By MB Online
A report released by the US State Department identified extrajudicial killing as “the most pressing human rights concern” in the Philippines.
(MANILA BULLETIN)
The country report which was released on Wednesday focused on the Duterte administration’s anti-drug campaign which started in 2016.
"Extrajudicial killings have been the chief human rights concern in the country for many years and, after a sharp rise with the onset of the anti-drug campaign in 2016, they continued in the reporting year, albeit at a lower level," the report read.
The report based its findings from 673 deaths chronicled by the media from January to September 29, 2018.
The US State Department report described the Philippine Internal Affairs Service (IAS), the unit tasked to investigate violations of police operatives as “largely ineffective.”
Likewise, the civilian control over the PNP’s was also described as “not fully effective” although the report noted that it “continued to improve.”
Data gathered from the PNP showed that there were 441 cops accused of alleged human rights violations from January to July 2018.
Of the number of cops accused of human rights violations 375 cases are already pending before the courts, 50 PNP personnel were exonerated; 10 cases were dismissed; four persons were dismissed from service, one suspended, and one demoted.
As of this posting, the PNP has yet to come up with a statement on the said report.