The Philippine National Police (PNP) is now reviewing the draft of the memorandum of agreement t in the conduct of the review and case build-up of the police and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) against policemen who may have committed abuses in the rug war of the Duterte administration since July 2016.
PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar said that as soon as the review is done, a meeting will be immediately conducted with the NBI for the signing which will subsequently lead to the start of the review.
It was the Department of Justice under Secretary Menardo Guevarra which crafted the draft agreement and it said it already forwarded a copy of it to the PNP on October 15.
“This serves as an assurance to our kababayan that we are serious in our commitment to ferret out the truth on the questionable cases, to hold accountable those who committed abuses and to institutionalize reforms to further professionalize your PNP,” said Eleazar.
“In partnership with the NBI, itatama natin ang mali at papanagutin natin ang nagkamali (we will conduct corrective measures and hold accountable those who committed abuses) in the interest of truth and justice,” he added.
The DOJ was already done with the assessment on 52 cases involving more than 150 policemen after the PNP submitted case folders of questionable police operations during anti-illegal drugs operations since July 2016.
Eleazar assured that the move is part of the effort of the PNP to strengthen transparency and accountability amid allegations of human rights abuses and extra-judicial killings in the conduct of anti-illegal drugs operations.
President Duterte himself said that those who committed abuses will be sanctioned in a speech before the United Nations General Assembly. Critics said the President's declaration is an indication that he is feeling the pressure of the investigation being conducted by the International Criminal Court for possible crime against humanity in the conduct of drug war.
The national government said the findings of the DOJ’s review would be made public.