House panel pushes ‘independent IAS’ for probing erring cops
A body that will investigate erring law enforcers, like those accused of abuses and coverups in the Duterte administration’s brutal war on drugs, should be made separate or independent from the Philippine National Police.
This was one of the recommendations of the House quad committee that investigated alleged extrajudicial killings during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s antinarcotics campaign as well as other crimes linked to offshore gaming operations that thrived during his administration.
Apart from its recommendation to hold Duterte and his top aides liable for crimes against humanity, the megapanel also pushed for changes in the PNP, particularly its Internal Affairs Service (IAS), which investigates infractions committed by police officers.
The committee noted that under Republic Act No. 8551, the 1998 law that reorganized the force, the PNP chief is given the power to reverse or modify IAS decisions, “effectively undermining the integrity and finality of IAS rulings.”
“The current system’s inability to pursue accountability at the highest levels perpetuates a culture of untouchability among senior officers,” the committee said in its 51-page report.
“An independent IAS with the authority and mandate to investigate and prosecute high-ranking officials is essential to dismantling this culture,” it added.
The panel also suggested that this independent agency be comprised of non-PNP officers and personnel to “ensure that an impartial tribunal will decide on cases of police misconduct.”
It was not the first time that such a proposal was made in the House of Representatives.
During a hearing by the House committee on public order and safety in November, Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez and Misamis Oriental Rep. Yevgeny Emano suggested that the IAS be made independent and given additional funding.
Just 30 out of 32K
At one of the quad committee hearings, the IAS reported that 99.17 percent of cases involving 8,351 civilian deaths during police operations led to the exoneration of the PNP personnel involved.
Out of the 32,803 policemen accused of wrongdoing in connection with 7,103 operations during the Duterte administration (from 2016 to 2022), only 30 officers were dismissed from the service.
The quad committee also called for the creation of an Inter-Agency Council on extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture and other grave violations of the right to life, liberty and security of persons.
The council, the committee said, “would serve as an independent, transparent, and highly specialized inter-agency body tasked with investigating allegations of extrajudicial killings, particularly those attributed to state and nonstate actors, law enforcement personnel, and other government-linked individuals.”
It should be composed of the Department of Justice, National Bureau of Investigation, PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, Bureau of Corrections and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (for killings committed within jails and national penitentiaries), Bureau of Immigration (for killings of foreign nationals), and the Commission on Human Rights, the panel said.
