The DOJ named the victims but not the policemen involved. In 35 instances, the cops were suspended most commonly for 60 days. In four instances, including Alcantara’s case, the cops were cleared of administrative liability. There were about 12 instances of demotion nine, dismissal from service and one, a mere reprimand. The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) observed that the penalties for the erring policemen were “remarkably light.” In most of the cases reviewed, the cops got off with suspension ranging from 22 days to six months. Instead, he promised cooperation with the case buildup being conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation and the PNP itself. Guillermo Eleazar, welcomed the release of the case summary, but did not address the issue of why criminal charges were not filed against the erring cops.
Rights and legal groups noted patterns of police abuse and impunity in the case summary, and called on the DOJ and the PNP to conduct a full, good-faith investigation of the thousands of killings under the drug war.
The Philippine National Police Internal Affairs Section (PNP-IAS) found that “excessive force appeared to have been used by the police operatives.”ĭespite the findings, all the policemen were cleared of administrative liability except for one-presumably the officer that fired the gun, who was suspended for 60 days.Īccording to the case summary released by the DOJ on Wednesday, there were 58 victims, not all of them drug suspects, who were killed between late 2016 and September 2020. The teenager was shot thrice a paraffin test showed that he had not fired a gun. 21, 2018, policemen killed 17-year-old Nave Perry Alcantara in a drug buy-bust operation in Tuguegarao City, and claimed “self-defense.”