MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang will abide by the Supreme Court ruling to release documents on the anti-illegal drug campaign.

“Unless it reverses itself upon a motion for reconsideration by the Solicitor General, obedience to its ruling should come as a matter of course,” said Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo on Tuesday, April 2.

“We always follow the rule of law. The Supreme Court has spoken,” he also said.

Hours before, the high court announced it had decided to deny Solicitor General Jose Calida’s motion for reconsideration to keep tens of thousands of documents on the government’s bloody crackdown on illegal drugs between the Duterte administration and the court.

He had cited national security as the reason for keeping the documents from public scrutiny.

Through the SC’s decision, petitioners Center for International Law (CenterLaw) and the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) will get copies of police and other investigation reports related to the 20,322 killings by both vigilantes and policemen in the war on drugs. – Rappler.com