Lurking problems

by Koozae Calvin Umali | Hachimoji

Last October 11, 2022, the Philippine House of Representatives, through its committee on Public Order and Safety, approved the consolidation of the proposed bills that would create the Philippine DNA database system. In a utopian world, a Philippine DNA database system could be a blessing; but in the current state of the nation, it could be a disaster.

DNA databases are banks of genetic profiles which can be used from the field of medicine to genealogy, and often and most heard of, in forensics for criminal investigations. Given the overwhelming similarity of the human genome across all individuals, DNA databases use short-tandem repeats, which are repeating units from non-protein coding regions of the DNA, that are easy to compare among individuals.

The first DNA database was created in United Kingdom in 1995. Since then, other nations have followed suit and created their own national DNA databases. The Philippines, when compared to some of its ASEAN counterparts, does not have a national database.

House Bills (HB) 94 and 540 wants to establish a Philippine National Forensic Database. The former will include DNA from crime scenes, arrested, detained, and convicted individuals, uniformed and armed personnel, missing persons, and voluntary persons, while the latter will also include DNA from street children, beggars, and unidentified human remains.

In the context of DNA used in criminal investigation, the Philippine Supreme Court in 2007 recognized DNA as admissible evidence in trials and court proceedings, and through its “Rule on DNA evidence” laid out the procedures for the conduct of DNA testing and guidelines on how it can be applied to cases.

 But even though the rule has been on land and in effect for eight years, the problems facing our forensic and criminal agencies in DNA testing would show that creating our own DNA database could be far from happening.

The biggest roadblock would be in the budget allocation. In the paper of Rodriguez et al. (2020), they cited the inadequate government support for the expensive DNA testing, which makes the collection of samples highly selective. If there are backlogs from DNA testing due to lack of funds, how more can we create and sustain a database of samples? 

Moreover, the budget for the equipment and facilities where these will be created and will be running should also be financially supported by the government. More DNA laboratories should have been set up across the country before putting up a database system. Only three DNA laboratories are used for criminal investigation: one in NBI under DOJ, PNP under DOJ, and the DAL in NSRI under UP.

Ethical issues can also be raised, especially with the clause including DNA samples from street children and beggars. It raises the question, why them? Is this a prejudice that relates crimes to their socio-economic status? Is the Philippine National Police credible enough to handle the database, as suggested in the bill? Recall that recently, some members of the PNP have been found guilty of planting evidences to some innocent individuals in the brutal Oplan Tokhang.

During the public hearing of the said bills, Dr, Eva Maria Cutiongco dela Paz, the Executive Director of the National Institutes of Health, said that the NIH and UP-PGH support the creation of the said database for forensic use only. But how are we sure that the individuals with access to the database will only use it for gathering evidence for court investigations?

The creation of the Philippine DNA database system will benefit the PH criminal justice system, but the lurking problems of the country, not just with the DNA testing, will overshadow the benefits that the database will provide.