MANILA – The Supreme Court (SC) slammed the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) for limiting the release of police documents in relation to the administration’s “war on drugs.”
The high court ordered Solicitor General Jose Calida to release all documents.
“The OSG is mistaken…We direct the OSG to provide petitioners Almora et al. and Daño et al. with copies of the entire set of annexes from 1 to 57,” the SC said.
The SC tasked Calida last year to furnish Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) chairman Jose Manuel Diokno with documents relating to the government’s anti-narcotics drive.
This is in connection with the separate petitions FLAG and the Center for International Law (Centerlaw) filed on behalf of families of alleged victims of controversial anti-drug operation ‘oplan tokhang.’
However, Calida classified the documents in two: one involving the petitioners’ relatives who died in police operations and two, involving all police operations and deaths under investigation but he released only the former.
The SC further said when the OSG initially submitted its compliance, it did not make any reservation that certain documents would be withheld from petitioners.
“The OSG never mentioned any category of documents during the oral arguments or even during its prior motion for reconsideration dated 18 December 2017, when it refused to submit all the information and documents requested by members of this court,” it said.
The SC added the OSG unilaterally classified the documents in categories 1 and 2 “without the knowledge of or consent from this court and the parties, for the first time on 4 September 2018, or after it already submitted its compliances on 26 April 2018 and 25 June 2018 without any qualification or condition.”
The high court said it would “not tolerate the OSG’s unilateral arrogation,” noting its constitutional mandate to protect and enforce the people’s right to information and access to official records and documents.
The Court added police drug operations are matters of grave public concern for the continuous killings of thousands of ordinary citizens.
“Thus, sound factual and legal bases mandate the OSG to comply with our resolution dated 14 August 2018, without any qualification,” said the Court. /PN
