PNP IAS needs more investigators to probe deaths in operations

PNP-IAS acting chief for Legal Affairs Division Shella Castillo holds press briefing at Camp Crame on Sept. 23, 2016. JULLIANE LOVE DE JESUS/INQUIRER.net

The Philippine National Police’s Internal Affairs Service, the body that probes erring police personnel, said that it needs more investigators in its main office as the number of suspects killed while resisting arrest in police operations continue to rise daily.

It is the mandate of IAS to automatically investigate every death in police operations.

At a press briefing on Friday, Atty. Shella Castillo, IAS spokesperson and chief of Legal Affairs Division, admitted that the investigation of cases slowed down due to the lack of investigators assigned in the police unit.

Aside from the investigators in regional offices, Castillo said there are only 17 investigators at the IAS’s national office at Camp Crame looking into 575 anti-drug operations with killed suspects.

“To be candid, ‘yung mga investigators hindi na ‘yan natutulog (those investigators don’t even sleep). This is also an opening to everyone and also to the PNP na malaman nila kailangan natin ng support (to let them know we need support),” Castillo said.

Of the 576 cases, 461 are still pending  investigation while 113 have been either terminated or dropped.

She said the IAS needs to reach a quota of at least 30 personnel to fill plantilla positions.

As of Friday morning, data from the PNP’s monitoring of “Oplan Double Barrel” showed that a total of 19,717 anti-drug operations have been conducted since July 1. Suspects killed in narcotics operations reached 1,198.

IAS also handles the investigation of some 96 PNP personnel, 28 were commissioned officers and 49 non-commissioned officers, whom President Duterte linked to drugs. CDG/rga

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