It used to be that aside from the courts or judges and hearing officers of quasi-judicial agencies, only National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents were authorized to issue “subpoenas” for people to appear before their offices or agents and shed light on certain matters under investigation. This can include the production of certain object evidence such as documents.
Considering the legal education of these people, thus, awareness of other people’s rights and what their lawyers can do in case of wrongful issuance of “subpoenas”, there were no scandalous or indiscriminate exercise of that power. At least, there was no well-publicized abuse of such.
Last week, however, the power was also devolved to the police. This can be scary if just any policeman can issue a subpoena. Imagine an ordinary person who is not well versed about his legal rights receiving a subpoena ordering him to appear at a police station at a certain time and bring documents regarding the murder of a person or on a syndicated estafa committed against a known multi-millionaire.
The recipient could be afraid of being salvaged, tortured or jailed considering the bad reputation of many policemen.
Hopefully, the power to issue subpoena of the police would be limited to high ranking officers who are highly educated. Chances are, these people are not thugs or bullies and are aware of the legal consequences of any illegal acts or short cuts that can backfire to them, and that other people also have human rights to be respected.
Other safeguards must also be instituted such as the presence of a high ranking officer or other respectable witnesses when the person issued a subpoena appears before the police, and that no one should be ordered to appear in the dead of night or during unholy hours. If possible, only during officer hours. Otherwise, so many people can be harassed or even disappear after going to a police station.
This might be a consolation. More and more police officers are highly educated having finished a college degree before entering the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA), where they should require better grades in the social sciences and the humanities courses. For we should have progressed enough that life should not be brutish.**