HRW urges UN to help in probe of PNP abuses

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) once again urged the United Nations to help in investigating the abuses committed by the Philippine National Police (PNP) after the number of deaths spiked to more than 12,000.

The rights group said the high number of casualties of the war were likely from urban poor areas.

“Poor urban dwellers have constituted the vast majority of what nongovernmental organizations and media outlets estimate have been more than 12,000 victims of a killing campaign,” HRW said in a statement released December 6.

The group also said the reinstatement of the PNP on the drugs war was not “wholly unexpected.” The PNP involvement in the campaign was suspended for two months The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) continued the campaign.

On Tuesday, Pres. Duterte ordered the PNP to actively support the PDEA in the drug war. However, the government’s failure “to hold anyone accountable for the thousands of drug war deaths make it highly unlikely that the PDEA will be able to restrain well-documented police abuses,” according to the statement.