HUMAN Rights Watch (HRW) called on the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to initiate reforms within the ranks of the Philippine National Police (PNP) after legislative inquiries revealed the involvement of its members in corruption and human rights abuses.
It said hearings conducted by the House of Representatives have brought to light serious allegations of extrajudicial killings and misconduct committed by the police during former president Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war.
“Recent testimony in Congress brought to light the murderous police infrastructure during Duterte’s war on drugs. President Marcos should take immediate steps for meaningful reforms to the Philippine National Police and other police agencies,” HRW Deputy Asia Director Bryony Lau said in a statement released over the weekend.
On October 5, Royina Garma, former police chief of Cebu City, testified that she was instructed by Duterte in 2016 to organize a national anti-drug campaign after the model he used as mayor of Davao City.
She said part of the scheme was incentivizing police officers with payments ranging from P20,000 to P1 million for the killing of drug suspects.
On October 11, Kerwin Espinosa, a confessed drug lord, recounted an incident wherein he was allegedly threatened by then-police chief and now-senator Ronald Dela Rosa to implicate former senator Leila de Lima in drug-related charges.
De Lima, who was detained for nearly seven years before being exonerated in June, was a vocal critic of Duterte’s war on drugs.
Dela Rosa has denied the allegation.
HRW said the testimonies revealed the PNP’s role in enforcing Duterte’s brutal drug policies that resulted in thousands of deaths with minimal accountability.
It urged the Department of the Interior and Local Government to investigate the allegations and the Department of Justice to file charges against implicated officers.
Local Government Secretary Juanito Victor Remulla was urged to rescind internal circulars related to the drug war, specifically the “Oplan Double Barrel” initiative that remains in effect.
HRW said it favors the reorientation of the Internal Affairs Service of the PNP and granting it greater authority to investigate police misconduct.
It advocated for changes in the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and called on Marcos Jr. to allow into the country the International Criminal Court’s investigation into drug war killings.
“The Interior and Justice ministries need to follow up on the congressional revelations and credibly investigate these ghastly crimes,” Lau said.
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