De Lima: PNP manipulating drug war ‘body count’

Senator Leila De Lima on Friday accused the Philippine National Police (PNP) of manipulating the ‘body count’ in the government’s war against drugs.

De Lima said the PNP is caught in an “apparent bind” on which number to disclose, following the findings of studies conducted by the Ateneo de Manila and the De La Salle University on alleged incidents of extrajudicial killings in the country.

“It [PNP] has to report a high body count to Duterte to show him that the police are meeting his macabre quota on the number of drug suspects that must be killed,” she said.

“At the same time, they must likewise manipulate the data and lower the number of those killed, this time for the benefit of the public in order to get rid of the image of a blood-thirsty police force,” the senator added.

De Lima was referring to the PNP’s accomplishment report in 2017, where she said the PNP disclosed that there were 20,322 deaths -including those under investigation- related to police anti-drug operations.

In its report last year, the PNP said at least 3,967 drug personalities died in legitimate police operations while another 16,355 cases are still being probed.

However, De Lima said the actual number of alleged victims of extrajudicial killings in connection with the war against drugs can never be known. “The real number of the dead might never be known,” she said.

“When the government itself manipulates the numbers, it is difficult to arrive at a definitive accounting of the dead,” she added.  /muf