Guevarra: Results of review of 52 drug war cases to be made public but Duterte has to see them first

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Thursday assured lawmakers that the results of his department’s review of 52 drug war cases will be released to the public.

Guevarra gave the commitment after he declined the request of Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Zarate to state the initial findings during the House appropriations committee hearing on the proposed budget of the Department of Justice for next year.

“As much as we would like to divulge at least some parts of our report, I think it is really just proper that we submit the report to the President first,” the Cabinet official said, adding the leadership of the Philippine National Police (PNP) should also be informed about the findings of the Department of Justice.

The cases involve findings of administrative liability against hundreds of police personnel for alleged misconduct committed in the course of the campaign against illegal drugs.

“Mr. Zarate, we assure you that the results of this review conducted by the DOJ on the 52 cases turned over to us by the Philippine National Police will eventually be made known to the public,” Guevarra said.

“We’re not hiding anything.”

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. -MDM, GMA News