, ancestry, and
potential for diseases;
 Criminals can plant DNA evidence to frame an innocent person for the crime, also known as “crime
framing”.
Our DNA identifies us from our roots which is probably fascinating for us to connect with our ancestors and
even the present family ties that we have however scary at some point that not all connections are pleasant
to discover. There are generations of our tribe that would rather not be dig up or spiteful consequence will
arise. This DNA database system although accessed only by proper authorities and be disclosed upon
lawful order by the court can be abused by interested parties, however praying that it would never happen
as penalties are being provided. What is scarier with this type of evidence is the criminal framing that could
possibly exist as criminals might have the highest intelligence of framing innocent individuals to uphold their
evil intentions.

Moreover, authorities in collecting DNA must have the skills in doing so as it would ruin everything as such
is very sensitive to handle. Commentators from different professional fields and scientific disciplines have
pointed out the need to consider that the use of forensic genetic databases should be conducted while
considering ethical concerns and the need to respect fundamental human rights, such as freedom,
autonomy, privacy, presumption of innocence and equality (Amankwaa & McCartney, 2018; Krimsky &
Simoncelli, 2011; Van Camp & Dierickx, 2007). What concerns more is that this type of system demands
high maintenance as the costs do not stop after creating the system which we might ask if the outcome
of the said system will somehow justify the investment.

Looking through the brighter side of the proposed bill, the advancement of the said system will help quite a
lot in criminal procedures especially those that involves heinous crimes. Other countries are using this type
of system and are successful in identifying criminals through matching DNA results from their banks.
However, there are still possibilities of mistakes of handling the DNA or worst the risk of successful criminal
framing might imprison an innocent person and costs and damages are already spent convicting the wrong
criminal due to reliance of DNA evidence considering that such evidence was given importance due to its
advancement and the benefit of trust that DNA results are accurate when it comes to identities.
DNA is a representation of an individual as a whole as it contains information significant to him and
sensitive enough to ruin someone’s life due to discrimination of his weaknesses or his historical
background. There can also be abuse of potential information which is unfair to that individual and could be
a violation of his right to privacy and security as well.
In order to help the government in pushing through the proposed bill researchers have found Dos and
Don’ts in implementing the DNA database system. The significance of collecting samples from suspect is
that DNA typing profiles of suspects might also be useful in associating a person with open or unsolved
cases pending in other jurisdictions or states. Although a suspect's DNA profile might ultimately be entered
into a convicted-felon databank, there would no doubt be a substantial period during which a suspect might
engage in other criminal activities. Thus, in the case of a serial rapist, a person under suspicion and
investigation for one offense, might be responsible for several later offenses for which he is not suspected.
Therefore, if a DNA profile of a suspect is entered into a databank, it would be available to be searched
against future unsolved cases. For the victim’s privacy, their DNA profiles should never be entered into a
national databank or searched against such a databank, with the possible exception of cases of abduction,
in which it might be desirable for the victim's information to be stored and accessible to law-enforcement
officials. Another portion of the databank should contain DNA profiles from unidentified bodies, body parts,
and bone fragments. These would provide the greatest benefit when DNA profiles from immediate relatives
(parents) could be used to reconstruct the DNA profile of a missing person for comparison. Crime scene
samples from unidentified persons should be stored and be made accessible to legally authorized
investigators.
The above information tells us that the proposed bill is complicated, sensitive, costly and very demanding.
Could the government sustain its costs and would it justify investment as years will come? The government
can and the government should. Our country calls for speedy disposition of justice with utmost due process
and not just killing criminals without being tried as they were seen and believed as criminals. This country
longed for maintaining peace and order but with the advent of drugs and illegal activities, killings just come
and go and victims, were sometimes left deprived of justice due to lack of evidence. This DNA database
system could mark a good start for our criminal justice system. Wanted criminals who are at large could be
narrowed down as they will be track down using this system.
This proposed bill must not ruin the balance between the State’s duty to protect the public and the
individual’s right to privacy. The risk of information abuse is potentially high as I have mentioned earlier. If I
may suggest the collection of DNA must only be limited to those potentially involved in the crimes as a
result of the initial investigation of the authorities; this should not at least be extended to innocent children
or minors. This bill will touch our basic and natural rights as human being protected by our constitution
hence this should be implemented accordingly.
As much as we understood the government’s urgency to help fast track criminal investigations thus
advancement of extracting evidence was resorted however it should be of caution. Modern problems
require modern solution as what the famous line goes but could it be at least harmless to the extent that it
could not crash our basic rights as human being. Personally, I am impressed with the initiative of the author
in this proposed bill however it should come with utmost consideration with our basic rights. Extending the
collection of DNA samples to the general public would look like we are going out naked to the eyes of the
authorities who has access to our records. Our constitution provides protection to individuals against illegal
search yet with this law DNAs are collected which information hidden inside our body are being unleashed,
would it not be unfair?
This bill must be scrutinized properly as it involves our individual rights. I am with the government in
pushing this through but with reservations because as a government employee who is subject for DNA
sample collection, I deserve protection from the government against invasion of privacy. I hope and pray
that the government will give this generation an advance way of securing the sovereign from criminals in
order to live a safe and harmonious country not just for the present but for the next generations to come but
I am against the government from using this database system to innocent Filipinos.
Now let me get back to my questions in the first paragraph; do I share the same vision with the government
when it comes to peace and order situation of our country? Definitely yes, but the way they are going to
make it possible is different from what I have envisioned. Nevertheless, with the collaboration of plenty of
intelligent and compassionate hearts of legislators this proposed bill of Hon. Barbers will be realized
however I am praying that it could not turn out wrong along the way. Advancement of collecting evidence is
sought to be used by the authorities, favorable to the victims of crimes and advantageous to the part of
those deprived of speedy trial due to lack of evidence however this should also be equally fair for the
innocent ones.
To the dear Honorable Barbers, the author of this proposed bill, I am manifesting that you could revisit the
provisions of your bill and think of it again. Think of it as long term solution that does not harm the innocent,
and does not harm our individual rights as a human being whose privacy is equally protected by the law.

REFERENCES:

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-15-2429-5_5
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK234540/