The terms "neutralization" and "negate" used by the Philippine National Police (PNP) during the bloody war on drugs campaign of former President Rodrigo Duterte allegedly refer to killing.
Presenting himself before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on Monday, human rights advocate Atty. Chel Diokno recounted several cases of victims of extrajudicial killings under the drug war.
Diokno cited several articles, statements, and police reports in which police officials used the terms "neutralization" or "negate" to indicate the killing of a person.
Citing a Command Memorandum Circular (CMC) 16-2016, Annex "A" of a Project Double Barrel case, Diokno observed that "neutralization" was mentioned five times while "negate" was used twice.
The circular's purpose states "DOUBLE BARREL in support of the Barangay Drug Clearing Strategy of the government and the neutralization of illegal drug personalities nationwide."
"Wala naman po sa batas ang salitang 'negate' at 'neutralize' kaya libre ang pulis na unawain ito base lamang sa kanilang sariling interpretasyon. Kumbaga, bahala na sila magpasya kung ano ang ibig sabihin nito," said Diokno.
Diokno also mentioned a statement from former PNP Spokesperson Senior Superintendent Dionardo Carlos in 2016, stating that the definition of the word "neutralized" is "killed."
Citing an information report from PNP Sta. Ana, Diokno noted that the Sta. Ana Police Station also uses "neutralization" to define killings due to resistance from alleged suspects.
"Elements of Sta. Ana Police Station (PS-6)... [are] incessantly conducting case buildup against the said personality, and if evidence warrants, a possible police operation and intervention would step up for his immediate apprehension and neutralization," the document reads.
Another incident of extrajudicial killing involves suspects who were placed on a drug watch list, with documents marked "neutralized" and the date of death.
"As 'predicted' in the PNP information report, Mr. J. Manaois, Jeffrey Bunuan, and Mark Bunuan were 'neutralized' (killed) on July 18, 2016, in a buy-bust operation," Diokno presented.
According to Diokno, there are 20 more police reports from Sta. Ana Police Station with similar documents using terms such as "immediate apprehension" and "neutralization."
In addition to the Sta. Ana officers, policemen in Tondo were also found to be using the aforementioned terms, including in the killing of Rex Apari.
"Four police officers who participated in the operation which resulted in the neutralization of the suspect," the police report read.
Furthermore, Diokno recounted that Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido and PDEA Chief Director Gen. Lazo admitted that "negate" and "neutralization" were defined as "kill."
It can be recalled that during the House Quad Committee hearing, Lazo mentioned "neutralized" to refer to the killing of former Mayor Toni Halili in 2018.
Espenido, on the other hand, said that the reward system includes "neutralization". He said that the reward and quota system in the past Duterte administration’s anti-illegal drug campaign emboldened some police officers to commit abuses and human rights violations.
Diokno noted that the death toll from the drug war has reached 20,322 in the first 17 months of the campaign.
He added that while many relatives of those "neutralized" in the war on drugs consulted FLAG, only a few were willing to file charges against those responsible due to the prevailing climate of fear.
Diokno is currently handling three clients with separate cases related to the alleged victimization during the war on drugs under the Duterte administration.
