PRESIDENTIAL Spokesperson Ernesto Abella on Friday said Malacañang shared the Senate's concern about the spate of killings of drug personalities, which were purportedly carried out by vigilante groups and police officers.
"The executive shares the expressed concern of the Senate on the spate of drug-related deaths and similarly condemns extrajudicial killings," Abella said in a statement.
Abella's remark came after senators filed Senate Resolution 518, "condemning in the strongest sense the extrajudicial killings and calling on the government to exert and exhaust all efforts to stop and resolve these extrajudicial and all other unresolved killings."
The resolution was filed Wednesday by Senators Aquilino Pimentel III, Richard Gordon, Vicente Sotto III, Gregorio Honasan II, Emmanuel Pacquiao, Cynthia Villar, and Juan Miguel Zubiri after receiving flak for not signing a previous document, Senate Resolution 516, which also urged the government to take appropriate actions to end the killing of drug suspects.
In Senate Resolution 518, the senators appealed to the Duterte government to step up their measures to address extrajudicial killings and unresolved killings, which they said, "have no place in a civilized and democratic society like the Philippines."
The lawmakers also cited a total of 2,098 drug-related cases reported by the Philippine Information Agency, as of June 16 this year.
They also expressed concern over the deaths of teenagers in police operations, including 17-year-old Kian Lloyd Delos Santos, 19-year-old Carl Angelo Arnaiz, and 14-year-old Reynaldo de Guzman.
"There is a need for our police force and law enforcement agencies to strictly observe the rule of law and the rules of engagement in enforcing arrests," the senators said in a joint statement included in the resolution.
"While the Philippine National Police's (PNP) efforts in cleansing its ranks of abusive and corrupt policemen is commendable, it is strongly recommended that the PNP and other law enforcement agencies implement the law and conduct these operations in accordance with the Constitution and existing laws," they added.
Abella, however, clarified anew that the summary executions of suspected drug traffickers "are not state-sanctioned."
Amid criticism, he said the voluntary surrender of 1,308,078 drug users; the arrest of 107,156 drug personalities; the rescue of 578 minors; and the seizure of 2,465.65 kilos of shabu worth P12.7 billion, as of August 29, 2017, should also be acknowledged.
He also stressed that even President Rodrigo Duterte was "equally appalled" by misdemeanors of police scalawags.
"These erring persons in uniform do not have a place in a State organization which is a human rights duty-bearer, with a primary role to protect the right to life, liberty, and property of the people by way of an effective anti-illegal drug campaign," the presidential spokesman said.
"The President remains firm on the need to cleanse the police of its misfits, especially those responsible for these violations," he added.
Abella likewise said that the PNP was exerting "relentless effort" to carry out "proper and legal" operations against drug suspects.
He noted that the PNP's Internal Affairs Service already conducted over 1,900 drug-related investigations against law enforcement officials from July 1, 2016, to June 15, 2017.
"Of this total, 1,045 cases have moved to the administrative proceedings stage and 159 law enforcement officials face dismissal from service, with many others undergoing pre-charge investigations or summary hearings," Abella said. (SunStar Philippines)