PNP claims human rights cases vs cops dropped by 40%
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Philippine National Police (PNP) Human Right Affairs Office (HRAO) has claimed on Wednesday that human rights violation cases filed against police officers went down by 40 percent from 2014 to 2016.
HRAO director Chief Superintendent Dennis Siervo said 174 cases of human rights violation allegedly committed by cops were recorded in 2014, while 131 were listed in 2015, and only a total of 105 cases were lodged in 2016.
“There is a downward trend on personnel involved in human rights violations, so pababa, despite ‘yung half of the previous year there was a change of administration,” he said.
“If you think the war on illegal drugs will escalate the number of human rights violations, the statistics show that it goes down. It did not contribute to the rise of human rights violations,” he added.
Siervo said common complaints of alleged human rights violation include homicide, illegal detention and arrest, and rape or violence against children and women.
However, he said they are yet to identify which of the 105 human rights violation cases filed in 2016 are directly related to the administration’s war on drugs.
Siervo said in the first quarter of 2017, 56 human rights violation cases were filed against several police officers.
"The year has not yet ended, who knows. I cannot predict if this will rise or this will fall, we will have to wait. If we think that 56 is already half, then maybe my office will have to step up our drive on how to prevent the occurrence of such violations," he said.
Siervo said to help policemen avoid such charges, they are constantly visiting PNP regional offices to review and remind police officers of the PNP’s operational procedures.
The war on drugs led by the PNP has been the government’s priority since President Rodrigo Duterte took office in July.
Earlier, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) said that based on their investigation, there is no “massive” human rights violation in the country.
DILG Assistant Secretary Epimaco Densing said they evaluated 25 out of more than 1,000 police operations conducted from July 1 to October 13, 2016.
(Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo/SunStar Philippines)
Shiryl Saturnino, 29, was declared dead after a nine-hour cosmetic procedure at The Icon Clinic in Shaw Boulevard, said Eastern Police District (EPD) director Chief Superintendent Romulo Sapitula.
Sapitula said Saturnino was admitted to the clinic around 5 p.m. Saturday and the operation lasted until 2:40 a.m. Sunday.
During operation, doctors Jose Jovito Mendiola and Samuel Eric Yapjuangco, who performed the cosmetic procedures on Saturnino, have noticed that Saturnino's heart was no longer beating.
They performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on Saturnino, but to no avail. They then called for help from Makati Medical Center.
Dr. Kristel Marie del Rosario the doctor who accompanied the responders declared Saturnino dead around 3:21 a.m.
Sapitula said they are conducting investigation on the incident following the requests of Saturnino's parents, Noli and Shirley.
Police will determine the possible negligence of the cosmetic doctors.
"We will file necessary charges to those liable on the incident," he sai d.
Sapitula said the results of the autopsy on Saturnino's body will served as basis for filing possible charges against Mendiola and Yapjuangco.
Lawyer Estelita Cordero, legal counsel of The Icon Clinic, said the management of the clinic will cooperate in the invest i gat i on.
"Responsibilidad po namin sa public ang malaman ninyo ang katotohanan at ginagawa po namin ang lahat at kasalukuyan po kaming nakikipagtulungan sa abot ng aming makakaya upang malaman kung ano ang totoong nangyari sa di inaasahang pagpanaw bi Bb. Saturnino," the lawyer said in a statement.
Cordero sai d Saturnino is longtime regular customer of the clinic.
Despite the incident, it was business as usual at The Icon Clinic on Tuesday, according to Cordero.
(Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo/ SunStar Philippines)