A MEMORANDUM of agreement between the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police was formally inked for a joint investigation into ‘unnecessary deaths’ during the government’s war on drugs.

PNP chief Guillermo Eleazar and NBI Officer-in-Charge Eric Distor signed the agreement before Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra.

Under the MOA, the NBI and PNP agreed on the following:

The guaranty of the integrity and availability of all information, records, and evidence necessary for the conduct of investigation, case build-up, and when warranted, the filing of criminal complaints against erring law enforcement officers;

The preparation of full and detailed reports of all relevant findings and recommendations for submission to each counterpart head of agency;

The designation of points of contact and representatives for ease of coordination;

The regular monthly consultation through said designation representatives regarding the implementation of their MOA.

“The MOA will provide the legal framework to both the NBI and the PNP for the speedy and thorough resolution of these and future cases, and affirms the Philippine Government’s commitment to conquer impunity and prevent excesses in law enforcement operations,” the DOJ said.

The DOJ leads a panel of several government agencies, including law enforcement units, in reviewing 5,655 anti-drug operations that resulted in deaths to see whether to file charges against the police officers involved.

The DOJ has been granted unprecedented access to PNP’s records of deaths during the government’s war on drugs.

Just recently, the DOJ came up with a ‘table/matrix’ concerning ‘details,’ like names of victims, docket numbers, places and dates of the incidents, and the panel’s summary of observations.

Also, the table contained the recommendation of the PNP Internal Affairs Service, that ranges from dismissal, demotion, and suspension of the lawmen involved.

Guevarra has already tasked the NBI to conduct a case build-up on the 52 cases against 154 policemen tagged in these ‘tokhang cases.’