The House Committee on Public Order and Safety, chaired by Santa Rosa City Representative Dan Fernandez, met recently to tackle the concerns of the 1,286 Philippine National Police (PNP) personnel affected in the implementation of the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
Fernandez, in his opening statement, voiced his concerns over the plight of the PNP personnel affected by the drug war known as Oplan Tokhang, Oplan Double Barrel and Oplan Double Barrel Reloaded.
“It was promised through the many pronouncements that they will be protected and taken care of by the former President.”
“It was promised through the many pronouncements that they will be protected and taken care of by the former President. But unfortunately, based on the record of the PNP, no monetary or legal assistance was provided,” the veteran legislator said.
The seasoned lawmaker cited data from PNP chief Gen. Rommel Marbil, which showed that aside from the 1,286 affected PNP personnel, 312 officers were killed and 974 were injured in these operations.
Also discussed during the meeting was the legal basis of Command Memorandum Circular No. 16-2016 — which outlines the strategies and procedures for their anti-illegal drugs operations, remedies for PNP personnel facing criminal and administrative cases, as well as measures to limit the use of deadly force by police.
“Biktima din ang iba sa kanila.”
Fernandez proposed creating a special account in the national budget to aid law enforcement officers in need, and called for recalibration of the mindset of policemen noting, “biktima din ang iba sa kanila”.
Surigao del Norte Representative Robert Barbers questioned the budget utilization of the allocation for legal assistance for police officers charged administratively or criminally.
PNP Public Information Office chief Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo stated that there is a certain amount allocated for the PNP legal assistance but is not enough to cover all the PNP personnel facing service-related cases.
Fajardo added that there is a P200 million allocation for legal assistance for the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
“The reason why I asked that is because when the drug war was implemented, this was perhaps the only time where more than, a sufficient or a significant number of police officers and personnel were charged administratively and some of them were already dismissed,” Barbers said.
The veteran legislator emphasized the insufficiency of the allocated funds, and said that there must be a genuine commitment to helping the PNP for their legal services.
The support for the PNP personnel affected was also a source of concern for Bulacan Representative Salvador Pleyto, who questioned whether assistance is also being extended to those officers with allegations or involvement in the drug trade and extrajudicial killings (EJKs).
Fajardo clarified that legal assistance provisions are limited to service-related charges, and any offenses committed by a police officer outside the line of duty are not covered under the proposed assistance.
“’Yun pong binabanggit po natin na provisions po ng legal assistance is referring lang po ito doon sa service-related charges po. If a certain police officer will be charged for a certain offense because of his own doing — meaning not in the actual performance of his duty, this is not covered doon po sa pinu-push po natin na legal assistance,” she explained.
PNP Directorate for Operations head Col. Raniel Valones informed the panel that the new PNP anti-illegal drugs campaign plan for 2024-2028 has been finalized.
Valones explained that the plan is undergoing due diligence, with all units submitting their final comments as part of the review process.
He emphasized that the campaign prioritizes human dignity and human rights, with these values at the forefront of its implementation.
