EJK evidence gathering: Families and groups help gov’t, says DOJ

DOJ logo and police officer on the scene. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) is working with groups and families to gather evidence on extrajudicial killings (EJKs) during the Duterte administration, agency spokesperson Assistant Secretary Mico Clavano said Friday.

“Since we came in, there have been groups coming to DOJ to lend their assistance to help bring witnesses and additional evidence,” he said in a message to INQUIRER.net in response to a query from this reporter if families of EJK victims felt safer speaking up under the current administration.

“The Secretary has always said that we are evidence-based. So, we will follow where the evidence takes us. This is what prompted groups to come to our office to offer,” he also said.

Previously, Clavano mentioned in an interview with Radyo 360 that families and groups may have been hesitant to come forward during the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte, prompting this reporter to contact Clavano to explain his statement further.

“Dati po siguro ayaw lumutang ng mga pamilya dahil sa tingin nila, hindi nila makukuha ‘yung hustisya sa dating adminsitrasyon. Iba na po ngayon. Bagong Pilipinas na po ngayon,” he said in the radio interview.

(In the past, maybe the families didn’t want to come out because they thought they wouldn’t get justice from the previous administration. It’s different now. It’s a new Philippines now.)

He added that victims’ families and witnesses of EJKs are emerging now – under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration.

“Kaya nakita natin may mga lumutang actually na mga pamilya ng biktima at witnesses para ikwento ang kanilang mga karanasan dahil alam nila siguro may mangyayari ngayon,” said Clavano on the radio.

(So we saw victims’ families and witnesses who emerged to tell their experiences because they probably knew that something would happen now.)

Ex-president Duterte’s brutal war on drugs left at least 6,000 people dead, according to government estimates, but some human rights organizations asserted that the number could reach up to 20,000.

In 2023, Marcos acknowledged that “abuses” were committed and that the human rights situation became a cause for concern during the term of his predecessor.

He then vowed to employ a more comprehensive approach to tackle the illegal drug menace in the country as he believed that drug dependence is a mental health problem.

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