The published review of the 52 drug war cases, conducted by a panel from the Department of Justice (DOJ), is still insufficient in determining the extent of the alleged human rights violations being linked to the government’s drug campaign, groups of lawyers and human rights advocates said Wednesday.
National Union of People’s Lawyers chairperson Neri Colmenares said the DOJ’s findings on its review was just the tip of the iceberg, adding that the pieces of information disclosed were not at all surprising.
“There are plenty of incidents that need a deeper build-up to create an airtight case before the courts. All eyes are on the Duterte administration now the investigations on these deadly irregularities continue even as the International Criminal Court conducts its own inquiry,” Colmenares said in a statement.
Colmenares added that the results of the review have confirmed the police’s alleged abuse of power in conducting anti-illegal drugs operations.
“One death is simply too much, and these 52 deaths show a grim image of irregularities,” he said. “But more importantly, the 52 cases, and there are definitely more, only show that the drug war is not the success the Duterte administration paints it to be.”
Colmenares vowed the NUPL would continue to monitor developments on the review of cases to assist the families of the victims who continue to seek justice for their deceased loved ones.
The Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), for its part, said the review of 52 cases “barely scratches the surface and is grossly insufficient and inconsistent with the government’s commitments under international law to provide effective review of cases involving alleged extralegal killings.”
Jose Manuel Diokno, FLAG national chairperson, believed that the DOJ’s review supposedly failed to provide a comprehensive and meaningful assessment of the real extent of the violation of human rights committed in the government’s drug war.
“It does not provide useful information to assist in making the offenders accountable, nor does it provide comfort or solace to the families of the victims of those killed in the name of the Duterte administration’s so-called war on drugs,” Diokno said.
He said the review only depicted what was being pointed out by human rights advocates, specifically the supposed lack of transparency in the investigation of thousands of deaths in the drug war.
He said the 52 cases reviewed have shown that any penalties meted out were
inconsequential.
“Of the 52 cases (number of victims unascertained), only seven cases resulted
in the dismissal from service of the erring officers. Majority of the cases resulted in a mere suspension of the officers ranging from 22-180 days (35 cases). One case even led to a mere reprimand while five other cases were dismissed,” Diokno said.
He said the people deserve more than what the DOJ’s panel is providing. Diokno also said the panel should review all the remaining cases, including those barred by President Rodrigo Duterte.
“This is not just to fulfill in good faith the country’s international commitments under international law but also to provide the true picture of the extent of the killings under the so-called war on drugs,” he said.
The next significant step is to prosecute those found responsible in the deaths, according to Diokno.
Too late
Rights group Karapatan said the DOJ should go beyond reviewing the 52 drug war deaths, noting that the victims’ families deserve clear answers to several questions.
“What are the patterns in these killings? Who are the perpetrators and from what basis or orders have they conducted the said violations? What are the implications of the policies of the Philippine National Police as well as the President’s pronouncements on such acts,” Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said.
Palabay said the DOJ’s findings are also not only too late but are too little as, according to her, only 0.8% of the 6,151 reported deaths by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency had been reviewed.
“Without establishing the clear patterns of killings, as well as the level of command responsibility and policy issues on these violations, such piecemeal acts do little to render justice and to will and institute genuine policy change,” Palabay said.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch senior researcher Carlos Conde said the DOJ report has affirmed earlier findings by other groups and the media, noting that it shows the pattern of police abuses.
“These cases (clearly) show ‘drug war’ is an illegal, murderous state policy carried out by a police force that has been commanded by President Duterte to disregard due process. These are not, by any stretch of the imagination, the conduct of ‘a few bad eggs’ in the Philippines police,” Conde said in a tweet.
One of the findings of the review stated that several suspects killed in the administration’s drug war, after allegedly firing first against police officers, were found negative for gunpowder nitrates.
Criminal cases are yet to be filed against erring police officers named in 52 cases reviewed by the Justice department.
The National Bureau of Investigation is set to conduct case buildup against erring cops involved.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque has said the release of data on the 52 drug war cases only proves that Duterte did not order the killings.
DOJ probe accomplishes too little
For the non-profit Center for International Law (CenterLaw), which was co-founded by Roque, the DOJ investigation accomplished “too little.”
“Without genuine efforts to bring justice to the victims, the proclaimed purposes of the probe to inform the families of victims and to call on potential witnesses ring hollow. The DOJ probe accomplishes too little and comes belatedly,” it said in a statement.
Further, 52 cases showed “minimal accountability” for perpetrators, CenterLaw also said.
“Far from addressing the pervasive impunity of the last five years, the DOJ probe only brings the Philippine government’s reluctance to pursue justice in full view,” the group said.
“Investigations on 52 cases show the minimal consequence to the perpetrators, which in the end do not make for a meaningful effort when the deaths run by the thousands,” it added.
Roque already left the organization when he became Duterte’s spokesperson.—LDF, GMA News
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