MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine National Police on Monday reaffirmed that it is opposed to extrajudicial and vigilante killings of suspects.
“The PNP’s stand against extrajudicial killings is uncompromising,” PNP Director General Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa said in his opening statement at the Senate hearing on alleged extrajudicial killings.
“On the speculation of vigilante killings, the PNP does not and will never condone vigilante killings,” he added.
Dela Rosa said he already previously mentioned that the vigilante killings are “perpetuated by various syndicate groups involved in illegal drugs.”
The PNP chief then expressed hope that the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights will pave the way for the resolution of the spate of drug-related killings.
“Umaasa po ako na ang pagdinig na ito ay tunay na makakatulong sa ating mithiin upang mabigyan ng solusyon ang problema sa illegal na droga. Rest assured that your police is more than willing to adopt the lessons that will come out this hearing,” De la Rosa said.
Dela Rosa also vowed that because of their sworn mandate to serve and protect Filipinos in accordance to the rule of law, the PNP will apply the full force of the law against those responsible for crimes. He said any police officer found to have killed a suspect, except out of self-defense, will be “investigated, prosecuted and accordingly punished.”
From July 1 to August 21, 2016, Dela Rosa said 712 drug suspects were killed in actual police operations, 269 of which were recorded in the National Capital Region. On the other hand, 1,067 deaths were recorded under "non-police operations", and which the administration attributes to drug syndicates.
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