Bagong Henerasyon party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera is batting for the passage of a bill mandating the presence of representatives from the Commission on Human Rights in all police operations against suspected drug traffickers to prevent human rights violations in the government’s anti-drug campaign.
She filed House Bill 1011 which aims to create an inter-agency task force to safely embed CHR agents within the anti-drug operations conducted by the Philippine National Police.
“This aims to ensure the protection of human rights of drug suspects, as well ensuring that police officer properly conduct themselves so as not to subject themselves to situations that would have them liable for violations of human rights,” she said
“CHR agents will be tasked to properly document police activities during anti-drug operations, for the mutual protection of the accused personalities and the police officers, and to ensure that the anti-drug war adheres to the Philippines’ obligations on the protection of human rights,” she added.
She lamented that the rate at which suspected drug personalities were killed as a result of legitimate police operations had drawn the interest and rebuke of the international community, with the United Nations and some countries urging the Philippine government to ensure that the human rights of these drug suspects are protected.
“While we welcome the expedient steps the Duterte administration took against the scourge of drugs, the issue of human rights has been a continuously raised topic,” she said.
“An all-too commonly heard police statement is that the drug personality fought back, forcing our police officers to defend themselves,” she added.