Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla announced that he will instruct the Philippine National Police (PNP) to grant the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) access to data on extrajudicial killings (EJKs) linked to the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
The directive follows revelations from Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno, who said the CHR has long struggled to obtain official police reports due to an executive order (EO) issued under former President Rodrigo Duterte.
The EO reportedly classified police investigations as confidential and exempted them from the Freedom of Information (FOI) mandate.
“They’ve been trying to get the reports, but the PNP, according to CHR, refused to cooperate,” Diokno said during a House budget hearing on the DILG’s 2026 proposal.
CHR Chairman Richard Palpal-latoc emphasized the importance of the data, saying it could help identify individuals responsible for abuses or failures in duty during the drug war.
Remulla, who assumed office in October 2024, said he had already opened the books on the controversial campaign.
He invited the CHR to formally write to him and pledged to direct the PNP to provide a full accounting.
“I will direct the Chief PNP to open the books and give a proper accounting of what we think happened with the extrajudicial killings in the Philippines,” Remulla stated. (Joseph Pedrajas)
