The United States government recently donated three evidence containers to help strengthen the capacity of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) to properly retain confiscated contraband and evidence in the prosecution of wildlife traffickers and persons engaging in environmental crime.
The P1.6 million equipment handover at the PCSD headquarters in Puerto Princesa City on January 16 was led by visiting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Lisa Johnson of the US Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), a US Embassy news release said.
“INL is strongly committed to doing everything it can to disrupt the criminal networks behind wildlife trafficking. Building our partners’ capacity to investigate and prosecute environmental crimes is a priority for the U.S. government,” Johnson said at the turnover ceremony.
PCSD Executive Director Niño Rey Estoya thanked the US government for its continued support.
He noted that the donation would be critical in ensuring that cases PCSD teams investigate and prosecute over several months are not dismissed for technical reasons.
The secured storage units are expected to improve the PCSD’s adherence to chain of custody requirements, making evidence more likely to be admissible in court.
According to the Asian Development Bank, the value of the global illegal wildlife trade is estimated at between P548 billion ($10 billion) to P1.26 trillion ($23 billion) a year, making wildlife crime the fourth most lucrative illegal business after narcotics, human trafficking, and arms.
INL’s support for environmental justice in Palawan began in 2019 through a P28 million ($500,000) partnership with the US Forest Service to strengthen the institutional capacity of PCSD and its law enforcement partners to combat and prevent environmental crimes, the US Embassy said.
Globally, INL assists partner governments in assessing, building, reforming and sustaining competent and legitimate criminal justice systems. It also develops and implements the architecture necessary for cross-border law enforcement cooperation.
Image credits: US Embassy