Gov’t to comply with SC order on submission of drug war report

Malacañang said the government would comply with the order of the Supreme Court (SC) requiring the submission of the official police reports on the killings of drug suspects during the implementation of the administration’s war on drugs.

“I guess we have no other alternative except to comply [and] subject probably to certain security checks or requirements that must be complied with and observed,” Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra said in a Palace briefing on Wednesday.

Guevarra said the Office of the Solicitor General had earlier argued that there are “certain security concerns that need to be addressed in connection with this matter.”

But he said the government would comply with the SC order.

He said Malacañang does not need to issue a directive to the Philippine National Police (PNP) to comply with the order.

“If that’s the final order of the Supreme Court, all agencies of the government bound by that order are supposed to comply and follow,” he said.

The Palace official said he believed the order would not have “potential” effect with the government’s war on drugs.

“Wala naman kaming nakikitang potential effect dahil wala namang itinatago ang mga law enforcement agencies sa mga dokumentong ito, except for the security ng mga possible witnesses and so forth,” he said.

(We don’t see any potential effect because the law enforcement agencies are not hiding anything with these documents except for the security of the possible witnesses and so forth.) /je