Allegations of police themselves being involved in the recycling and selling of confiscated drugs is a cause of grave concern and inevitably hounds the credibility of the campaign against illegal drugs.

This comes amidst the still unexplained death toll and alleged involvement of police in a number of ‘nanlaban’ cases in the context of the anti-drug campaign.

Police agents are expected to have high moral ground and be the primary followers of the law that they seek to enforce. Public ethics and professionalism dictate that they abide by the laws above and beyond the obeisance they require from the Filipino citizenry. Failure to do so necessitates accountability. Demoting, suspending, and/or sending cops to conflict areas do not follow what is prescribed in the law and render questionable the efforts to reform and cleanse the institution.

We must be unrelenting in calling for greater accountability from the agency and its officials who swore to serve and protect the people through law enforcement. Based on the September 2019 Social Weather Stations survey, there is high confidence in the anti-drug campaign. This should encourage the Philippine National Police to be more transparent and open in all its operations to not betray the trust bestowed by the public that believes in the good intentions and the results of the fight against illegal drugs and criminality.

The Commission on Human Rights has always expressed support for the good intentions of the anti-drug campaign. However, we stress again our negation on the methods employed, which is prone to abuse and breeds scalawags. We call for transparency and thorough investigation. This is necessary for the rule of law to prevail and it will protect the rights of police as well.

The people deserve an able, credible, and ethical police force so everyone’s rights are protected while ensuring security and safety of all.

As always, the Commission extends our offer for collaboration and partnership to address and reduce instances of human rights abuses. In the pursuit of our mandate, we will also be vigilant in ensuring that those who commit violations will be held to account to fight impunity and prevent further indignities and violations suffered by vulnerable Filipinos. ###