THE Department of Justice (DOJ) review panel on drug cases is now scrutinizing the records submitted for review by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) pertaining to its more than 100 anti-illegal drug operations.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra made the disclosure after the panel wrapped up its review of the 52 anti-illegal drug operations by the Philippine National Police (PNP) where deaths occurred and recommended the investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) of some 154 policemen for possible criminal liability.
Guevarra said that since the panel has finished the review of the 52 drug cases from the PNP, it would now focus on reviewing the 107 PDEA case folders.
“Actually we have scrutinized these case folders from the PDEA, but we need to get more substantial information. That’s where we are going now,” the justice chief stressed.
Meanwhile, DOJ Undersecretary Adrian Ferdinand Sugay said the NBI is now establishing whether there is sufficient evidence to file murder or homicide cases against the more than 150 policemen involved in 51 anti-illegal drug operations where deaths occurred.
“When it comes to criminal liability, which is the subject of the DOJ’s ongoing review and the ones referred to the NBI, if it would be seen that there was intent to kill the illegal drugs suspect, they might be charged with murder or at the very least homicide,” Sugay said in a forum.
Of the total 52 case folders, involving 154 policemen forwarded to them by the Philippine National Police-Internal Affairs Service (PNP-IAS), 51 of these were drug-related operations.
The remaining one case was not drug related and did not result in death.
Sugay said based on what the review panel was able to establish, there were policemen who did not follow the police protocol during these anti-drug operations.
Aside from the report of the panel, Sugay said, the NBI could also use the information available in the case folders submitted by the PNP-IAS such as the reports of the Scene of the Crime Operation (SOCO) teams, results of paraffin and ballistic tests and the initial investigation reports.
“So if based on this evidence, if the NBI thinks that the case would progress further, they could file the complaint against these erring police officers with the DOJ’s National Prosecution Service,” he added.
But if there are cases that would require further investigation, Sugay said these could be done by the NBI.
The PNP-IAS earlier found administrative liability against these police officers.