Palace: Drug war reports to be made public if cases are filed

(FILE) In this file photo, residents in Kian delos Santos’ neighborhood in Caloocan City light candles at the place where the 17-year-old was killed by policemen on Aug. 16, 2017. Delos Santos’ family and relatives of drug war victims reiterated their call for justice as they marked his fourth death anniversary on Monday. —LYN RILLON

MANILA, Philippines — The government will make public its findings on the drug war killings once the investigation is finished and cases are to be filed, Malacañang said Friday.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque made the remark in response to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet who “encouraged the publication” of the findings “so its work can be evaluated.”

“Wala pong tinatago ‘yung imbestigasyon ng DOJ (Department of Justice) dahil kapag natapos ang imbestigasyon at kinakailangang mag sampa ang kaso isasapubliko lahat niyan dahil lahat ng sinasampang records sa ating hukuman ay public documents,” he said in a briefing.

(The DOJ is not hiding anything because when the investigation is finished and cases need to be filed, the documents will be made public because all files submitted to the judicial system are public documents.)

The DOJ earlier said it will direct the National Bureau of Investigation to determine the criminal liability of at least 150 police officers involved in anti-drug operations that led to the deaths of 50 suspects.

Based on the facts gathered by the Philippine National Police’s Internal Affairs Service, evidence points to the criminal liability of the involved police officers, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said.

Roque, however, reiterated that the Philippines will not cooperate with the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) probe on the drug war killings.

He said this will make it difficult for the ICC to “uncover the truth,” insisting that cases and complaints about the controversial anti-illegal drugs campaign should be lodged in the Philippines since it has a working judicial system.

“Without the cooperation of the State, mahihirapan sila to uncover the truth. Ang sa amin lang naman, kung mayroon talagang mga may reklamo laban sa drug war isampa natin dito sa Pilipinas ng mabigyan kayo ng katarungan,” Roque said.

(Without the cooperation of the State, it would be difficult for them to uncover the truth. If there are really complaints against the drug war, cases should be filed in the Philippines so that they can have justice.)

This was in response to International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan’s vow to “uncover the truth and aim to ensure accountability” through an “independent and impartial” investigation.

/MUF