DOJ chief orders NBI to fast-track review of 48 ‘nanlaban’ cases

FILE – Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra INQUIRER/ MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

MANILA, Philippines — Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said on Tuesday that he had ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to expedite its review of 48 police antidrug operations that resulted in the questionable killing of suspects who supposedly resisted arrest (nanlaban).

Guevarra noted that only four out of the total of 52 cases under review had been recommended for prosecution after the NBI found evidence of criminals acts committed by policemen involved in the operations.

The NBI and the Philippine National Police earlier entered into a memorandum of agreement to hasten the examination of the cases, which human rights advocates said were just a small fraction of the thousands of deaths arising from President Duterte’s war on drugs.

“I have already directed the NBI to speed up its evaluation,” Guevarra told the Inquirer.

“Under the [agreement] between the NBI and the PNP, each side is supposed to designate focal persons for purposes of coordination. We understand that a composite team will comprise the PNP side,” he said.

According to Gueverra, he met with Gen. Dionardo Carlos, chief of the PNP, last week to discuss the NBI’s ongoing review of the cases, which involved at least 154 police officials.

Guevarra added that he wanted to “ensure the cooperation of the PNP regional offices, particularly on access to original case records in the possession of these offices.”

Asked if he gave the NBI a specific date to conclude the investigation, he replied: “It is hard to give a uniform deadline because circumstances differ from region to region.”

Guevarra also pointed out that the NBI had previously been directed to furnish the Department of Justice (DOJ) a regular monthly progress report on its examination of the cases.

In October last year, the DOJ released a matrix of the incidents, which showed that the police officers responsible for the killings of some drug suspects got off with light penalties, such as suspension.

The documents were released nearly two weeks after United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet urged the Philippine government to publish the findings of the investigation. INQ