THE PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) has insisted that there is no state-sponsored policy to kill drug suspects amid the continuous pile up of bodies attributed to drug war.
“If you say a case or murder or any killing as state-sponsored, it is the perpetration based on the state policy hindi ba? Kapag sinabi mong state-sponsored, it is a result of a state policy. But it was never the policy of the PNP, as well as the government, to kill drug suspects,” PNP spokesperson Chief Superintendent Benigno Durana Jr. said.
By virtue of self-defense, Durana said police officers conducting anti-illegal drug operations have to defend themselves against suspects who would choose to die instead of being arrested.
“There was never a policy of the PNP that we kill the drug suspect unless otherwise they put up a fight and the lives of our operating personnel are in danger,” he said.
Durana was reacting to allegations of state-sponsored killings under the drug war raised by critical groups after the conviction of three cops over the murder of 17-year-old Kian delos Santos in 2017.
Even with the conviction of Police Officer 3 Arnel Oares, PO1 Jeremias Pereda, and PO1 Jerwin Cruz, the PNP spokesperson said Delos Santos’ case could not be considered as a case of extra-judicial killing (EJK).
“Although they [cops] are convicted, we cannot say categorically that this is a case of extra-judicial killing. In fact, there is no EJK in the Philippines,” Durana said. (Martin Sadongdong)
