Former President Rodrigo Duterte (left) sits beside former senator Leila de Lima on November 13, 2024 during the Quad-Comm hearing on the extrajudicial killings, addressing alleged human rights violations from his administration’s war on drugs. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News  / file

MANILA - The Philippine National Police (PNP) stood firm in stating that many police officers who fought in the war on drugs under former President Rodrigo Duterte administration have been neglected and are now facing cases.

This response from the PNP came after former Duterte denied, during a congressional Quad Comm hearing, the earlier statement made by PNP chief Rommel Francisco Marbil that many police officers affected during the previous administration did not receive assistance after being involved in the war on drugs.

According to PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo, their records do not lie.

Marcos says gov’t won’t help nor stop ICC probe on Duterte drug war

“Karapatan po ng ating dating pangulo sa kaniyang mga pananalita but the records will not lie po,” Fajardo said during a press briefing at Camp Crame.

Fajardo insisted that data supports Marbil's statement regarding the number of police officers affected by the war on drugs during Duterte's administration.

Based on PNP records, 1,214 police officers were affected by the war on drugs. Among them, 312 killed , 974 were wounded, 195 were dismissed from service, 20 were imprisoned, and 214 are facing criminal cases.

“Ito ay galing sa ating DPRM , sa Directorate for Personnel and Records Management particularly yung mga killed in action ,wounded in action ,dun naman po sa mga nakasuhan natin ang nagprovide po ng data na yan ay DIDM ,this data cannot just be ,hindi ito biro itong data na ito ,so hindi po ito pananalita lamang ng ating chief pnp, this is a backup by a solid data po,” the PNP spokesperson added.

Despite this, the PNP will accept the offer of P1 million from Duterte as assistance for police officers who continue to face cases related to the war on drugs during his administration.

Duterte confirms drug war reward scheme: 'Minsan bigyan ko pa ng dagdag'

“This is a welcome development dahil kung matatandaan niyo po nagbigay ng pahayag ang ating chief PNP na noong nakaraang administrasyon particularly from 2016 to 2022 ay marami po talaga tayong pulis na humarap sa mga legal challenges ,maraming nakasuhan, some of them were dismissed , infact some of them were convicted and eventually incarcerated po sa ating mga detention facilities at yan po ang direction ng ating chief pnp to provide legal assistance sa mga pulis po natin,” Fajardo added.

Due to the large number of police officers in need of legal services, the PNP has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU ) with a financial institution that has also signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) to provide legal services to police officers facing various cases related to their duties.

Fajardo admitted that they lack sufficient lawyers in the PNP Legal Service.