PNP says alleged police abuse remained ”unfounded”

December 6, 2019

The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Friday said the “rehashed narratives” on alleged police abuse being committed under the administration’s campaign against illegal drugs remain “unfounded” and “devoid of truth”.

Police Brigadier General Bernard Banac, PNP spokesperson, said these allegations have been repeatedly told ''to make it  sound factual''.

“The rehashed narratives of alleged abuses remain to be unfounded and devoid of truth from the beginning but had been repeatedly told and retold over and over to make it sound factual,” Banac said in a statement.

“The PNP maintains the regularity of all police operations in its major campaigns against crime, illegal drugs, and terrorism where the possibility of armed confrontation with suspects is always present,” he added.

He said the PNP will remain guided by existing rules and procedures that ensure transparency and accountability in all police operations.

The PNP spokesperson made the statement after International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda released her report last December 5 saying members of law enforcement groups raped women in a few incidents “who were apparently targeted because of their personal relationships to individuals alleged to have been involved in drug activities.”

Bensouda is  conducting preliminary investigation on the government’s “war on drugs” and received 15 communications sent to the Office of the Prosecutor.

She said they are aiming to finalize the preliminary examination by 2020“in order to enable the Prosecutor to reach a decision on whether to seek authorization to open an investigation into the situation in the Philippines.”  Ella Dionisio/DMS