MANILA, Philippines — Police officers included in 52 cases that the Philippine National Police submitted to the Department of Justice may face criminal charges after a review prompted a decision for further investigation.
The 52 records involve around 154 police officers, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said. The cases are part of the second report of the DOJ-led review of cases in the "war on drugs."
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Guevarra said that the deadline of the National Bureau of Investigation's case buildup "will be the subject of [a] meeting between the DOJ and the NBI on Tuesday."
"The DOJ noted that based on the facts gathered by the PNP Internal Affairs Service (IAS), the police officers involved in these cases were not only administratively liable; the existing evidence pointed to their possible criminal liability as well," Guevarra said in a text message to reporters Sunday.
"The DOJ thus informed the PNP that these cases will be endorsed to the NBI for case build-up and filing of criminal complaints if warranted by the evidence. The NBI and the PNP agreed to coordinate with each other in this endeavor."
President Rodrigo Duterte at the United Nations General Assembly hit the international body's "interference" in his administration's so-called war on drugs as he claimed that he had already instructed the PNP as well as the Department of Justice to review the conduct of the campaign against narcotics.
Police Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, PNP chief, often points to the 52 surrendered records as proof of the PNP's "active participation" in the government's probe of the "war on drugs" and proof that the PNP's mechanisms are working.
It is unclear if the public will have access to the records as even bodies like the Commission on Human Rights have yet to see them.
When asked if the commission will have access this time around, Guevarra said his department "will discuss" it with the CHR. "We may engage the CHR in this next phase of the work of the drug war review panel."
Eleazar has said that the PNP will submit to the decision of President Duterte on the release of documents on police operations on illegal drugs.
Under the administration's so-called drug war, police figures acknowledge some 6,100 deaths in official anti-drug operations. However, rights groups both here and abroad say the actual death toll may be as high as 30,000.
"The NBI was not part of the DOJ team that examined the 52 cases. If the NBI will deem that the PNP-IAS findings are enough, they may file the complaints directly. If the NBI thinks that more evidence will be needed, they will further investigate and build up the case," the justice chief said when asked why the review wasn't enough to file a criminal complaint.
Pressed for details on the full review, Guevarra said: "The report itself is a confidential memo for the president, but we are informing the public of its contents."
— Franco Luna with reports from Kristine Joy Patag