Cops confess participation in EJKs, seek Church protection
by Angelika Ortega
Police officials involved in the extrajudicial killings under President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody campaign against drugs have sought the protection of the Catholic Church, said outgoing Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines President Socrates Villegas on Monday, Oct. 2.
“They have expressed their desire to come out in the open about their participation in extrajudicial killings and summary executions. Their consciences are troubling them,” Villegas said in a statement.
The Lingayen-Dagupan prelate pointed out that the whistleblowers, whom he did not name, have approached him and other priests of to “seek sanctuary, succor and protection.”
Villegas, moreover, affirmed the safety of the witnesses if they desire to stay with the Church.
“If their preference is to stay with us in the Church, they will not be turned over to the State under its own witness-protection program,” he said.
Villegas also stated that the Church is willing to provide refuge for the policemen and their families when their stories are proven accurate.
“We will look prudently into the sincerity of their motives and the veracity of their stories. Within the bounds of Church and civil laws, we express our willingness to grant them accommodation, shelter and protection (including their families if necessary). The hospitality, comfort and acceptance that they seek from the Church will be attended to,” he assured.
He added, “We are likewise putting our Ministry of Mercy at the service of these law enforcers who need the hospitality of the Church.”
Villegas urged the priests in Lingayen to secure the safety of these police officers as the clerics “open their hearts and their rectories, the convents of religious communities and seminaries as well as other secure buildings.”
The Church will not force the witnesses to testify, but when they decide to reveal themselves, “every means must be provided for a fair, accurate and unconstrained or unrestrained testimony that may be used in evidence,” the statement read.
The testimonies of the law enforcers will be recorded in the form of affidavits and depositions, with the assistance of a competent independent counsel, said Villegas.
According to data from the Philippine National Police as of July this year, 3,451 suspected drug personalities had been killed in legitimate operations. However, there is no official record yet on drug-related vigilante killings.
In a report by human rights group Amnesty International, the group claimed that some police officers are paid to kill alleged drug offenders.
