DOJ: Not so flattering findings in drug war review

MANILA, Philippines — A review panel led by the Department of Justice has submitted its report on drug war operations that resulted in over 6,000 deaths, and the findings are “not so flattering,” according to  DOJ Secretary Menardo Guevarra.

Speaking at yesterday’s “Laging Handa” briefing, Guevarra said: “We provided a copy of the report where we made certain findings not so flattering against certain police enforcement officers involved in drug operations.”

He said they submitted the initial findings to the Office of the President in December 2020 and a similar copy was provided to the Philippine National Police (PNP) to give it sufficient time “to comment on these findings.”

In June last year, Guevarra told the 44th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) that the Philippines formed an inter-agency panel led by the DOJ to review 5,655 drug war operations that resulted in death.

Yesterday, he said they are set to release the findings at the “proper time” as they are still conducting further investigations in the Visayas and Mindanao.

“We do not want to make it appear that our findings in certain pilot areas, like Region 3 and Region 4 and certain major cities, are truly representative of what is happening in the country,” he said, partly in Filipino.

The secretary vowed that the panel will not hide information in its review, emphasizing that the “issue of transparency is very important” to the DOJ.

“Be assured that these reports, at least the findings and highlights of these reports, will be made public at a proper time. Right now, we’re taking actions on findings that come up in this initial report, so hindi pa naman siya kumpleto talaga (it’s really not complete yet),” he said.

Once the review is complete, Guevarra said they will share the findings as well as the actions that they intend to take based on their findings.