NCRPO chief Dir. Oscar Albayalde during a press briefing at Camp Crame in Quezon City. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO / Noy Morcoso
The government will ask the Supreme Court for more time to answer its order to hand over records of thousands of deadly encounters in its war on drugs, and will not comply until President Duterte agrees, newly installed Philippine National Police Director General Oscar Albayalde said on Friday.
The high court on April 3 gave the PNP 15 days to comply with a December order to submit records related to the bloody drug war, which Solicitor General Jose Calida attempted to block on grounds of national security, arguing it could endanger police, informants and witnesses.
“As of this time, there is a motion being prepared,” Albayalde told a news conference.
He said the police would take orders from Mr. Duterte before releasing any information about the drug war.
“Maybe, even without the Supreme Court order, he may order us to give the records,” he added.
Supreme Court spokesperson Theodore Te said he was unaware of any motion from the police.
More than 4,100 people have been killed since June 2016 by police and several thousand more by unknown gunmen whom the authorities have described as vigilantes, or rival gang members.
Police deny activist allegations that they have falsified reports, staged crime scenes and systematically murdered small time peddlers and users, and say those killed had violently resisted arrest.
In December, the high court ordered Calida to submit details of those killed in police operations and other drug-related deaths. It also asked for information on each deadly encounter, the police and witnesses involved, and to see copies of warrants against all suspects who were killed.
The order covers the period between July 2016 and November 2017, when two complainants, including a group of Manila slum dwellers, petitioned the court to make details publicly available.
Calida filed a motion attempting to keep operational details secret, but the court dismissed that.
Albayalde’s predecessor, Ronald dela Rosa, on Wednesday said the 15-day deadline was not feasible because the paperwork was “voluminous.”