PNP forwarded 52 case files on drug war to DOJ —Guevarra

At least 52 case files have been forwarded by the Philippine National Police (PNP) to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to aid the latter’s investigation into deadly operations under the campaign against illegal drugs, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said.

“These cases involve findings of administrative liability against hundreds of police personnel for alleged misconduct committed in the course of anti-illegal drug operations,” Guevarra said in a video statement posted on the Facebook page of the Department of Foreign Affairs on Sunday.

He also said 107 case files from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) were submitted to the DOJ for review.

Guevarra earlier said the DOJ was given access to 61 case files from the PNP, but the police organization later said eight files could not be shared at the moment because these were under appeal.

The DOJ leads a panel of several government agencies, including law enforcement units, in reviewing 5,655 anti-drug operations that resulted in deaths to see whether to file charges against the police officers involved.

A preliminary report with initial findings was submitted to President Rodrigo Duterte late last year.

In his report to the United Nations Human Rights Council last February, Guevarra said the panel’s preliminary findings showed there was no full examination of the weapon recovered, no verification of its ownership undertaken, and no request for ballistic examination or paraffin test was pursued.

Some law enforcement agents involved had also failed to follow standard protocols pertaining to coordination with other agencies and processing of the crime scene, he said.

“As the panel reviews these new records, the Department of Justice closely monitors the preliminary investigation and prosecution of 87 criminal cases lodged against over a hundred law enforcement personnel arising from alleged wrongful conduct related to or arising from anti-illegal drug operations,” Guevarra said.

“The commencement of new investigations and prosecutorial action will depend on the outcome of the panel’s ongoing work.”

The Commission on Human Rights had also hoped to gain access to the drug war records of the PNP so it can pursue its own independent investigations.

PNP chief Police General Guillermo Eleazar, however, said he would leave it up to the DOJ if it would share the drug war records with the CHR. —KBK, GMA News