Abstract:

In Salvador Estipona vs. Hon. Frank Lobrigo, the supreme court rules that the prohibition of plea bargaining in drug cases is unconstitutional since it violates the rule-making authority of the court. In 2016-2017, the war on drugs started, wherein prosecutors lost 60% of their drug cases in he same year. After a year, the Department of Justice implemented the new framework in plea bargaining in drug cases, wherein the conviction rate of the court and prosecution increased to 82.95%. The said framework prompted probation in releasing small-time drug offenders. This study determined factors that influence the drug offender to plea bargaining, mainly the previous prison term, the prosecutor's offer, and the various evidence gathered by the prosecutor. The descriptive correlational method was used in this study to describe the relationship between the research variables. The sample size was computed using a RAOSOFT calculator. The data were collected using printed questionnaires and evaluated using the 5-point likert scale. The data were analyzed using a Spearman rank order correlation coefficient. The findings showed that the previous prison term and the decision of the drug offender to prosecutor's offer has a negligible relationship with the decision of the drug offender to enter plea bargaining, and the various evidence gathered by the prosecutor has a weak relationship with the decision of the drug offender to enter plea bargaining. This study inferred that the previous prison term was the drug offender's most influential factor when entering plea bargaining. This study recommends that the option to apply for probation must be considered in determining what factors can influence a drug offender to enter plea bargaining and to know whether the participation of the arresting officer might affect the plea-bargaining offer of the prosecutor.