MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine National Police (PNP) has maintained that there are no abuses in the conduct of anti-drug operations, saying such reports are supposedly rehashed narratives intended to appear as the truth.
This declaration from the PNP on Friday came as an International Criminal Court (ICC) report cited alleged cases of police officers raping women who are relatives of drug suspects.
“The rehashed narratives of alleged abuses remain to be unfounded and devoid of truth from the beginning but had been repeatedly told and retold over and over to make sound factual,” PNP’s Public Information Office (PNP-PIO) said in a message to reporters.
“The PNP maintains the regularity of all police operations in its major campaigns against crime, illegal drugs, and terrorism where the possibility of armed confrontation with suspects is always present,” the PNP added.
On Thursday, the ICC released its report on the Preliminary Examination Activities, where two cases concerning the Philippines — a crime against humanity complaint against Chinese president Xi Jingping for activities in the West Philippine Sea, and another against President Rodrigo Duterte for the drug war — were discussed.
In the report on the alleged abuses during the implementation of the war against illegal drugs, the ICC said they have monitored reports of rape, and other several forms of abuse like torture and illegal detention.
“In addition to killings, it has been alleged that some individuals have been subjected to serious ill-treatment and abuses prior to being killed by state actors and other unidentified assailants […] It has also been alleged that in several incidents, relatives of the victims witnessed the killings, thereby sustaining serious mental suffering,” ICC said.
“Further, it has been reported that in at least a few incidents, members of some law enforcement units have allegedly raped women who were apparently targeted because of their personal relations to individuals suspected to have been involved in drug activities,” it added.
The Philippines last March 2019 withdrew from being a state party to the Rome Statute, the treaty which created the ICC. However, the ICC said it still has jurisdiction over the communication filed by drug war victims’ relatives, as it was submitted in August 2018.
Hence, the ICC said it has a sufficient basis to continue assessing the complaints against Duterte and added that it would release its preliminary examination report in 2020.
READ: ICC to continue assessing complaint vs Duterte; findings out in 2020
Meanwhile, the has PNP assured that it will adhere to standards set by the law in implementing all police operations, including those operations war and other operations.
“We will remain guided by existing rules and procedures that ensure transparency and accountability in all police operations,” PNP-PIO said.