(Eagle News)– Eleven senators have signed the committee report saying there was no proof of government-sanctioned killings related with President Rodrigo Duterte’s war against illegal drugs.
The report also said the committee saw no evidence to prove the existence of Davao Death Squad (DDS).
The report was principally drafted by Senators Richard Gordon and Panfilo Lacson, chair of the Senate committees on justice and human rights, and public order and dangerous drugs, which jointly held a probe on extrajudicial killings.
The other nine senators who signed the report are Senators Gregorio Honasan II, Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, Loren Legarda, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Nancy Binay, Manny Pacquiao, Alan Peter Cayetano, Franklin Drilon, and Vicente Sotto III.
Pangilinan noted he “will dissent/concur in part,” Cayetano said he has “reservations and amendments,” while Drilon said he signed “with reservation and will interpellate.”
Those who did not sign the report are Senator Leila de Lima and Senator Antonio Trillanes IV. Trillanes.
Senators Ralph Recto, Joseph Victor Ejercito, and Grace Poe also did not sign the report. Poe is on official business, while Ejercito is currently serving a suspension order.
In its recommendations, the Senate panel said the police and other law enforcement officers “must be admonished” for compelling drug users to sign “voluntary surrender certificates” under the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) Oplan Tokhang.The report also proposed the amendment of Republic Act 8551 or the PNP Reform and Reorganization Act to enable the Internal Affairs Service to act swiftly on investigations of police personnel.
It also proposed the creation of special criminal courts for abusive police officers, and the creation of a joint congressional oversight committee to monitor killings.
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