DOJ: 'Drug war' case review includes missing, falsified death certificates

The mother views the coffin of her three-year-old baby Kateleen Myca Ulpina, killed during a sting operation conducted by the police, is seen during her wake in Rodriguez, Rizal, east of Manila on July 5, 2019.

AFP / Noel Celis

MANILA, Philippines — Irregularities in death certificates also came up in the government's review of "war on drugs" cases, the justice secretary said Wednesday after forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun presented findings that causes of death in some cases she studied had been falsified.

"The alleged falsification of death certificates as a possible cover-up is part of the DOJ drug war review," Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra told reporters when asked about Dr. Fortun's findings.

He said they initially learned that copies of the death certificates were missing in some records or files they reviewed. While he does not have exact figures of how many cases had that problem, he said "[t]he certificates may have been issued alright, but some of them were not found in the police or [National Prosecution Service] files."

Full Story: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/04/13/2174306/doj-drug-war-case-review-includes-missing-falsified-death-certificates