The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said on Friday that new administration under should recalibrate the past government’s war on drugs.
Earlier, the CHR reported that President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration failed to protect the rights of the victims of his crackdown against illegal drugs and that it only encouraged a “culture of impunity.”
CHR Commissioner Gwen Pimentel-Gana said presumptive president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the new administration is likely to continue the government’s anti-narcotics war. “And we are just hoping that they will recalibrate their approach to the drug problem,” Pimentel-Gana said in ANC’s “Rundown” program.
She said the new government should also continue investigating drug-related deaths.
Pimentel-Gana said it is the government’s obligation “because this drug war has actually lost, had so many deaths of innocent individuals also. They should continue seeking that justice is served to these victims.”
Earlier, the CHR in a 48-page report, said it found that police showed “intent to kill” and used “excessive force” in drug operations.
The CHR further said though law enforcers alleged the victims showed aggression or resisted arrest, there were only 31 incidents where operatives sustained injuries.
The CHR report said in 133 incidents, witness accounts “state discrepancies and inconsistencies in the official police narratives.”
“The use of excessive and disproportionate force is also evident in 329 incidents where a lone victim was killed in drug operations participated by a minimum of three well-trained and highly skilled police operatives, armed with highly reliable weapons,” the CHR report said.
“Out of the 234 victims with records on sustained gunshot wounds, 201 (86 percent) were shot in the head and/or torso—further manifesting the intent to kill by police operatives. Verily, the victims’ deaths were inevitable results of the police operations,” the report said.
The CHR further said it had no access to police documents in 295 of the drug killings due to lack of response, outright denials, or pending clearance from higher offices.
Acting Palace spokesperson Martin Andanar meanwhile said the report presents a “rehash of old issues… that have already been responded to.”
“In contrast to what a handful of critiques would want the international community to hear and read about our country, the Duterte Administration leaves a legacy of a safe and secure Philippines,” Andanar in a statement said.
Last week, Duterte remained unapologetic of the drug crackdown, which he urged his successor to continue with “stronger pressure.”
Marcos and presumptive vice president Sara Duterte-Carpio in earlier said “the war on drugs shall be pursued and won through ‘love.’”
