Government urged to explain drop in drug-related deaths

Former vice president and human rights lawyer Jejomar Binay on Wednesday urged the government to explain and justify its decision to revise the number of drug-related deaths in the country.

According to Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, the number of deaths in the country dropped to 5,601 from the previous 6,601. It said that the revision was intended to correct discrepancies in the figures submitted by agencies involved in anti-drug operations.

Recent reports showed that a total of 5,601 people were killed in police drug-related operations from July 2016 to January 2020 in connection with the government’s crackdown against suspected drug dealers.

PDEA chief Aaron Aquino admitted that there were discrepancies in the drug war data released by officials due to improper accounting procedures.

The number is significantly lower than the figures released by the Philippine National Police in July 2019.

Binay said a more acceptable reason must be presented “rather than a so-called discrepancy in figures to justify the downward revision of the number of persons killed in anti-drug operations.”

“Otherwise, they will be open to allegations of manipulating data to downplay the extent of drug-related killings,” said Binay, who also serves as adviser of the human rights lawyers’ group Artikulo Tres.

The former vice president noted that while the intensity of the killings have subsided, “they do occur on a regular basis based on media reports.”

Binay asked PDEA, the Philippine National Police and other concerned government and law enforcement agencies to provide regular updates on the number of cases filed against policemen for their alleged involvement in summary killings of drug suspects. He said these agencies should also give updates on the status of those cases.

“This is to assure the public that the leadership of these government agencies, particularly the PNP, are seriously pursuing the cleansing of their ranks and inculcating respect for the rule of law and human rights within their ranks,” he said.

When he assumed the leadership of the nation’s police force in January, PNP chief Archie Gamboa promised a “cleansing” of the ranks following the involvement of ranking police officers in the so-called ninja cops controversy.

He also said he wants all policemen to follow the rule of law and due process, and respect human rights in the conduct of operations.