Roque says he is looking into 'every killing reported by the PNP'

MANILA, Philippines — Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Tuesday that he is working with the police to collect information on drug-related killings and determine if there were irregularities, including the use of excessive force. 

Roque, who is also presidential adviser on human rights, said he would recommend the filing of charges against police officers involved in extrajudicial killings.

"I've actually coordinated with the police to document each of the killings that they have reported and actually make sure that there is no basis to prosecute our men in uniform in connection with any of these killings. We're halfway done," Roque said in a press briefing in Malacañang. 

According to the latest #RealNumbersPH government release, there have been 4,075 "drug personalities" killed in anti-drug operations between July 1, 206 and March 20, 2018. There have also been 2,467 "drug-related incidents", of which 1,752 cases are under investigation.

Critics of the drug war and human rights workers have higher estimates of 9,000 to 12,000 deaths attributed to the drug war and the Palace said in a yearend report in 2017 that it was investigating a total of 16,355 "homicide cases" tallied between July 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017.

"So, in a few months, I will have a file each for every killing reported by the PNP, indicating that there was no excessive use of force; and if there is a reason to file charges against the killers, then I will encourage the filing of charges to put an end to criticisms that nothing is being done," Roque said Tuesday.

Police cooperation

Roque said he and former police chief Ronald dela Rosa had agreed to work together to collect data on the killings. He said he is optimistic that Philippine National Police Director General Oscar Albayalde would also cooperate with him.

In September 2017, while still a member of the House minority bloc, Roque had asked Dela Rosa to submit inquest reports on suspects killed in drug operations.

"As I have mentioned in a previous statement, there is no presumption of regularity in a particular police operation when it results in the deaths of suspects. According to Rule 15.4 of the Revised Philippine National Police Operations Procedures, inquest is mandatory when a suspect dies during a police operation," he said then. 

LOOK | Latest data on the fight against drugs. #RealNumbersPH Update pic.twitter.com/w7tgffy49O

— Radyo Pilipinas (@radyopilipinas1) March 28, 2018

"My question to PNP chief Ronald Dela Rosa is, where are the inquest reports of all these deaths?" he also said then.

"I think, [Director General] Albayalde will even be more cooperative in this regard because he really wants to promote discipline among the ranks of the PNP. He will hasten the process. So I foresee that in the next two or three months, we should be finished and we should come up with the report on how many should be charged, if any," Roque said. 

"So the next time that they (critics) complain (about the drug war), I will now be able to confidently say, 'That’s not true. We went through each and every case, and we can convincingly say that there was no excessive use of force in these instances,'" he added. 

Roque's statement came four days after 13 people were killed in simultaneous anti-drug raids in Bulacan and almost a week after Albayalde assumed as PNP chief.   

More than 4,000 people, most of them small-time drug pushers, have died since President Rodrigo Duterte launched his war on illegal drugs two years ago. 

Critics claim that the government's crackdown on illegal drugs is encouraging extrajudicial killings and human rights abuses but officials deny this, insisting that most of the slain drug suspects fought with arresting officers. 

Duterte has been assailing human rights advocates who are critical of his anti-narcotics campaign, accusing them of ignoring the plight of victims of drug pushers and syndicates. 

'All the killings were done in a legal manner'

Roque disputed claims that the Duterte administration is not doing enough to prevent drug-related killings. 

"We are taking this seriously but we do not need to announce all the things that we are doing," he said. 

"Don't worry. We will reach the point when we will confidently say, 'We have the data. We have the facts,” and we are confidently able to say, 'All the killings were done in a legal manner.'”

Roque also shrugged off fears that the killings tied to the drug war could remove the Philippines' Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status under the European Union (EU). The status allows the Philippines to export more than 6,000 products to Europe at zero duty. 

"Let me be clear on this: Of course, it's always their prerogative to review it. But the Philippine government’s position on extra-legal killing I think has been made clear over and over again by the president himself," the presidential spokesman said.  

"He stands by the police when they are in the discharge of their official functions; when they commit acts outside their official functions, he will order their arrest," he added. 

Last week, the European Parliament issued a resolution urging the Philippines to put an end to the drug-related deaths and expressing concerns over reports that the police is falsifying evidence to justify the crackdown

Malacañang has scored the EU Parliament for issuing the resolution and has accused the legislative chamber of interfering with the Philippines' internal issues.