Narco politicians, EJK cold cases to be investigated

MANILA, Philippines — The newly elected head of the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) said they still need to study their next steps in dealing with narcolisted politicians who have won re-election and are now part of their group.

Bacolod City Mayor and LCP president Evelio Leonardia said they will have to sit down with the organization’s new focus person for anti-illegal drugs, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, who is a retired law enforcement official.

Leonardia said it would not be proper for the LCP “to make conclusions” for now, as they need to consult with Magalong on what strategy the group needs to take in handling the narcolisted politicians.

He noted that they would also need to discuss their steps if another batch of the narcolist is released. 

“As of the moment, we feel it is not yet time to come up with a clear position on that until we get the recommendation of Mayor Magalong, subject to the approval of the board,” Leonardia said in an interview during the LCP’s 68th general assembly the other day.

There were at least 25 local officials, a majority of whom are mayors, who won re-election despite being named by President Duterte as being involved in the illegal narcotics trade.

For Cebu City Mayor and newly-elected LCP chairman Edgardo Labella, these narco politicians should be investigated. 

“They have to be brought to the bar of justice, be thoroughly investigated and observe the rule of law. If found guity, they have to be punished to the full extent of the law,” he added. 

The two ranking LCP officials said that the group will support the administration’s thrusts and policies, especially in its centerpiece campaign against illegal drugs.

EJK cold cases reopened

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice (DOJ) will re-investigate unsolved cases concerning extra-judicial killings, particularly investigations that have gone cold, such as the killings of Bayan Muna lawyer Gil Gojol and his driver Danilo France in Sorsogon in 2006.

The DOJ said it would be in compliance with Administrative Order (AO) 35, issued in 2012, titled, “The Inter-Agency Committee on Extra-Legal Killings, Enforced Disappearances, Torture and Other Grave Violations to the Rights of Life, Liberty and Security of Persons,” or IAC.

DOJ Undersecretary and spokesman Markk Perete said they recently conducted an inventory of cases under AO 35 and discovered the still unsolved case of Gojol and France.

Perete explained that the order to reinvestigate the case “came as a matter of course. We made an inventory of cases under the AO 35 mechanism and discovered a number of cold cases which needed to be reinvestigated.”

“In fact, there will be a number of cases to be reinvestigated. It just so happened the case of Gojol was the first one since it is one of the oldest cases,” he added.

In December 2006, human rights lawyer Gojol had just come from a court hearing and was on his way to Sorsogon City when his vehicle, driven by France, was ambushed by four men on motorcycles. France was shot first and died on the spot. Gojol tried to flee but was shot multiple times from behind. He was then shot in the head and died instantly.

DOJ Secretary Menardo Guevarra ordered the creation of a Special Investigating Team (SIT) to re-investigate the killings of Gojol and France.

The DOJ explained that AO 35 is an inter-agency committee headed by the secretary of Justice, with members from law enforcement agencies and other offices, to look into cases involving grave violations of human rights.

“Unlike the current set-up where prosecutors assume a passive role in case build-up, the AO 35 mechanism places investigating teams under the direction and supervision of prosecutors to expedite investigations and improve conviction rates in human rights cases. SITs are created for new and unsolved cases,” Perete added. 

The IAC is chaired by the secretary of Justice. The members are the chairman, Presidential Human Rights Committee; secretary, Department of the Interior and Local Government; secretary, Department of National Defense; Presidential Adviser for Political Affairs; chief of staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines; director general, Philippine National Police; and director, National Bureau of Investigation.

The Office of the Ombudsman, Commission on Human Rights and the Department of Foreign Affairs serve as independent observers of the IAC. – With Evelyn Macairan