De Lima Wants Senate Investigation On Police Ops

Senator Leila De Lima wants the Senate to hold an investigation on the killings of drug personalities.

On August 2, the Senate Justice committee chairman formally filed Senate Resolution No. 9 where she wanted to hold an investigation and find what the authorities have been doing with the series of executions where, obviously, most of the victims experience torture or beatings before being killed.

The lady senator also wants to know if the allegations that the victims “fought back, resisted arrest or tried to grab the guns of the police during drug operations despite being handcuffed and so the operatives were forced to gun them down ” were true.

‘”In the campaign against criminality, we cannot applaud criminal methods merely because we are left unaffected. Life has more value than an accusation written on a piece of cardboard whether you are rich or a scum of the earth. Needless to say, all lives matter,” De Lima said in her first privilege speech at the Senate.

The former Justice secretary said the Senate must continue to oppose the murder of innocents and suspects and call for accountability of those responsible for drug-related killings.

Official records of the Philippine National Police show that an average of 13 drug offenders have been killed in police operations from July 1 to August 1.

But Sen. De Lima made it clear that she supports the campaign of the Duterte administration against illegal drugs and hopes for its success.

“I fully support the war on drugs, and I sincerely desire its success. I am one with the President in his relentless and sustained campaign to rid our country of the drug menace. Nais ko lang na ang ating mga pulis at iba pang law enforcement agents ay maging totoong mga alagad ng batas, na sumusunod sila sa batas habang pinaiiral ito, na tumatalima sila sa mga patakaran at pamantayan sa pagsugpo ng krimen at pagdakip sa mga nagkasala, na isinasaalang-alang nila ang pangingibabaw ng batas sa kanilang pagtupad sa tungkulin,” said De Lima.

The Senate justice and human rights committee, headed by De Lima, and the Senate public order and illegal drugs committee chaired by Sen. Panfilo Lacson will open a joint investigation on the spate of extrajudicial killings and summary executions this month.