AFP FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) have signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for cooperative investigations into the drug war operations that have resulted in the death of suspects.
In a statement from PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar on Thursday, he said that he and NBI Director Eric Distor signed the MOA on Wednesday in the Department of Justice (DOJ) office in Manila.
According to Eleazar, the move would allow both PNP and NBI to assess the drug war. If there are irregularities, file appropriate cases against erring officers — as proof of the police force’s commitment to accountability.
“The signing of this Agreement is proof of the PNP’s commitment to transparency and accountability and in order to finally settle the allegations of human rights abuses that have been hounding the government’s aggressive campaign against illegal drugs since July 2016,” Eleazar said.
The PNP chief hopes that the probe and its result would remove any doubts and sweeping generalization imposed on their organization and disregard human rights in the conduct of the anti-drug operations.
“Through this Agreement, we will be able to ferret out the truth and correct the wrong impression that all our operations relating to illegal drugs campaign are tainted with human rights abuse,” Eleazar said.
“Napakalaki ng sakripisyo ng ating kapulisan sa kampanyang ito at marami din kaming kasamahan na nagbuwis ng buhay at nasugatan sa aming mga operasyon,” he added.
(Our police officers have sacrificed a lot for this campaign and many among our ranks were also killed or wounded while conducting the operations.)
Under the four-page MOA, both organizations agree to check on the drug war deaths to identify the truth behind alleged human rights violations in the government’s campaign.
PNP is mandated by the agreement to assign representatives from the Internal Affairs Service (IAS) and the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM), and the NBI to send representatives from various offices to join the investigation.
The representatives of both sides should be named 15 days after the MOA is signed or on November 18.
Distor said that his agency shares the PNP’s goal to uncover the truth behind the anti-drug operations.
“The NBI shares the goal of the PNP to put an end to the illegal drugs problems in the country. We have been coordinating and working together to address this problem through joint operations and information sharing,” Distor said.
“We assure impartiality in the conduct of the investigation and we are confident that this would finally address the concerns on the manner by which the government’s illegal drug operations have been undertaken and to correct what needs to be corrected in the interest of truth and justice,” he added.
PNP and NBI are currently probing 52 drug war incidents that resulted in suspects dying after they supposedly fought it out against police officers. Last October 27, Eleazar admitted that lapses were initially seen in the 52 cases handled by the two agencies.
READ: PNP now reviewing DOJ’s draft MOA on joint probe of drug war deaths
READ: PNP chief admits lapses in 52 drug war cases
The drug war incidents have been a hot topic lately again, after the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Tuesday raised new concerns about the anti-drug program, as eyewitnesses’ testimonies supposedly raise questions on whether some of the operations were really conducted, and if suspects were not subdued before being killed.
According to CHR Commissioner Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana, their probe of 579 drug-related incidents in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon showed discrepancies in police reports and eyewitness accounts of the operations.
However, Eleazar also assured CHR that they wanted to identify whether there were abuses in the drug war.
READ: CHR’s drug war probe: Some ops probably fake, suspects already subdued when killed
READ: PNP assures PH: We also want to know whether there were abuses in drug war
The drug war has been a major criticism of President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration, drawing local and international condemnation for allegedly disregarding human rights in the operations.
As of now, police officers have been held accountable in only one drug war-related death — that of Delos Santos, after a Caloocan court deemed three officers guilty as closed-circuit television camera footage showed them dragging the minor to a dark alley before he was shot.
Currently, Duterte and other police officers face crimes against humanity complaints before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for their role in the drug war.
READ: ICC pre-trial chamber authorizes the start of the probe into Duterte’s drug war
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