JUSTICE Secretary Menardo Guevarra has disclosed that the initial report of the government’s initial inter-agency panel investigation into the thousands of killings under the government’s anti-drugs campaign has been submitted to President Duterte.
“The initial report dated December 29, 2020 has just been submitted to the Office of the President. Let’s give him (President Duterte) time to pore over it,” Guevarra said.
Also, Guevarra said that the panel will include the Commission on Human Rights in the next review of the inter-agency panel.
“We intend to engage with the CHR in this endeavor. As I said, the initial report is only a partial one. Our efforts have been severely hampered by current restrictions on mobility and physical access to records. Much collaborative work remains to be done, “ Guevarra said in a message.
The CHR claimed that the government excluded it from the inter-agency panel probing the alleged extra-judicial killings.
“[CHR] acknowledges the announcement of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra regarding the release of the partial report conducted by a high-level inter-agency panel of the thousands of deaths resulting from the conduct of recent anti-illegal drug operations,” said CHR Commissioner Karen Gomez-Dumpit
“However, we regret that the Commission on Human Rights was not involved in the review, contrary to the commitments and assurances made by the government during the 44th Session of the Human Rights Council. This is an unfulfilled promise to Filipinos and the entire community of nations,” she added.
