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BY PRINCE GOLEZ, Manila Reporter
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MANILA – Sen. Leila de Lima on Wednesday called for a “speedy” and “impartial” investigation into the killings largely attributed to the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
The senator wants an independent commission to conduct the inquiry.
She urged the Department of Foreign Affairs to invite the United Nations special rapporteur on summary executionsAgnes Callamard to participate.
Local law enforcement and justice institutionsare not capable of properly looking into the killings, said de Lima, a vocal critic of President Rodrigo Duterte. She described them “inadequate, compromised or weak.”
“The PNP (Philippine National Police) and the National Bureau of Investigation cannot be expected to even initiate — much more sustain — an independent investigation into the killings,” de Lima said in a resolution.
The Commission on Human Rights, on the other hand, is “underequipped, both in resources and manpower, to conduct such a massive investigation,” she said.
More than 3,000 people allegedly involved in drugs have died: 1,138 in police operations and 2,035 in suspected vigilante attacks, de Lima said, citing a Philippine National Police report.
De Lima, a former Justice secretary,used to lead the Senate committee on justice and human rights that is investigating the killings.
But majority of her fellow senators voted to remove her from the post on Monday, accusing her of using the committee to destroy the President./PN
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