CHR access to 'drug war' cases still up for discussion — Guevarra
MANILA, Philippines — While the Commission on Human Rights cited the Department of Justice gaining access to 61 cases of "drug war" operations for review as a "step towards the right direction," it is not clear if the CHR will also have access to the files, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said.
These 61 cases were not part of the DOJ-led review of deadly “drug war” operations, but will now be integrated with that initiative. The high-profile review is part of Guevarra’s promise to the United Nations Human Rights Council.
The government said the CHR would be involved in the review as an independent monitoring body but the DOJ-led panel submitted an initial report in December without input from the rights commission. Guevarra said then that there would be "more engagements" with the rights body.
'Potential breakthrough'
But the CHR’s access to the 61 cases — a development that Human Rights Watch called a potential breakthrough — will still be tackled, Guevarra said.
"The DOJ has its own separate agreement with the CHR. Besides, the CHR’s involvement may be in some other form, such as in locating and assisting witnesses," the DOJ chief told reporters.
Citing the DOJ’s commitment to engage the CHR in the "drug war" review, Guevarra said the department met with CHR on Wednesday.
Prior to the release of the partial report of the “drug war” review panel, CHR Commissioner Karen Gomez-Dumpit said they have been writing to the justice department on what role they would be taking in the endeavor.
She said in January: “If it’s done under the shadows, if it’s not transparent, then there is doubt as to the credibility of that report.”
Access to other cases
In Friday’s meeting between the DOJ and PNP leaderships, only 61 cases under IAS were discussed, but the justice department may soon be able to look into more files.
Eleazar, in an interview with ANC’s "Rundown", said they are willing to give access to all documents related to probes involving cops in “drug war” operations since 2016.
He said: “As long as the DOJ requested for the availability of this, we will provide them with this information.”
Guevarra, for his part, said the 61 cases initially discussed are part of the more than 6,000 incidents reviewed by the IAS. He added they presumed that outside the 61 cited by Eleazer, the rest were dismissed.
“If the PNP chief has said that the review panel may also review these other cases, we will be very happy to do so, as this is what we had wanted in the first place,” he added.
“We intend to pursue the review in the remaining months of the year, especially considering the active collaboration that we are presently having with the PNP and CHR,” Guevarra also said.
DOJ Undersecretary Adrian Sugay said the department is currently drafting the memorandum of agreement between them and the PNP. “We hope to finalise this document in the next few days. In the meantime, we will already coordinate with PNP-IAS in preparation for the review of these case files,” he added.
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