CHR to Duterte: 'Ninja cops' removal should not be by death
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Human Rights agreed with President Rodrigo Duterte that so-called "ninja cops" or scalawags in the police force should be removed from the service but not through vigilantism.
"[L]ike any human being, their lives are priceless too and should not be equated to any amount, however low or exorbitant it may be," CHR spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia said in a statement Sunday.
"Their removal from service must not be by death which promotes vigilantism and perpetuates the cycle of violence, worse the breakdown of the rule of law but by due process which will afford them recognition of their rights," she added.
Duterte on Friday said he is raising to P5 million the reward money for each "ninja cop" killed.
"But I think those who are engaged in kidnap here and there, either it's the ninja police or the scalawags. So the good practice may be against the ninja cops, I will now raise the amount of P5 million per ninja cop," Duterte said.
"If you bring him to me dead, I’ll give you (P5 million), no questions asked or three million. If (the ninja cop) is still alive, I will give you P10,000 and a kick in the butt as you go out," he added, saying that errant police officers are damaging the Philippine National Police and its war on drugs.
The CHR, however, said affording rogue cops due process and their constitutional rights do not equate to tolerance of their wrongdoings but "rather adhering to time-honored principles of respect for human rights and the rule of law."
The PNP, on the other hand, welcomed the bounty saying that it could serve as a deterrent to "crooked" cops.
Duterte also threatened to kill police scalawags in a profanity-laden speech earlier this month when alleged crooked cops were presented before him.
The president had offered P2 million in bounty for each "ninja cop" slain in 2016.
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