We’re glad that last week, the Supreme Court ordered Solicitor General Jose C. Calida to deliver on his promise to submit the Philippine National Police (PNP) investigation reports on the killing of more than 4,000 drug suspects in President Duterte’s brutal war on drugs.
We certainly did not expect the 12 associate justices of the High Tribunal to vote unanimously to reject Calida’s appeal to rescind their December 5, 2017 order requiring the submission of the official PNP reports on the killings in the course of implementation of “Oplan Tokhang.”
At first, Calida had agreed to comply with the tribunal’s order within 60 days but eventually opposed it, invoking national security. He claimed that producing the documents involves information and other sensitive matters that could adversely affect follow-up operations of the police and other law enforcement bodies, aside from endangering the lives of those on the list and those already in custody.
But the justices deserve praise for standing firm on their previous order to Calida and the PNP to provide them with documents containing the names, addresses, police operational plans and other important information on Oplan Tokhang operations from July 1, 2016 to November 30, 2017.
The High Tribunal acted on the petition of the Center for International Law (Centerlaw), representing two groups of petitioners—families of slain drug suspects—who challenged the legality of the war on drugs and sought protection from the court against the PNP.
Not unexpectedly, Centerlaw lauded the Supreme Court (SC) decision as a “triumph of the rule of law.” We agree completely.
Our worry, however, is that the police may not comply with the SC order. PNP chief Director General Ronald M. dela Rosa said last year the records could not be released without clearance from the President. Now, the PNP is saying they would release records only on a case-to-case basis. What are they afraid of, if they keep saying that all cases of nanlaban or drug suspects who fought back and were killed were legitimate police operations.
The SC is not the only institution asking the PNP to release data on the drug killings. The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has also urged police authorities to immediately comply with the SC order as they said this is a first step to ensure that the rule of law still prevails in the country.
More than this, the CHR correctly asserts that there would in fact be no need for international bodies such as the International Criminal Court and human rights groups to intervene in the human rights situation in the country if the government would show serious commitment to investigate killings linked to the war on drugs.
“We are hopeful that the SC decision will help the commission in its independent probe of cases of extrajudicial killings through information and data sharing with the PNP. If we can sustain developments such as this, as well as expediently demonstrate that our judicial systems are functioning as they should, it will be a concrete manifestation that the State is willing and able to carry out investigation or prosecution,” the CHR pointed out.
The CHR earlier asked the PNP to open their case folders, including police blotters, spot reports, investigation documents, forensic records, inventory reports and affidavits.
“We look forward to the PNP’s cooperation without condition on this matter,” the CHR said.
“We believe that their swift action would allow the wheels of justice to turn faster, given the clamor for transparency and accountability for alleged human-rights violations linked to the government’s antidrug campaign,” it added.
The CHR reiterated the need to ensure accountability for victims of the war on drugs.
“In the spirit of due process and the rule of law, these cases need to be tried in proper courts and should not remain as mere files stacked in shelves to gather dust,” it said.
Ours is a government of laws and not of men. The rule of law is the bedrock of our democratic system. We agree with the adage that “where law ends, tyranny begins.”
If the PNP has nothing to hide, they should readily accede to the SC order in the interest of full transparency.
(E-mail: ernhil@yahoo.com)