CHR want police reports on drug kills

Investigators of the Commission on Human Rights are having difficulty getting copies of police reports, setting back efforts to investigate drug-related extrajudicial killings (EJK), CHR spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia said yesterday.

The constitutional human rights watchdog said the Philippine National Police used to readily make available case records, including forensic reports, whenever CHR investigators request for them.

The CHR has taken it upon itself to investigate the deaths of 368 suspected drug traffickers and addicts that took place from May 11, when President Duterte emerged the landslide winner in the elections, to
Sept. 30.

4,715 suspects killed

This represented less than a tenth of the reported 4,715 drug suspects killed from July 1, the day after Mr. Duterte assumed office, to Oct. 25.

The PNP listed 1,714 deaths in police operations and 3,001 others killed by unknown assailants.

De Guia said the CHR had been unable to investigate more cases because it had been limited by manpower, workload and resources, as well as the difficulty of getting witnesses. She said either there were no witnesses or people were hesitant to come forward.

The difficulty is compounded by the new PNP regulation about accessing its police reports, she said.

“It’s now more difficult to get reports (when) before they’re readily available. Now they added guidelines. We hope that improves in the future,” De Guia said.

CHR investigators who had requested copies of police reports were told their requests would have to be cleared first by the office of PNP Director General Ronald dela Rosa, she said.

“We also like the PNP to encourage access by the commission to all persons under their custody so we can hear their side,” De Guia said.

Findings out soon

The CHR will release its findings soon so its investigators can probe other EJK cases that took place beginning October, she said.

“They are almost wrapping up their investigations and hopefully the resolutions on these cases will be coming out soon,” she said.

“It should not be construed that the investigations of the commission are only being done to determine accountability or liability. We want to give recommendations on policy changes so these incidents will be avoided in the future,” De Guia said.