Gov’t to comply with High Court on release of drug war reports
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2019 07:39:05 +0000
The government is prepared to follow the Supreme Court ruling on the release of the police documents related to the war on illegal drugs.
“We always follow the rule of law. The Supreme Court has spoken,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said. “Unless it reverses itself upon a motion for reconsideration by the Solicitor General, obedience to its ruling should come as a matter of course,” he said.
The SC has ordered the Solicitor General to submit the police reports related to the deaths linked to the government’s anti-drug operations. The office must also furnish copies of the documents to the petitioners who questioned the legality of the government’s drug war before the court.
Solicitor General Jose Calida earlier opposed the release of the police documents, citing national security concerns.
The Philippine National Police sees no problem should police reports and all other documents related to the administration’s anti-illegal drug operations be released publicly.
According to Police Gen. Oscar Albayalde, PNP chief, submitting the drug war documents to the SC for scrutiny means the police organization has nothing to hide.
“No problem, yes, because if you will not investigate that, it means there is negligence. On our part, the Internal Affairs Service conducted investigations also,” he said.
However, Albayalde said the decision must first be approved by President Duterte and the OSG. “We will get orders from the President since he is the Commander-in-Chief, whatever he says, we will obey,” he noted. (Genalyn Kabiling and Martin Sadongdong)