(Eagle News) — Senator Alan Peter Cayetano called the Human Rights Watch a biased source of information on Monday, saying the group concluded drug suspects were being executed extrajudicially even if it only interviewed 24 of the 7,000 drug cases in the country.
“HRW did not interview any of the (Philippine National Police officials),” the senator added during the Senate inquiry into the alleged killings of the so-called Davao Death Squad.
Cayetano was referring to the 80-page report titled “License to Kill: Philippine Police Killings in Duterte’s War on Drugs” released by the human rights group on Thursday.
In the report, the HRW said President Rodrigo Duterte “appears to have instigated unlawful acts by the police, incited citizens to commit serious violence, and made himself criminally liable under international law for the unlawful killings (of drug suspects) as a matter of command responsibility.”
The report–which was based on the incidents from October 2016 to January 2017—added that police officers “routinely planted guns, spent ammunition and drug packets next to the victims’ bodies” to bolster their claims against the drug suspects.
“Would you confirm if the group, you know the HRW publication, and would you confirm that they did not interview the PNP?” Cayetano asked a representative of the Commission on Human Rights who was present in the hearing.
“I think the question should be addressed to them,” the representative answered.
Cayetano retorted, “Pero ginagamit niyo e (the HRW report during press conferences).”
He noted the HRW also had a personal advocacy: the decriminalization of drug possession.
“Please take note of that so that we know they are not an unbiased source,” Cayetano told the CHR.
53025 arrested, not killed
Meanwhile, Senator Tito Sotto questioned the figure that supposedly represent the number of extrajudicial killings in drug operations so far.
This, he said, is the same figure being floated by the media.
“Seven thousand daw, pero sinama pati murder. Di naman drug-related,” Sotto said.
He added that based on official figures, the police have arrested 53,025 drug suspects.
“Kung totoo ang bibintang nila sa PNP, na lahat ay dapat patayin, e di 53k dapat (patay din),” he said.
The Senate committee on public order and safety led by Senator Panfilo Lacson is conducting the inquiry into alleged killings by the so-called DDS.
The inquiry was set after SP03 Arthur Lascañas recanted his statement in last year’s Senate investigation then-headed by Senator Richard Gordon of the blue ribbon committee.
Lascañas said at that time that the DDS did not exist.
