DOJ report on drug war is proof that gov’t is working to check errors — Roque

President spokesperson Harry Roque and Vice President Leni Robredo (FILE PHOTO)

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation and its report on the drug war should serve as proof that the government is addressing concerns about possible abuses of the program, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Monday.

During his briefing, Roque was asked to comment about Vice President Leni Robredo’s recent criticism that the DOJ report confirmed lapses in the controversial war against illegal drugs.

Roque did not answer Robredo’s statements directly, but he said that he hopes the wrong deeds of some individuals in the government should not reflect on the gains and successes of the project.

“I think like any other government program, we cannot claim to be perfect. Pero ang sinasabi natin, ‘wag naman ‘yong gawain ng ilang mga bugok eh maapektuhan ‘yong buong programa,” Roque said.

(I think like any other government program, we cannot claim to be perfect. But what we are saying is that the bad eggs should not affect the whole program.)

“At saka itong decision ng ating DOJ nagpapatunay nga po na ginagampanan natin ‘yong ating obligasyon bilang estado, na kapag meron pong napatay, eh iimbestigahan, lilitisin, at paparusahan ang mga pumapatay,” he added.

(And this decision of the DOJ would prove that we are fulfilling our obligation to be a functional state, that when somebody is killed, it would be investigated, litigated, while those who killed would be held accountable.)

Roque insisted that the administration is doing its obligation to protect human rights — an aspect that the Philippine government vowed to address, before the United Nations Human Rights Council.

“So nothing is perfect, and itong findings ng DOJ prove that the Philippines nga po is undertaking and performing its obligations in so far as the right to life is concerned,” he noted.

Recently, the DOJ released the report based on its investigation of the drug war, a campaign led by President Rodrigo Duterte often criticized for being bloody, and for allegedly disregarding human rights.

As of September, drug suspects who died during legitimate police operations ballooned to 6,191. Of this number, 52 cases were probed by DOJ.

READ: Drug war death toll now at 6,191; arrests pass 300,000 – PDEA

According to human rights organization who awaited the DOJ probe, officers involved in the drug war deaths were meted with light punishments or eve when there was clear evidence of abuse of power, they were absolved of any responsibility.

But Roque said before that the drug war probe would actually show that President Duterte had nothing to do with the killings, contrary to what critics are insinuating in the crimes against humanity complaint against the Chief Executive filed before the International Criminal Court (ICC)

READ: DOJ drug war review: Killer cops had it easy

Recently, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber approved requests to do a full probe of Duterte for leading the war against illegal drugs. In June 2021, former ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said that there was reasonable basis to believe that state actors have killed thousands of civilians under the drug war.

She also noted that the information suggests that vigilante-style killings were perpetrated by police officers themselves or other private individuals hired by authorities — leading to a death toll of between 12,000 to 30,000 civilians.

READ: ICC prosecutor asks for judicial authority to probe case filed vs Duterte