The oral arguments against the war on drugs, the cornerstone policy of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, are set for tomorrow at 2pm.
Two separate groups filed petitions against “Project Double Barrel,” the official name for an anti-drug campaign that has been marked by widespread vigilante violence.
Even though the drug war was suspended by a memorandum issued by President Rodrigo Duterte last month, the Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Ronald Dela Rosa told reporters during a a press conference as recently as Friday that rape cases tied to drug use have gone up since the PNP pulled out of the drug war.
Of course, Dela Rosa presented no verifiable data to reporters when he made that claim. And while the Philippines’ top cop said he did not want to insinuate to the public that he wants the return of police involvement in anti-drug operations, he called the alleged rise in rape a “glaring reality” and promised to bring his findings up with the president.
Dela Rosa is known as the architect of “Double Barrel,” which has faced a mountain of abuse allegations since its implementation.
The two barrels refer to targeting“high-level” drug suspects (manufacturers, drug lords) and “low-level” street peddlers through “Oplan Tokhang.”
“Tokhang” is a blending of the Visayan words “toktok” (knock) and “hangyo” (plead), in which drug users and pushers are theoretically asked to surrender to local police, have their names listed, and asked not to do drugs or sell them again.
The first petition filed by Rowena Aparri and Jefferson Soriano, represented by lawyers from the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), urged the high court to declare Operation Double Barrel and “tokhang” unconstitutional.
Petitioners said Double Barrel authorizes the police to kill suspected drug personalities, while “TokHang” violates citizens’ right to due process.
The main argument of the petitioners is that Duterte’s war on drugs has no legal basis because it is based solely on a verbal Duterte campaign promise to rid the country of illegal drugs within the first six months of his term, and is not supported by any official executive order.
Petitioners said submitting names of alleged criminals can be done by anyone who suspects, rightly or wrongly, that another person is a criminal.
The second petition, filed by Sister Maria Juanita Daño of the Religious of the Good Shepherd and backed by lawyers from the Center for International Law (Centerlaw) – Philippines, was filed after the suspension of the drug war.
The petition sought relief from the high court against “tokhang” anti-drug operations conducted in the Manila Police District (MPD).
The 47 petitioners in the Daño petition urged the high court to bar the MPD Station 6 “from conducting any anti-illegal drugs or anti-criminal operations in San Andres Bukid without the required coordination and presence of representatives from the barangay, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, the media, and such other persons required to be notified or having the authority to be present at and observe such operations.”
The court is being asked to issue a writ of amparo (or a protection order) for certain individuals allegedly being harassed by police in the Daño petition.
Their petition pointed out that there were 35 “drug-related deaths” in the area spanning 13 months from the end of 2016 to today.
with a report from ABS-CBN News
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