LACSON REMINDS DOJ: RULE ON EVIDENCE SHOULD APPLY

Presidential bet, Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson reminds the Department of Justice that the “rule on evidence” should apply in its investigation into President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs. 

“​​In the pursuit of any criminal investigation, there is only one rule that applies. It is called the rule on evidence which should be bound by the rule of law,” he said in a press statement.

This comes after the DOJ released a matrix of its investigation into 52 cases of summary killings caused by the infamous “Oplan Tokhang.” The senator urges the Justice department to follow the trail of evidence, wherever it may lead.

“Once such evidence is clearly established to warrant the filing of criminal information against identified suspects, there is no other course of action for the Department of Justice to pursue but to take those cases to their logical conclusion, no matter the consequences.”

The standard bearer of Partido Reporma welcomes the DOJ’s probe, although it comes only over a month after the International Criminal Court (ICC) authorized an official investigation into what it called “a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population” from 2016 to 2019. 

Lacson said that the DOJ’s role is crucial in showing the community of nations, especially the ICC, that “as a civilized, democratic country, we can independently and responsibly hold criminally accountable our law enforcement officers - and their superiors, if the evidence so warrants.”

The senator earlier said that when he becomes president, he will support the ICC’s probe into the bloody drug war. However, he also admitted that it will be an “insult” to the country because it would mean that the Philippines is not capable of conducting an investigation into its own government officials. 

“Insulto sa atin ‘yan kasi bakit wala tayong ginagawa para i-correct ‘yung mga kamalian sa iligal na drug war (It will be an insult to us because why are we not doing anything to correct the illegal drug war).