The Philippine National Police (PNP) will be reviving unresolved cases from the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, including those involving the Davao Death Squad, which was mentioned in a recent hearing led by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.
In an interview on Dos Por Dos on Thursday, PNP spokesperson PBGen Jean Fajardo emphasized that the PNP will not ignore sensitive information disclosed in both the Senate and House of Representatives.
"Hindi naman po natin pwedeng ipagwalang bahala itong mga naririnig natin na mga bagong impormasyon both in the Senate and in Congress," said Fajardo.
Fajardo stated that PNP Chief Rommel Marbil has directed the retrieval of records related to unresolved cases from the "war on drugs" under former President Rodrigo Duterte.
"Kaya nag-utos na rin po ang ating Chief PNP na i-extract ang mga record ng mga unsolved cases, not only doon sa mga sinasabing may kinalaman daw umano sa Davao Death Squad," said Fajardo.
"Lahat ng mga unsolved cases ay pinapaaral po ngayon ng ating Chief PNP. Kahapon nga po ay nagmeeting ang mga concerned directorates para umpisahan ang pag-iimbestiga, pagkuha, at pag-retrieve ng mga case folders," she added.
The PNP is validating whether any police officers were involved in the alleged "death squad," assuring that there will be no 'sacred cows' if any officers are found to be implicated.
Duterte recently told a Senate inquiry that he maintained a "death squad" of gangsters to eliminate other criminals when he was mayor of Davao City.
However, Duterte denied authorizing the police to kill thousands of suspects in the bloody crackdown on illegal drugs he ordered as president, which is currently under investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a potential crime against humanity.
Aside from the ICC’s investigation, there have been no known criminal complaints filed against Duterte in Philippine courts regarding the killings.
