No extrajudicial killing without death penalty law —Andanar

Communications Secretary Martin Andanar on Sunday weighed in on the issue of extrajudicial killings, supposedly committed under the intensified war against illegal drugs, insisting that the so-called EJKs cannot happen in a country that doesn't have a death penalty law.

In an early Sunday morning interview on dzBB, Andanar debunked claims that the police have committed thousands of EJKs in the course of their anti-illegal drugs operations.

"Ang tanong ko, meron bang judicial killing sa bansa natin? Meron bang capital punishment? Wala. So, bakit may tinatawag na extrajudicial killings, e, wala nga tayong state-sanctioned killing."

State-sanction killing is not in our Constitution, he said. Therefore, those who have died in the war on drugs had either been killed in legitimate operations or executed by people engaged in narcotic trade.

"Yung mga napatay, either namamatay sila dahil lumaban sa mga pulis sa anti-drug operations or namamatay sila dahil nili-liquidate sila ng mga kasamahan nila sa drug industry," Andanar pointed out.

This government, he said,  does not sponsor killings and does not sponsor EJKs because there is not such thing as "judicial killings" in our country.

Moreover, he claimed that EJK is a European brand, a concept that is revolting to them. "In our country, there is no EJK." 

On Saturday, Malacañang defended the Philippine National Police against criticisms arising from the PNP's report showing that there is no record of EJK case  under President Rodrigo Duterte's administration.

"The PNP’s statement that there is no case of extrajudicial killing ... is based on the operational guidelines stated in Administrative Order (AO) 35," Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said.

Abella emphasized that the Palace considers "one death is too many" regardless of how it is defined.

Under AO 35, EJKs are referred to as killings where “the victim was a member of, or affiliated with an organization, to include political, environmental, agrarian, labor, or similar causes; or an advocate of above-named causes; or a media practitioner or person(s) apparently mistaken or identified to be so."

But regardless of  this definition, Abella said, "These deaths are being addressed to ensure the accountability of perpetrators, even as it calls upon witnesses and individuals who can provide valuable evidence that will lead to speedy resolution of cases." 

Also, Abella said that AO 35 considers a death as an EJK when the victim is "targeted and killed because of the actual or perceived membership, advocacy, or profession; or the person(s) responsible for the killing is a state agent or non-state agent; and the method and circumstances of attack reveal a deliberate intent to kill.”

Earlier, Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Chairman Chito Gascon said that the PNP's definition of EJK is inappropriate because the AO's purpose, in its entirety, was only to establish an inter-agency body to fast-track the resolution of politically motivated killings.

"It did not purport then nor can it now be used as an exhaustive or comprehensive definition for EJKs as universally understood," he added. —LBG, GMA News