Drug war deaths highest in 3 regions
MANILA, Philippines — Three regions have recorded the highest number of killings related to the government’s campaign against illegal drugs, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) reported yesterday.
CHR Commissioner Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana said Metro Manila, Central Luzon and Calabarzon had the most number of drug-related deaths based on the analysis of killings and violence from July 2016 to February 2020.
“While killings span across administrative regions, these areas have registered the highest numbers,” Gana said.
From the sample 579 cases, 870 were recorded as victims, 71 of them women and 24 minors.
At least 451 incidents were due to police operations, 104 were said to be committed by unidentified perpetrators while 24 have no sufficient information as to the circumstances.
Killings linked to police operations tallied 705 victims, 466 of them said to have resisted arrest or the so-called nanlaban cases.
Despite police protocols prescribing necessary and reasonable force in subduing resistance by an aggressor, only two percent or 11 individuals survived the alleged nanlaban incidents.
Records of 87 victims contained information on the wounds or injuries, mostly multiple gunshot wounds usually to the head, chest, trunk and abdomen.
Blunt force and injury and lacerations were also found on some of the victims.
‘Intent to kill’
Gana cited a Supreme Court decision, which states that the location of a deceased aggressor’s gunshot wounds may suggest an ”intent to kill” and not just to defend oneself.
“It was also observed that for investigation reports secured by the CHR from the police, 77 out of 90... complete with results of internal investigation contained recommendations that police operatives involved... are either to be awarded, rewarded or recognized,” Gana said.
She said some reports upheld legitimacy of operations while a few recommended that participating operatives be absolved from criminal or administrative liability.
Discrepancies
The CHR said it found other patterns of discrepancies by law enforcers based on eyewitness accounts.
It cited alleged operations that might have not actually been conducted, that nanlaban victims could not have initiated a shootout, and that some victims were under police custody when they were killed.
The CHR also cited alleged unjustified violence in the conduct of operations, planting of evidence, and that some of the victims might not have been the intended target of the operations.
With these findings, the agency said it continues to reaffirm its willingness to partner with the government in uncovering the truth behind deaths linked to the government’s war on drugs.
The CHR said it welcomed the information released by Department of Justice on the 52 cases under investigation.
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