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Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17301074150041730107442835.jpeg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Human rights lawyer Chel Diokno and Sen. Bato dela Rosa clashed on the police interpretation of " of="" drug="" suspects="" during="" the="" war="" probe="" on="" Oct.="" Senate="" style="width:960px"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Human rights lawyer Chel Diokno and Sen. Bato dela Rosa clashed on the police interpretation of &quot;neutralization&quot; of drug suspects during the Senate&#x27;s drug war probe on Oct. 28, 2024. <em>Senate livestream</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — What does the Philippine National Police (PNP) mean when they used the terms &quot;neutralize&quot; and &quot;negate&quot; in the context of the Duterte administration&#x27;s bloody war on drugs?</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/10/28/at-senate-probe-duterte-allies-and-critics-clash-on-legacy-of-bloody-drug-war-1340">• At Senate probe, Duterte allies and critics clash on legacy of bloody drug war</a></div><p>Armed with classified documents, interviews with victims, and corroboration with other police records, human rights lawyer Chel Diokno showed the Senate Blue Ribbon sub-committee that the Duterte drug war might have had a policy of killing drug suspects. </p><p>During the first day of the Senate&#x27;s drug war probe — held in parallel to an inquiry at the House — Diokno presented the PNP&#x27;s Command Memorandum Circular No. 16-2016 issued on July 1, 2016 by then-PNP chief Ronald &quot;Bato&quot; dela Rosa, defining the framework of the Oplan Double Barrel.</p><p>&quot;Ang kampanya kontra ilegal na droga ng administrasyong Duterte ay hindi lang basta-basta nagmula sa kalsada at barangay. Ang pinagmulan ng war on drugs ay isang utos o command na galing mismo sa pinakamataas na opisyal ng PNP,&quot; said Diokno, referring to now-senator Dela Rosa.</p><p>(The anti-drug campaign of the Duterte administration did not just come from the street. It started from an order or command from the highest official of the PNP.)</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/10/28/senate-panel-subpoenas-garma-espinosa-others-who-skipped-drug-war-probe-1126">• Senate panel subpoenas Garma, Espinosa, others who skipped drug war probe</a></div><p>Diokno said the circular marked a transformation in the government&#x27;s approach on illegal drugs as it introduced the terms &quot;neutralization&quot; and &quot;negation&quot; of drug suspects.</p><p>&quot;Anong pinagkaiba ng Oplan Double Barrel sa dating drug war? Dalawa po, unang una may utos sa loob ng command circular na mag-neutralize at mag-negate ng mga suspected illegal drug personalities... Ikalawa, ang utos ay gumamit ng drug list para linisin ang mga sangkot umano sa ilegal na droga,&quot; Diokno said.</p><p>(How different was Oplan Double Barrel? Two things, there was an order to neutralize and negate suspected drug personalities and there was an order to use a drug list to to clean up people allegedly involved in illegal drugs)</p><p>With no legal definition, Diokno said the &quot;neutralize&quot; and &quot;negate&quot; were freely interpreted by the PNP. </p><p>&quot;Kumbaga, bahala na sila magpasya kung ano ang ibig sabihin nito,&quot; he said. </p><p>(Basically, what it meant was up to them)</p><p>Analyzing how the PNP interpreted the terms, Diokno cited statements from previous police officials saying the term meant &quot;killing&quot; drug suspects. </p><p>&quot;Ayon mismo sa PNP spokesperson noong 2016, ang ibig sabihin ng neutralized ay pinatay o killed,&quot; Diokno said.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/10/28/duterte-says-he-takes-full-responsibility-for-bloody-drug-war-1237">• &#x27;Ako ang makulong&#x27;: Duterte says he takes &#x27;full responsibility&#x27; for bloody drug war</a></div><p>Diokno&#x27;s Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) also had at least 20 police reports that &quot;contain almost identical use of the word &#x27;neutralize&#x27; in buy-bust operations where the alleged suspect was killed dahil &#x27;nanlaban&#x27; daw sila.&quot; </p><p>Sen. Risa Hontiveros said the killing spree of drug suspects was also encouraged by the &quot;perverse incentive&quot; system supposedly by the government itself.</p><p>&quot;Pag aresto walang reward, pero pag napatay, may incentive,&quot; she said.</p><p>(There is no reward for arrests but an incentive for kills)</p><div><strong>DEFINITION BY GOOGLE</strong></div><p>But Dela Rosa accused Diokno of misinterpreting the term &quot;neutralize&quot; and even read out a definition he looked up online.</p><p>&quot;If I would give you the Google meaning of neutralize, ito po ang sabi: &#x27;Render something ineffective or harmless by applying ang opposite force or effect.&#x27; So anong ibig sabihin nyan? Yan ang sinasabi mong negation operation,&quot; Dela Rosa said.</p><p>(So what does that mean? That is what you are saying is a negation operation)</p><p>Visibly riled up, Dela Rosa accused Diokno of being a &quot;know-it-all.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Gusto mong magpulis-pulisan eh, gusto mo i-insist yung talagang gusto mong meaning eh. Yung negation operation ay pagko-conduct ng operation against the suspect. Pwede mo syang maaresto, filean mo ng kaso, para makulong at hindi na sya mag-commit ng further crime,&quot; Dela Rosa said.</p><p>(You like playing cop. You want to insist on your defintion. But a negation operation can be through arrest, or filing a case to put them in jail and to keep them from committing more crimes)</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/10/28/-kinailangan-ang-kamay-na-bakal-bong-go-defends-duterte-drug-war-denies-reward-system-1120">• &#x27;Kinailangan ang kamay na bakal&#x27;: Bong Go defends Duterte drug war, denies reward system</a></div><p>He then admitted that drug operations may inevitably have ended in killings if the suspects fought back. </p><div><strong>FORMER PNP CHIEF AGREE</strong></div><p>Former PNP chiefs Archie Gamboa and Debold Sinas also came to Dela Rosa&#x27;s defense and opposed Diokno&#x27;s presentation.</p><p>&quot;It does not mean pag sinabing neutralize, ang sinasabi namin sa tao sa baba ay patay,&quot; Sinas said.</p><p>(When we say neutralize, we are not telling our subordinates to kill)</p><p>He said that police officers are expected to &quot;stop [the suspect&#x27;s] operation, stop the aggressions on equal force just enough to neutralize them.&quot;</p><p>While official government data said 6,181 people were killed in Duterte&#x27;s war on drugs, several rights group believed up to 30,000 may have been killed, some innocent victims, and that corruption was allegedly rife among security forces that acted with impunity.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o65X1OtRVEM?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Diokno said the circular marked a transformation in the government's approach on illegal drugs as it introduced the terms "neutralization" and "negation" of drug suspects.</p>

Diokno said the circular marked a transformation in the government's approach on illegal drugs as it introduced the terms "neutralization" and "negation" of drug suspects.

'Google it': Bato cites internet to dispute Diokno's report on 'neutralization' of drug suspects

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'Google it': Bato cites internet to dispute Diokno's report on 'neutralization' of drug suspects

Jauhn Etienne Villaruel,

ABS-CBN News

Published Oct 28, 2024 05:25 PM PHT

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Updated Oct 28, 2024 08:53 PM PHT

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Senate

senator

Bato

Bato dela Rosa

FLAG

drugs

drug war

drug suspects

war on drugs

neutralization

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