Gascon: CHR on the cusp of uncovering extent of death squads' atrocities

Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Chairperson Jose Luis "Chito" Gascon on Saturday said on Reddit that they are close to uncovering the extent of "atrocities" of death squads in the country.

In the "Ask Me Anything" thread on Reddit, Gascon referred to the death squad as one of the worst cases the CHR is facing.

"I think that we are just at the cusp of uncovering the extent of the atrocities related to the existence of death squads," he said.

Gascon explained to GMA News Online that he was answering a question referring to the CHR's 2012 report "that determined the existence of a death squad operating in Davao city."

"The same report recommended that charges be made on Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte on the basis of command responsibility," Gascon said.

"The CHR now wants to determine, with some degree of certainty, if some of these current deaths related to the ongoing war on drugs are attributable to death squads as well," he added.

He, however, said the CHR's investigation into the death squads' killings is being hampered by the lack of cooperation of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

"It's become difficult to fully understand this phenomenon because it has been tough in getting the PNP to cooperate with us fully on this matter," he said.

PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Dionardo Carlos has yet to respond to GMA News Online's request for reaction.

Last March, the CHR said it formed a new team to probe into the alleged killings carried out by the Davao Death Squad (DDS), which is being linked to President Rodrigo Duterte during his stint as mayor of Davao City.

In the CHR's resolution released in June 2012, it concluded that "in the period of 2005-2009 there was a systematic practice of extrajudicial killings attributable to a vigilante group or groups dubbed in the media as the Davao Death Squad."

Asked during the online conversation what other challenges the CHR is facing, Gascon said it is keeping pace with the number of human rights violations being committed in relation to the Duterte administration's campaign against illegal drugs.

"Having to, or needing to, motivate and encourage the entire staff of CHR to keep pace with the unprecedented scale of human rights violations in relation with the administration's war on drugs," he said.

Gascon reiterated that he is still optimistic that the PNP would cooperate with the CHR, though the president had yet to give the PNP the green light to open all case folders of drug-related summary killings.

"We want to understand what is unfolding and to determine if there is a pattern," he said. —with Margaret Claire Layug/ALG/DVM, GMA News