A MATRIX released by the Department of Justice yesterday on the 52 incidents of drug war operations that resulted in the killing of drug suspects shattered police “nanlaban” narratives as it showed multiple lapses in procedures on the part of the cops and excessive use of force in some of the incidents.
This was the first time since the DOJ started its drug war review in February last year that it released details about the cases submitted by the PNP for review.
The department has yet to release information on the more than 300 cases it reviewed prior to the 52 cases.
The Philippines has come under pressure from the United Nations to investigate allegations of systematic murders of drug suspects, and the International Criminal Court recently announced it would investigate President Duterte’s bloody campaign.
Duterte, in his speech before the 76th UN General Assembly last month, directed the PNP and the DOJ to review the conduct of the anti-drug campaign. But Malacanang said it would not participate in any ICC investigation.
PNP chief Guillermo Eleazar welcomed the DOJ decision to make public the details of 52 drug war cases involving 154 policemen that it reviewed “in the interest of truth, transparency and justice.”
The DOJ said it cannot confirm if there was a pattern to the 52 drug war cases “since the case list submitted to us has no consistent geographic classifications,” DOJ Undersecretary Adrian Sugay.
“The list of 52 cases submitted to us by PNP and the PNP-IAS is a mixed bag. They simply gave us access that, upon verification, involved findings of administrative liability done by the investigative arm of the PNP-IAS,” Sugay said.
Asked whether the department would expand its investigation into the five-year war on drugs, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said: “Time and resources permitting, the DOJ will review these thousands of other cases, too.”
The cases covered by the DOJ’s second drug war review were from Cagayan in the north to Zamboanga in the south. Notably, however, there were only a few cases from the National Capital Region, where most of the drug war killings happened.
In several cases the DOJ probed, those killed had no traces of gunpowder on their hands, or did not have a gun at all, the department said. It also said police had used excessive force, shot suspects at close range, and relevant medical and police records were missing.
The cases would undergo further investigation and case buildup for possible filing of criminal charges against the officers, it said.
Officially, police have killed more than 6,000 people in the crackdown, but activists say many thousands more users were killed, execution style, by mysterious gunmen. Police have denied involvement in those deaths.
The information showed the suspects allegedly drew their gun and fired first, prompting police officers to retaliate, but some medical reports showed the suspects tested negative for gunpowder.
One such case involved 17-year-old Nave Perry Alcantara, who police said drew a gun and fired at them during a buy-bust operation in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan in August 2018.
However, the PNP-IAS expressed doubts on the police claim, saying Alcantara and the operative who shot him were standing only a meter apart.
“Paraffin test showed that both hands of the suspect were negative for gunpowder nitrates,” the DOJ said.
Another case involved Benjamin Calisnao, who was killed during a buy-bust operation in Aparri, Cagayan in August 2017 after allegedly firing at cops. The DOJ report said Calisnao sustained multiple gunshot wounds.
“IAS refused to give credence to the police operatives’ claim of self-defense. Notably, upon paraffin test, the suspect was found negative for gunpowder nitrates,” it added.
Some of the suspects also appeared to have been shot at close range, among them Anwar Sawadjaan, Noel Rey Bacalso and Angelo Hofer, who were killed in Liloy, Zamboanga del Norte on July 29, 2016, and another in General Trias, Cavite on August 14, 2020 where the PNP-Internal Affairs Service noted “tattooing at the point of entry, indicating that the suspect Mochael Sierra was shot at close range.”
A buy-bust operation in San Pedro city, Laguna on November 3, 2018 also showed the suspect, Rodolfo Mayorca alias Rodel, was shot at close range as indicated by the “presence of gunpowder tattooing” on the chest of the suspect.
The matrix also showed a disturbing pattern where the PNP held an internal investigation and not subjecting the involved cops to criminal investigation.
Guevarra said the National Bureau of Investigation is conducting a case build-up against the 154 police officers involved in the cases for possible filing of criminal cases in courts.
However, the DOJ matrix did not identify the police officers involved in the 52 cases due to “due process considerations.” — With Ashzel Hachero and Victor Reyes
