The Commission on Human Rights on Thursday welcomed the announcement of Philippine National Police chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar to provide the Department of Justice with records of over 7,000 people supposedly killed in police anti-drug operations for scrutiny and investigations.
“This is a gesture of openness and cooperation from the PNP necessary in pursuing justice and accountability for the violations committed,” CHR lawyer-spokesperson Jacqueline Ann de Guia said.
With the new pronouncement, “we equally hope that the PNP ensures cooperation without reservation in the investigations and sharing of relevant case files with the CHR for our own independent probe,” she noted.
“We encourage the PNP to sustain this momentum of fostering a positive attitude towards human rights and translate these commitments into actual effects on the ground, such as reduction of violence in communities, toward ushering better trust and confidence in the police force and the government as a whole,” de Guia said.
Eleazar, however, said it is up to the DOJ to share the information with the CHR.
