MANILA – A staunch critic of President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-illegal drugs campaign filed a bill before the Senate which would define and criminalize extrajudicial killings (EJKs) and related acts.
Detained senator Leila de Lima filed Senate Bill No. 1842 that will guarantee state obligations to effectively investigate and properly document EJKs, which remain unabated despite the coronavirus pandemic.
SB No. 1842, which is adopted from the University of the Philippines Law Center Institute of Human Rights paper, provides for the definition of important terms that would prevent the perpetrators of EJKs from circumventing the law.
The measure seeks to define EJK as “the unlawful or arbitrary killing or arbitrary deprivation of life committed by State agents or non-State actors,” who are either “acting under actual or apparent authority, or color of law, or upon the instruction of, or under the direction or control of, or by policy, order or behest of, the State in carrying out the conduct.”
For the investigation to be effective, it is essential that the persons in charge of such investigation be independent, de jure and de facto, of the ones involved in the case – requiring not only hierarchical or institutional independence, but also actual independence.
The measure also mandates that State officials who have authority to investigate extrajudicial killings must be rigorously trained on effective investigation to come up with science-based and objective assessment of the incident and be free from interference from officials involved, among others.
“One of the most salient provisions is the section that provides for a prima facie case for arbitrary deprivation of life and presumption of liability. This provision would be a powerful deterrent that would make the perpetrators of EJKs think twice before pulling the trigger because they could no longer hide behind the flimsy excuse of impulse,” she said.
Philippine National Police data showed that 5,526 suspects were killed in police operations from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2019, but estimates by domestic human rights groups bring the death toll to as high as 27,000.
De Lima first filed SB No. 1197, also known as the “Anti-Extrajudicial Killing Act” during the 17th Congress, refiled it before the 18th Congress, but no action was made on the proposed measure./PN
