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Lawmakers seek reinvestigation of drug war killings by police

Article (news)

Paige Javier

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com/api/upload-raw/20250121160112/3ede68d9c1729d06eb747a4540d79e9e0917f5f478edfcdfbaae278268e4457f.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dii" alt="A gun is seen on the hand of one of two alleged drug pushers who were killed after allegedly fighting it out with police in Vitas, Tondo, July 21, 2016. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File" style="width:960px"/>A gun is seen on the hand of one of two alleged drug pushers who were killed after allegedly fighting it out with police in Vitas, Tondo, July 21, 2016. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File </div>MANILA – Lawmakers are seeking  a reinvestigation into the more than 7,000 cases of killings during the Duterte administration&#x27;s war on drugs.During the House Quad Committee&#x27;s 14th hearing on Tuesday, co-chairperson Santa Rosa, Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez said there is a need to reopen the cases. &quot;Mahirap naman pong bitawan na yung mga pamilya ng biktima. So we have to hang on and try to move forward. And try to somehow yung reinvestigation the best effort we can do,&quot; he said. &quot;Parang naisip ko out of the 7,000 ilan lang ba naging successful. Ngayon lumalabas na isa o dalawa lamang. The present government must do something to give justice to those families na biktima,&quot; Fernandez added. Quad Comm co-chairperson Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante shared the sentiment. &quot;I think there should not only be a review of these cases. There ought to be a reinvestigation of these cases… Yung mga investigation na ginawa on the last administration were actually wala eh. Walang nangyari,&quot; he said. Abante then asked PNP Director for Operations Police Major General Nicolas Salvador if he agrees that the thousands of drug war death cases should be reinvestigated.&quot;Yes your honor it&#x27;s possible for reinvestigation,&quot; Salvador said. &quot;If it&#x27;s possible, I would strongly suggest these victims should be reinvestigated so that proper charges in court be filed,&quot; Abante said. Salvador said it&#x27;s a matter of inventory of cases and it will be coinciding with the cases of the PNP Internal Affairs Service.National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) National Capital Region Director and spokesperson Ferdinand Lavin said among the 52 cases referred to them for filing, 13 were recommended to be prosecuted, seven are still under investigation and 32 were provisionally closed.He said some cases were closed due to &quot;lack of cooperation on the part of the relatives of the victims.&quot;Lavin explained there are challenges they face in investigating these cases.&quot;Let us remember we have been denied the opportunity to conduct forensic investigation on the pieces of evidence. Walang crime scene investigation dito. When these were referred to us, the crime already happened a long time ago. It&#x27;s very difficult now to reconstruct the scene of the crime,&quot; he said.Lavin said the ideal process is for the Scene of the Crime Operations (SOCO) to conduct an investigation immediately after the violent crime. He explained, the cases they were able to file had witnesses and relatives who were pursuing charges.&quot;I surmise that the police were not properly investigating because of the policy of the administration, because of the policy of the former President na kung yan nanlaban ng konti yan, patayin niyo yan, I have your back,&quot; Abante said. &quot;Palagay ko there really was a big irregularity as far as investigating this is concerned. Just imagine we have 7,000 na napatay but only 52 are being investigated,&quot; he added.Abang Lingkod Party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano said there should be a group dedicated to &quot;concentrate on reviewing and reinvestigating these cases.&quot;&quot;6,000 cases di po kaya yun to reinvestigate, to review…. Aabutin lang po to be honest aabutin na po patapos ng administrasyon na ito hindi matatapos,&quot; he said.&quot;Siguro doon sa committee report or partial report, we will ask the Executive Department to create super body or a commission to concentrate and investigate para yung mga agencies natin hindi mahirapan sa trabaho nila. Siguro may representative sa agencies,&quot; Paduano said.Abante agreed to this and suggested the conduct of another motu propio investigation on the thousands of drug war death cases. Human rights lawyer Atty. Maria Kristina Conti said it will be hard to restore the trust of the drug war victims&#x27; families in the investigation and Philippine justice system.&quot;Ang pwede po siguro if this committee or this government wants to reinvestigate everything, as a rule, continue the investigation. If some of the victims would not allow to be reinvestigate, give them that leeway. So as a rule lahat imbestigahan ulit, ilabas lahat ng ebidensya and allow the victims to opt out,&quot; she said. Conti said some relatives do not pursue cases because of fear for their lives.&quot;We reviewed 200 cases, only six we could file in court. Only one we secured a conviction for out of total 200…. There should be at least police officers convicted from three cases. Kian [Delos Santos], Carl [Arnaiz] and [Luis and Gabriel] Bonifacio case,&quot; she added. Antipolo 2nd District Rep. Romeo Acop questioned why the PNP-IAS should be the one to investigate incidents involving police officers and firearms. He pointed out that the cases filed by the PNP-IAS against policemen involved in drug war killings are mostly administrative cases.Salvador said it is within their mandate to conduct a motu propio investigation especially if it involves the use of firearms.The mega panel will invite former PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, former Justice Secretary now Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, and director of the PNP-IAS.

Lawmakers are seeking a reinvestigation into the more than 7,000 cases of killings during the Duterte administration's war on drugs.

Lawmakers are seeking a reinvestigation into the more than 7,000 cases of killings during the Duterte administration's war on drugs.

Lawmakers seek reinvestigation on drug war killings by police

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Lawmakers seek reinvestigation on drug war killings by police

Paige Javier,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jan 22, 2025 12:17 AM PHT

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Updated Jan 22, 2025 12:25 AM PHT

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House of Representatives

Quad Committee

war on drugs

extrajudicial killings

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