Representatives from the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) could soon be included in all anti-drug operations by the Philippine National Police (PNP) if a bill proposed by a congresswoman is enacted.
House Deputy Minority Leader Bernadette Herrera filed House Bill 1011 mandating the presence of “CHR agents” in police operations against suspected drug traffickers.
She sought the creation of an inter-agency task force (IATF) for such purpose to prevent possible human rights violations in the government’s anti-drug campaign.
Herrera said the CHR agents will be tasked to properly document police activities during anti-drug operations for the “mutual protection of the accused personalities and the police officers.”
“This aims to ensure the protection of human rights of drug suspects, as well ensuring that police officers conduct themselves in a proper manner so as not to subject themselves to situations that would have them liable for violations of human rights,” she said in a statement.
Herrera, a representative of the Bagong Henerasyon Party-list, said her bill is in response to human rights concerns raised by local and international groups over the previous Duterte administration’s drug war.
She noted that from July to Sept. 2016, there were 700,000 drug users and pushers who surrendered, and 3,295 drug suspects killed. Of this number, she cited that a total of 1,167 drug personalities died in police operations.
Reports said that at least 7,000 have been killed at the hands of police officers alone, but human rights groups said the numbers could at least be at the 30,000 level as of 2019.
It is believed that these figures have grown since the last official report.
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The lawmaker said the CHR and PNP should be considered “partners in the common endeavor of combating illegal drugs and maintaining the protection and sanctity of human rights.”
“We need to have a national anti-drug campaign that values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human rights,” Herrera stressed.
Under the bill, the CHR chairman shall serve as chair of the IATF, with the PNP director general as vice chair, and the secretaries of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) director, and the Solicitor General as members.
The IATF shall provide a joint report detailing the conduct of anti-drug operations and the actions aimed at the protection of human rights during such operations. This report shall be submitted to the President and Congress once each year.
According to Herrera’s office, the IATF’s primary function is to coordinate governmental programs on anti-drug efforts and human rights initiatives.
At the same time, that task force shall also develop and execute strategies aimed at combating illegal drugs and balancing the human rights of drug suspects; train CHR agents to be included the conduct of anti-drug operations; and prosecute private or public officials engaged in human rights violations during police operations, among others.