The Philippine National Police (PNP) welcomed on Wednesday the decision of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release the summaries of the 52 cases it reviewed in connection with deaths related to the police’s campaign against illegal drugs.

PNP chief General Guillermo Eleazar said the decision of the DOJ, under Secretary Menardo Guevarra, is consistent with the PNP stand for transparency and accountability in the police organization.

“We welcome the decision of Department of Justice to release these documents to the public,” said Eleazar.

Eleazar noted the sacrifices of policemen and accomplishments of the campaign against illegal drugs.

Among them, he said, is that the campaign against illegal drugs resulted in the confiscation of multi-billion peso worth of illegal drugs, neutralization of key players in the illegal drug trade and dismantling of shabu laboratories in the country.

Eleazar added that the aggressive campaign against illegal drugs also resulted in the unprecedented 64 percent decrease in index crimes since in the last five years.

According to the DOJ, the summaries that will be released will include docket numbers, names of deceased suspects, places and dates of the incidents, and the review panel’s summary of observations on the cases.

The National Bureau of Investigation is set to conduct case buildup for the possible filing of criminal charges against erring police officers. The PNP and the NBI are set to ink a memorandum of agreement to jointly investigate drug war deaths.

Eleazar urged the victims to cooperate in holding policemen who committed abuses accountable for their action.

He also reminded PNP personnel to follow the Police Operational Procedures to ensure that they would not be put in trouble in the performance of their mandate of maintaining peace and order in the country.

“Let this serve as a lesson to all our personnel that as police officers, we are law enforcers who are duty-bound to uphold the law,” said Eleazar. PNP-PIO