(Eagle News)–Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon has slammed the Public Attorneys Office for creating its own forensic unit, noting that this was a “mere duplication” of units of government bodies.
In a statement, Drilon said the PAO forensic laboratory had “no basis in law,” adding that only the Constitution and an act of Congress allow for a public office to be created.
He added that if PAO chief Persida Acosta’s argument the creation was based on the General Appropriations Act was taken, that could set a very dangerous precedent.
He vowed to transfer the PAO forensic unit budget to the National Bureau of Investigation, where it “properly belongs.”
In cases of conflicting forensic results by government bodies, including the “relatively inexperienced PAO forensic laboratory, “the administration of justice may be put in jeopardy,” Drilon said.