Gov’t ordered to yield records on drug killings

The Supreme Court (SC) directed the government to submit full record of more than 3,000 deaths that surfaced from legitimate police operations in connection with the administration’s war on drugs. (Shutterstock)

The Supreme Court (SC) directed the government to submit the full record of more than 3,000 deaths that surfaced from legitimate police operations in connection with the administration’s war on drugs.

The SC en banc on Tuesday dismissed the motion for reconsideration filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida, asking the High Court to “recall” its earlier order to his office.

“The Court denied the Solicitor General’s Motion for Reconsideration of the Court’s Order dated 5 December 2017,” the SC said.

The government was given 15 days from notice to submit required reports.

Center for International Law (CenterLaw), a group of human rights lawyers who were one of the petitioners who had asked for the documents to be revealed, lauded the initial order of the High Court, saying that they are “fortified by this triumph of the rule of law.”

“On behalf of the petitioners and all family and kin of extrajudicial killings victims, Centerlaw thanks the Supreme Court for this important step in the search for accountability for the killings in the tokhang operations,” the statement read.

“We hope that the information that will be gathered from these documents will help not only the families of EJK victims, but more importantly the authorities, to file the necessary cases against those responsible for the killings,” it added.

The Philippine government was compelled to hand over the following information: names, addresses, ages, gender of those who were killed; place, date, and time of the drug operation; names of the PNP team leaders and members who participated in the operation; pre-operation plan “or whatever is the pre-operation preparation”; post-operation operation; whether search warrants or warrants of arrest were issued; and names of media, NGOs (Non-Government Organizations), or barangay officials who were present during the operation.

The SC en banc’s decision to demand records will have an impact on the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) preliminary examination of President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign to eradicate illegal drugs.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) last month, through its spokesperson Chief Superintendent John Bulalacao, said that only with higher offices’ approval can they release to the tribunal the data of the drug war.

“On the part of the PNP we will. We will, provided there will be an approval from the higher office, in this case, the DILG (Department of Interior and Local Government) or Malacañang,” Bulalacao said on March 27.

For its part, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), the agency Duterte assigned to lead his anti-illegal drug campaign, also expressed its willingness to cooperate with the ICC if they are asked.