The Philippine National Police (PNP) reiterated that numerous police officers involved in the drug war during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration have been overlooked and are currently dealing with legal issues.
The PNP’s reply followed former Duterte’s denial in a congressional Quad Comm hearing of the earlier claim by PNP chief Rommel Francisco Marbil, which stated that numerous police officers impacted during the former administration did not get aid after participating in the war on drugs.
As per PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo, their documentation is accurate.
Duterte confirms the reward system for the drug war.’Minsan bigyan ko pa ng dagdag’
“This is a welcome development dahil kung matatandaan niyo po nagbigay ng pahayag ang ating chief PNP na noong nakaraang administrasyon particularly from 2016 to 2022 ay marami po talaga tayong pulis na humarap sa mga legal challenges ,maraming nakasuhan, some of them were dismissed , infact some of them were convicted and eventually incarcerated po sa ating mga detention facilities at yan po ang direction ng ating chief pnp to provide legal assistance sa mga pulis po natin,” Fajardo commented.
Because of the high demand for legal services among police officers, the PNP has formed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a financial institution that has also established a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) to offer legal support to police officers involved in different cases connected to their responsibilities.
Fajardo acknowledged that there is an inadequate number of lawyers in the PNP Legal Service.
Marcos states that the government will neither assist nor interfere with the ICC investigation into Duterte’s drug war.
“Karapatan po ng ating dating pangulo sa kaniyang mga pananalita but the records will not lie po,” Fajardo said during a press briefing at Camp Crame.
Fajardo emphasized that evidence backs Marbil’s claim about the number of police officers impacted by the war on drugs under Duterte’s leadership.
According to PNP records, 1,214 police personnel were impacted by the drug war. Of these, 312 were killed, 974 sustained injuries, 195 were removed from service, 20 were incarcerated, and 214 are under criminal investigation.
“Ito ay galing sa ating DPRM , sa Directorate for Personnel and Records Management particularly yung mga killed in action ,wounded in action ,dun naman po sa mga nakasuhan natin ang nagprovide po ng data na yan ay DIDM ,this data cannot just be ,hindi ito biro itong data na ito ,so hindi po ito pananalita lamang ng ating chief pnp, this is a backup by a solid data po,” the PNP spokesperson added.
Nonetheless, the PNP will agree to the P1 million offer from Duterte as support for police officers dealing with cases stemming from the war on drugs during his presidency.
Former President Duterte’s first appearance at the quad committee was marked by frequent flip-flopping and backtracking.
“I am asking the ICC to hurry up, and if possible, they can come here and start the investigation tomorrow. This issue has been left hanging for many years, baka mamatay ako, hindi na nila ako imbestiga (I might die and they can no longer investigate me),” Duterte announced with much confidence.
What actions should President Marcos take?
The drug war has persisted during Marcos’s tenure, although he has advocated for greater focus on prevention and rehabilitation.
In 2019, the Philippines left the ICC following Duterte’s orders, yet the tribunal claims it retains authority over murders committed prior to the withdrawal, including those in Davao City during Duterte’s tenure as mayor, long before he assumed the presidency.
We are left with the question, what are the next steps of our current president?
Leave a Reply