Excessive force? Roque, PNP review drug ops

MANILA, Philippines — Presidential spokesman Harry Roque yesterday revealed he is working with the Philippine National Police (PNP) to collect information about 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 policemen 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 at a press briefing in Malacañang. 

“So in a few months, I will have a file 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,” he added. 

Roque said he and former PNP chief Ronald dela Rosa had agreed to work together to collect data on the killings. He said he was optimistic that PNP chief Director Oscar Albayalde would also cooperate with him.

“I think 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 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. 

Albayalde, for his part, said he will keep the name “tokhang” in police anti-illegal drug operations.?Tokhang was initiated and popularized by Dela Rosa as he waged the intensified war against illegal drugs for 21 months from July 1, 2016 until he retired on April 19. ?Albayalde said there is no guarantee the war on drugs will be less bloody when he takes over leadership of the 190,000-strong PNP and there are going to be casualties so long as drug suspects put up a fight in police operations.

Albayalde had promised to cooperate in the investigations of their police operations with other government agencies, including the Commission on Human Rights, to ensure transparency.?Roque’s statements came four days after 13 people were killed in simultaneous 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 Duterte launched his war on illegal drugs two years ago. 

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

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

Roque disputed claims 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’.”   – With Cecille Suerte Felipe