The Department of Justice and the Philippine National Police have agreed to work closely in the investigation of alleged extra-judicial killings, illegal drug operations that resulted to the deaths of suspects, and other related cases.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Monday revealed that he had “a very important and crucial meeting” with PNP Chief Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar last Friday at the DOJ.
They “discussed two areas of immediate concern, namely: active collaboration in the review of illegal drug operations where deaths occurred, and in the investigation of alleged EJK and related cases,” he said.
Guevarra said the PNP is set to sign an agreement for closer cooperation in the investigation of these two areas of concern.
“General Eleazar expressed his sincere intention to cooperate with the DOJ in order to remove or discipline wrongdoers among the ranks of the police and thereby uplift the image of the PNP as protectors of the people,” the DOJ chief added.
The Justice department and the PNP will execute a formal memorandum to embody this agreement, he said.
Guevarra said he was told the PNP’s Internal Affairs Service (IAS) has been scrutinizing policemen involved in anti-illegal drugs operations.
“We understand that the PNP-IAS had investigated thousands of drug-related deaths but found 61 cases/incidents where clear liability was established,” he said.
Guevarra expressed his gratitude to the PNP for granting the DOJ access to these 61 cases which involve “hundreds of PNP personnel nationwide.”
“What is significant right now is that the DOJ has been given free access, something that did not happen in previous years, thereby making our review rather difficult,” he said.
“The DOJ, however, will continue to examine case records available from its regional prosecution offices other than those covered in its initial report,” Guevarra added.
Since last year, a DOJ-led review panel has been looking into over 5,000 anti-illegal drug operations conducted since 2016. Many of the operations resulted in deaths to suspects.
The Justice Secretary had also reported to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) that the review panel found that “in more than half of the records reviewed, the law enforcement agents involved failed to follow standard protocols pertaining to coordination with other agencies and the processing of the crime scene.”
“Our initial and preliminary findings confirm that in many of these cases, law enforcement agents asserted that the subject of anti-drug operations resisted arrest or attempted to draw a weapon and fight back,” he said.
“Yet, no full examination of the weapon recovered was conducted. No verification of its ownership was undertaken. No request for ballistic examination or paraffin test was pursued until its completion,” the secretary added.
Guevarra said the review panel also found “the law enforcement agents involved failed to follow standard protocols pertaining to coordination with other agencies and the processing of the crime scene.”
The panel has already submitted its findings to President Duterte and the PNP.