Review of Issues and Challenges of Philippine National Police on ‘War on Drugs’ in Duterte

Administration

JAVIER, ROYLAND V.

2020
 ABSTRACT

In the first year of Duterte’s assumption of office, according to Francisco (2017) of

Rappler, it was marked by chaos in power dynamics, international attention, and security threats
that seems to loom over the country. The Philippine National Police whose duty is to serve and
protect the people have seemingly turned on another path. This paper aims to give a partial
discussion of issues and challenges that the Philippine National Police faced on the “war on
drugs” program, as the administration has not yet ended. From the compendium of studies,
where human rights in the Philippines was violated, a handful of international bodies have been
alarmed for human rights in the country are being stepped on and disregarded. These countries
have conducted studies about the vigilantism of the PNP that led to unbecoming human rights
violation. The inhumane conducts of the PNP being exhorted and justified by the Duterte
administration is herein discussed. These Human rights groups and institutions have given their
discussions such as situations that further provides the indifference of the PNP.
 The Philippine National Police (PNP) is an organization whose mandate is to enforce the
law, prevent and control crimes, maintain peace and order, and ensure public safety and internal
security with the active support of the community. In the front line of enforcement, they have to
adhere on the principle of civilian authority over the institution, for Article II, section 4 of the
1987 constitution, the primary duty of the government is to serve and protect the people. In the
first year of Duterte’s assumption of office, according to Francisco (2017) of Rappler, it was
marked by chaos in power dynamics, international attention, and security threats that seems to
loom over the country. As human rights have been mutilated in scattered means and marred by
the unbecoming situations inflicted by the so-should beacons of peace and order and of public
safety. Instances such as these have created turmoil not just in the Philippines, but also a handful
of international bodies have been alarmed for human rights in the country are being stepped on
and disregarded. From the very beginning, president Duterte’s stance on matters of drugs and
criminality has been on full circle and his blatant manifestation of disdain and carefree disregard
for human rights had caught the attention of many Filipinos and as well as some other countries
around the globe. As the president commences his program known as ‘war on drugs’, through
the hands of the Philippine National Police, who are in the field who do not just apprehend but
beyond apprehension, such as the increase of killings, emboldened by the president himself.

On an interview in 2016, president Duterte had a statement regarding to the PNP: "Do
your duty, and if in the process you kill 1,000 persons because you are doing your duty, I will
protect you.” In this statement according to DW news and affairs (2017), from the study they
have conducted, the PNP proudly shown the numbers and used them as the indication that the
drug war was reaping success in apprehending illegal drugs and other related crimes. From this
point of view, this can lead to vigilantism of the PNP that might wreak-havoc a more drastic
effect in the country. And that happened as early as the assumption of his office. In the year
2017, the ABS CBN News created an interactive map for “drug-related fatalities” that would
enable the public to follow the run of the PNP in the war on drugs program of the government. 1

The network has also provided the public of statistical figures in order for the people to draw
their own impression based from the extrapolation result of a thoroughgoing study and
observation. Not just drug related operations were called in for PNP vigilantism, but also for

1
,,If they resist, kill them all “: Police Vigilantism in the Philippines pg.7
other related crimes. It has brought the nation to an increasing violence inflicted by this
institution.

Figure 1: Overall Killings and Police killings per Million Population by Region. ABS-CBN (2017) data
extrapolated in one year.

Figure above shows that for nearly 60% of killings, the accountable behind those were
the PNP, based on the majority of concerted reports. But in some regions, non-vigilantes
contribute an 80% to the overall killings, whereas, it is said that the PNP’s presence are nowhere
to be found. An impression can be made such as the rising of audacious civilians in participation
without permission in the killings at the expense of war on drugs, has come to be another
challenge for the PNP to face for these stunts are not permissible by laws and constitution of the
country. This is an apparent sheer manifestation of a mirrored affront to the institution as the
PNP cannot refrain themselves in killings and so are the civilian who fervently idling and
shedding their mandate on apprehending suspected individuals. A number of drug users who
surrendered to the PNP were reported to be killed by unknown assailants and also by the PNP for
no apparent reason given. As with the media were no longer called on to cover police operations
or alerted to a crime scene, and limited access to police reports, the police now stand as the main
and only source of information on the drug war. Another reason to be skeptic, as this can be an
avenue for a reality modification.
2
,,If they resist, kill them all “: Police Vigilantism in the Philippines pg.8
 The stunts of the PNP from the directives of the president has gone further outside the
country. Francisco (2017) of Rappler has made an article with regards the president’s shoot to
kill order which caught the attention of numerous human rights groups and a handful of foreign
leaders who were concerned and alarmed that president Duterte’s statements are clearly words of
allowing the PNP to kill, a subtle endorsement of extrajudicial killings among the PNP. The
Harvard University conducted on a study towards this sheer predicament in the country primarily
by Phelim Kine, who happens to be the deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch in New
York. Kine is the one who supervises the organization's work on Indonesia, Pakistan,
Afghanistan, and the Philippines. Details of the study has provided 7,000 of suspected drugs
users and drug dealers killed by the Police and also by unidentified gunmen. 3 Furthermore, the
PNP based from the concerted figures, they have claimed responsibility for a 2,615 of the
killings from the war on drugs operations. As the media is no longer being called to cover drug
related operations, the PNP’s alibi for a long time and now since the program commences,
whenever fatalities during the operation happened, their prefacing statement has been “we only
fought back”.

From the same research, the police being attributed to killings and vigilantism has
accumulated a higher score that reaches 3,603. In addition, these cases were majority unreported
to public disclosure. Also, these cases were even untouched as they are unclassified whether it
resulted in any arrest or prosecution. The PNP were put under fire as they were answering the
questions curve-forwardly and far from what is being asked. The Human Rights watch research
has also located a lead of myriad of interviews from the witnesses and victims of the family
members of the individuals who were killed. As the Human Rights Watch research have eyed on
this persistently, it has led on for this scrutiny a pattern that these unlawful conducts of the PNP
such as vigilante killings were attempted to be covered up and distract the public from the
perpetuation of extrajudicial killings in the country. Albeit the onerous efforts of the PNP to
draw the difference of the vigilante killings and unidentified gunmen to the public, the Human
Rights Watch has determined that there was no difference in the case for the PNP. For the reason
that many of the suspects were seen alive when arrested, and even had their protracted time of
detainment in the Police custody, but suddenly, their bodies were found dead and thereafter were
categorized as “deaths under investigation”. The absurdity of these cases has brought the country
3
PHILLIPINE PRESIDENT RODRIGO DUTERTE'S 'WAR ON DRUGS'. Pg.2
upside-down as per the exponential political stunts were coupled by the unrest conduct of the so-
should beacon of peace and order and of public safety.

Human Rights Watch (2017) have also determined that almost of the individuals who
were subjected in the shoot to kill were majority impoverished urban slum dwellers. Also, behind
these stories about the drawbacks of the institution, little do the public know, it was a
corroborated effort with the help of the Local Government officials. As the PNP do their drug
war operations, it was discovered to be given a hand by the local governments to cover up
killings. As few of the local governments shared the same thoughts with the president that in
order to put drugs to its end, is to put an end to them. Mainly as from the aforementioned being
made mentioned, it was focused on the small-scale dealers through “buy bust” operations. In
that, the PNP has only touched the front lines of drug dealers as for the bigger people were hard
to be captivated and apprehended. This is an empirical evidence that an impression can be made.
In a manner of two way through, it can either be these big dealers are being protected for the
reason that they are being host down by the people on their below, or maybe, they are one with
the system that makes them safe and unbothered.

Amnesty International (2017) brought another phase of the issue as another pattern was
determined with regards the shooting of the PNP under the indicative of a lead on Extrajudicial
killings that is ubiquitously happening nationwide. According to it, the difficulty of monitoring
police norm adherence has been a pain in the neck as per the presence of the two sides of the
story. The only way to decimate it into one is only through the means of a substantial evidence
that can prove one’s side or narration. To further enunciate claims, the case of the teenager Kian
Delos Santos was mentioned as he was killed due to the claim of the PNP that he possesses drugs
and a gun. But witnesses of the shooting were silenced for this witnesses’ narratives has a sheer
disparity from the police report. There were stories that the PNP was planting evidences in order
to pin down suspects. Those allegations can still be true for both sides have not yet proven about
these. The “code of silence” inside the institution has been a rigor proximate of the challenges
that this institution is having. They are protecting something or someone that they do not want to
get across with as an enemy. Peter Kreuzer (2016,2018) enunciated that albeit the PNP has
claimed some liability in the war on drugs, still public disclosure was at the step that is hardly
given to the public. This can proximate a moot and a question such as reason they can give why
limiting media coverage in operations and public disclosure.

To whatever means has led the institution to wreak-havoc issues and challenges that
severely affected their image. In spite of the atrocities that this administration has raked for a
twice a couple and a year, it does not seem to change in direction, but rather, it even reaches
other countries from the unbecoming and alarming situation that “war on drugs” has inflicted to
the Filipino people. As have undertaken from the early contentions, such as how killings have
been a protracted matter ubiquitously, with the involvement of the PNP under the mentioned
program of the government, one cannot set aside the fact that the country has been bathing on its
own blood. Bludgeoned by the thick and hard wooden of a pain-stricken reality. A stark sight on
the transgressions wreaked by whom the people expected to spearhead peace and order, enforce
the law, the so-should inherent abiders of the law, and the protectors of the civilians. This
institution under Duterte administration has been marred by their self-affronting actions
mutilated further by the president’s enigmatic will. As this is only a partial review of the issues
and challenges that the Philippine National Police has been facing under the government’s
program namely “war on drugs”, as the administration has not yet ended, one can make use of
this as to continue investigating deeper on this multifaceted issues and challenges. Neither one
nor two nor three are the counting, number of corpses becoming beads of an abacus is never the
math of the society, but the number of steps to a peaceful and harmonious life as what it should
reckon. If the PNP are for peace and order and public safety, may that uphold by the institution.
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