Human rights lawyers on Friday petitioned the Supreme Court to nullify a 2016 police memorandum that laid down former President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war policy, saying it remained in effect.
Lawyers Joel Butuyan and Gilbert Andres of CenterLaw Philippines filed a manifestation and urgent motion for resolution. They said the memorandum titled “Project: Double Barrel,” signed on July 1, 2016, by then Philippine National Police chief Gen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, and other related issuances remain in effect.
The lawyers also asked the court to act on two consolidated petitions for writ of amparo filed in 2017 covering 26 communities in Metro Manila. They requested the court to declare that the war on drugs policy involved extrajudicial killings and was unconstitutional.
Butuyan said in an interview that the PNP is not doing anything to withdraw the memorandum. He added that if similar incidents happen again, police may still use Double Barrel to justify their operations.
