The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) welcomes the announcement of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief General Guillermo Eleazar to also open around 7,000 cases involving deaths linked to the government’s drug campaign to scrutiny and investigations. This is a gesture of openness and cooperation from the PNP necessary in pursuing justice and accountability for the violations committed.

With this new pronouncement, we equally hope that the PNP ensures cooperation without reservation in the investigations and sharing of relevant case files with the CHR for our own independent probe.

We encourage the PNP to sustain this momentum of fostering a positive attitude towards human rights and translate these commitments into actual effects on the ground, such as reduction of violence in communities, towards ushering better trust and confidence in the police force and the government as a whole. ###