51 drug war case files to be forwarded to NBI — DOJ

The Department of Justice (DOJ) will forward 51 of the 52 cases of drug war deaths to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for case build-up, Undersecretary Adrian Sugay said Tuesday.

At the Laging Handa briefing, Sugay said the DOJ reviewed two sets of documents on deaths that occurred during anti-illegal drug operations. The records came from the Philippine National Police.

Sugay said the results of the review have been forwarded to the Office of the President, who ordered the investigation to continue.

“May mga ebidensya na kasama dito. ‘Yung iba may mga reports na ng SOCO, merong mga initial investigation reports. ‘Yung iba merong mga paraffin test resulta, ballistic test results,” Sugay said.

(There are pieces of evidence included here. Some are SOCO reports, including initial investigation reports. Others are paraffin test results or ballistic test results.)

“So kung tingin ng NBI puwede na mag-tuloy ng kaso, puwede na i-file ang complaint against these erring police officers dito sa DOJ, sa ating National Prosecution Service, puwede na,” he added.

(If the NBI thinks there is basis to file complaints against the erring cops, they can file them before the DOJ National Prosecution Service.)

Sugay also said they recommended for the agency to review the cases carefully.

“Pero sa aming nakita, sa aming rekomendasyon… karamihan dito sa mga kasong ito ay talagang kailangan tignan mabuti at mukhang may proseso o ‘yung ating tinatawag na police protocols na hindi natupad,” he said.

(Based on our recommendation… the cases need a careful review because some processes or police protocols were allegedly not followed.)

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has also launched an investigation into the drug war killings.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque has claimed that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the country after the Philippines' withdrawal from the Rome Statute— the treaty that established the ICC— in March 2019. 

However, Justice chief Menardo Guevarra said on Sunday that the international court would not be prevented from conducting an investigation even as the government remained uncooperative. — VBL, GMA News