Eleazar orders review of mandatory inquest for cops linked to suspects’ death

Police officers stand in formation at Camp Crame in Quezon City during a mass oath-taking. (File photo from the Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines — The chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Gen. Guillermo Eleazar ordered on Wednesday a review of  Police Operational Procedure (POP), specifically the conduct of an inquest for officers involved in operations that result in the death of suspects.

House Deputy Minority Leader Carlos Zarate, a Bayan Muna party-list representative, criticized the PNP for allegedly scrapping the mandatory inquest of police officers involved in such an operation.

Eleazar said he understood the concerns of lawmakers on this matter, which was the reason he ordered the review.

He pointed out that “inquest” under the POP and the Rules of Court were “two different and distinct concepts.”

Under the Rules of Court, an inquest is a summary proceeding during which the suspect is informed of his offense and the evidence against him. An inquest is conducted if a suspect is arrested without a warrant, which happens typically shortly before, during, or shortly after the commission of a crime.

On the other hand, the POP, as cited by Eleazar, states that “in cases of armed confrontation wherein a suspect dies, the team leader of the operating unit shall submit the incident for inquest before the duty inquest prosecutor prior to the removal of the body from the scene except in areas where there are no inquest prosecutors. In which case, the territorial police unit can proceed with the investigation.”

By this definition, it is “incidents” that should undergo inquest and not the police officers, Eleazar said.

“This is impossible as an ‘incident’ cannot be subjected to inquest proceedings. Only arrested persons are subject to inquest as contemplated in the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure,” he explained.

He then ordered the Directorate of Operations to take charge of the adjustments.

“The Directorate for Operations should carefully scrutinize this possible oversight and input the necessary adjustments,” Eleazar said.

Earlier, Zarate slammed the police force for scrapping the policy.

“Scrapping this anti-abuse policy of inquest proceedings against suspected killer cops is truly absurd, unwarranted and even irregular.  This would only further embolden police brutality, more killings and worsen the current state of impunity in the country,” Zarate said.

He then demanded the PNP to fix its policy and reinstate it so that all police officers involved in killings could be subjected immediately to an inquest.

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