Sen. Grace Poe. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
Extrajudicial killings (EJKs) or not, the government must protect the lives of every Filipino, especially the poor, Senator Grace Poe said on Tuesday.
“The lives of every Filipino, rich or poor, should be protected by government. The number of casualties should not be the point,” Poe said in a statement .
“Whether seven thousand or two thousand, or seven or two; whether it’s called EJK or collateral damage, law enforcement must never lose sight of justice and humanity,” she said.
READ: CHR exec says killings not state-sponsored
Poe issued the statement when sought for comment on Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa’s claim that there were no EJKs in the country as he blamed the media for “sensationalizing and misinterpreting” the number of deaths in the government’s war on drugs.
Contrary to the reported more than 7,000 EJKs in the country, the PNP placed the total number of killings in the country at 6,011 from July 1, 2016 to March 24, 2017.
Of this number, the PNP said, only 1,398 were confirmed to be drug-related, 828 were not drug related while 3,785 cases remained under investigation.
READ: Bato slams media for sensationalizing, misinterpreting killings
A joint panel in the Senate already investigated alleged EJKs in the country but its report showed that there was no proof that the killings were state-sponsored.
Poe was among those who did not sign the report.
“Maybe the committee report is right —that there’s no state-sponsored EJK, but there could have been more discussions on what the state is doing now to stop it,” the senator said in an earlier interview.
“When you talk about EJKs, there are two things involved there. One, it’s state sponsored. Number two, it’s not state sponsored, but what has the state done to avert it?” she added. CBB
READ: Poe: What has gov’t done to stop killings?