SC protects kin of drug war victims

Supreme Court facade. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The Supreme Court came to the aid of relatives of four slain drug suspects a day after the Philippine National Police suspended its bloody war on drugs.

The Supreme Court barred PNP Director General Ronald dela Rosa and his men from harassing the relatives and from entering within a one-kilometer radius from their homes in Payatas, Quezon City.

The high court en banc on Tuesday granted the petition for a writ of amparo filed by the families of Marcelo Daa Jr., Raffy Gabo, Anthony Comendo and Jessie Cule—alleged drug suspects killed on Aug. 21 last year by the police in Group 9, Area B of the former garbage dump.

The relatives feared police harassment and intimidation for being the first among thousands of victims of the “Operation Tokhang” antidrug campaign to seek justice for their loved ones.

Writ of amparo is a legal remedy under the 1987 Constitution available to any person whose right to life, liberty and security is violated or threatened with violation by an unlawful act or omission of a public official or employee, or of a private individual or entity.

The Supreme Court referred the petition of the Tokhang victims for raffling to justices of the Court of Appeals, which the tribunal ordered to immediately conduct a hearing on the petition.

Appellate court

The high court has given the appellate court 10 days from submission of its decision to decide on the case.

The case was filed by the drug suspects’ relatives—Efren Morillo, Martino Morillo, Victoria Morillo, Ma. Belen Daa, Maria Daa, Maribeth Bartolay, Lydia Gabo, Jennifer Nicolas and Marilyn Malimban.

They were represented by the Center for International Law, which believed that with this first case against Oplan Tokhang more victims would be emboldened to seek the court’s help in stopping the extrajudicial killings.

More than 7,600 people, mostly users and small-time dealers, have been killed since President Duterte took office at the end of June, vowing to crack down on drugs.

So far, these operations have predominantly been carried out by police in a campaign that has caused international alarm due to the high death toll and disputed circumstances of many of the killings.

A total of 2,555 people have been killed in police operations since the crackdown started seven months ago, the PNP said. The PNP said that the police killed the suspects all in self-defense and that the other killings were carried out by vigilante groups or were unsolved murders.

Human rights groups said the extrajudicial killings were frequent, as were “hits” by assassins that they said were linked to the police, claims that the PNP and Mr. Duterte denied.

‘Trumped-up’ charge

One of the petitioners was charged by the police with direct assault upon agents or persons in authority. Their lawyer called the charge “trumped-up” and part of efforts to cow the families of the victims into silence.

Just five days after the case was filed, the high court agreed to provide protection to the families of the victims by “prohibiting the respondents and any of their agents from entering within a radius of one kilometer from the residences and work addresses of the petitioners.”

Named respondents were Dela Rosa, Senior Supt. Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar, Quezon City Police Director Lito Patay, Quezon City Station Commander Emil Garcia, Police Officer 3 Allan Formilleza, PO1 James Aggarao and PO1 Melchor Navisaga and their agents.

‘Moot and academic’

Sought for comment on the petition for the writ of amparo, Eleazar said he had yet to receive a copy of the order.

But he said the petition might now be “moot and academic” because of the President’s order to stop the antidrug operations.

The PNP suspended the antidrug operations on Monday to rid the ranks of “scalawags” after the President said that the PNP was “corrupt to the core” and that 40 percent of the force members were dishonest.

Mr. Duterte lashed out at the PNP on Sunday for the kidnap and killing of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo by rogue officers. Jee was kidnapped from his home under the pretense of an antidrug operation.