BATTLE-READY Members of a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) police team raid a house in a Pasig City slum to serve a search warrant as part of President Duterte鈥檚 deadly campaign against illegal drug trafficking. AFP FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� President Rodrigo Duterte seems to be countermanding a transparent investigation of the thousands of killings in his brutal war on drugs by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Philippine National Police by stopping the full disclosure of all records pertaining to antidrug operations, human rights groups said on Tuesday.
Invoking national security similar to the anti-insurgency campaign, the president said the government could not release all police records as they contained information about certain personalities that must be kept confidential.
鈥淲e have records that those who have died, but who have derogatory records in our files, and may have references to certain people and what they do, we cannot divulge it to anybody but only to the military and to the police,鈥� he said in his televised public address on Monday night.
Duterte said that how a gunfight happened might be inquired into.
鈥淏ut if you say what prompted the police and the military to go into this kind of operation based on their reports and collated dossier, you cannot go into that,鈥� he said.
The president鈥檚 statements followed pronouncements by PNP chief Guillermo Eleazar that he would open drug war reports for scrutiny by the DOJ, whose investigation is intended to determine any liability in the deaths resulting from antinarcotics operations.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra had praised Eleazar鈥檚 decision as a 鈥渧ery significant milestone in the government鈥檚 efforts to exact accountability.鈥�
The drug war has been criticized for the overwhelming number of suspects killed for allegedly fighting back in what has been called 鈥渘anlaban鈥� deaths.
鈥楥onfusing signals鈥�
Duterte鈥檚 statements were 鈥渘ot only an open signal but practically a marching order that effectively countermands the subsequent afterthought of a purported 鈥榦penness鈥� of the PNP to have access to all files,鈥� according to Edre Olalia, president of the National Union of Peoples鈥� Lawyers (NUPL).
鈥淥nce again, his subordinates get mixed and even contradictory and confusing signals for them to scramble and fix,鈥� Olalia said. 鈥淲hen the principal leader speaks, those who speak too soon will have to change tune to sync with him.鈥�
The President鈥檚 statement 鈥渙nly bolsters our suspicion that all this (investigation) was just for show, to mislead and appease the international community,鈥� Carlos Conde, senior researcher for the New York-based Human Rights Watch, told the Inquirer.
鈥淭his is worrisome, of course, because Mr. Duterte has the final say in this, so, whatever good things Eleazar and [the] DOJ are planning鈥攖hat鈥檚 all for naught,鈥� he said.
Conde said that with this statement from the President, the only way for the Philippines to ensure accountability was for the United Nations Human Rights Commission and the International Criminal Court to take action.
This effort to block full access to the police files is another example of the 鈥渋nadequacy and even failure of domestic mechanisms in the Philippines,鈥� said Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay.
Palace interpretation
鈥淲e will be closely watching Eleazar鈥檚 actions after President Duterte鈥檚 statement, but the fact still remains 鈥� the drug war victims and their kin need answers, and they need to be afforded justice,鈥� Palabay said.
Eleazar said the PNP would make case records that the DOJ may request available for review 鈥渁s long as we do not violate the Data Privacy Law,鈥� pointing out that he saw no problem submitting such files as the justice secretary was Mr. Duterte鈥檚 alter ego.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque provided a different interpretation of Duterte鈥檚 statements.
He said these did not pertain to the DOJ鈥檚 access to police records but to sensitive information about 鈥渙ngoing police investigations,鈥� which are part of the 鈥渢raditional exception to the right to information.鈥�
Reacting to the president鈥檚 statements, Guevarra on Tuesday said: 鈥淲e鈥檒l play it by ear.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 this concern on the part of the president so we鈥檒l just maybe be more careful when the PNP and the DOJ examine all of these records anew,鈥� he said.
Supreme Court ruling
He acknowledged that the Supreme Court had ruled that national security was not at stake in the antinarcotics campaign, but he said that the DOJ would 鈥渏ust make it a point to determine whether there is any national security concern involved in each particular case.鈥�
In a ruling on April 3, 2018, the high tribunal rejected the argument of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) that the drug war records 鈥渋nvolve sensitive information that have national security implications鈥� when the OSG refused to submit PNP investigation reports on the deaths of 3,806 individuals killed in police antidrug operations from July 1, 2016, to Nov. 30, 2017.
The high tribunal said the information being sought only covered 鈥渞outine police operations.鈥�
鈥淭hese information and documents do not involve rebellion, invasion, terrorism, espionage, infringement of our sovereignty or sovereign rights by foreign powers, or any military, diplomatic or state secret involving national security,鈥� it said.
In addition, the court said the PNP 鈥渃annot claim the presumption of regularity in official functions because deaths are not supposed to occur during any of their operations.鈥�