(Eagle News)–Former Philippine National Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa backed the Department of National Defense’s proposal to increase the allowable detention period for arrested terror suspects.
But for the now-senator, a 30-day reglamentary period for detention suffices.
The DND is pushing for a 60-day reglamentary period for terror suspects to allow for case build-up, 24 days more than the period specified in the Human Security Act.
“Sana ma-revisit itong reglamentary period for terrorism offenses, kung binigyan tayo kahit one week lang, we can collect solid evidence[s] to indict the suspect,” Dela Rosa said, recalling an incident he, as Davao police director, was forced to release a suspect after three days lest he be charged with unlawful detention.
The suspect, he said, was seen a year later in an online video post beheading a German journalist in Syria.
“Our experience proves that once we capture a hardcore terrorist, it would really take some time before we could extract relevant and useful information… kulang talaga ang tatlong araw lang,” Dela Rosa added.
“Kung naiayos natin ang batas na ito, sana we could have saved lives,” Dela Rosa added.