Senator Richard Gordon urged the Philippine National Police (PNP) to rethink its definition of “solved” in its probes.

“The case is not solved until the primary people behind the killings are apprehended. So effort must be made by the police force to try and get the mastermind,” Gordon said on Thursday, January 28.

Gordon, chairman of the Senate committee on justice and human rights, was presiding over the Senate’s probe into recent killings under the Duterte administration, which has drawn condemnation from lawmakers.

He added: “I don’t want the people to say that the policemen are misleading the public by saying the case is solved when in fact it has not been solved.”

Gordon made the call during the hearing after the PNP reported that it has “solved” the killing of lawyer Winston Intong in Malaybalay City on January 14.

The PNP said it has captured the gunman, but Gordon said the police must capture the mastermind of the killing before police could declare it as solved.

Under the PNP’s Memorandum Circular No. 94-017, cases are considered as solved when the following circumstances have been met:

1. The suspect has been identified
2. The suspect has been arrested
3. The suspect has been charged by the prosecutor’s office

In response, PNP chief General Debold Sinas said they will review the 27-year-old memorandum and will send an update to Gordon’s office. – Rappler.com