FORMER officials of the Duterte administration are now trying to wriggle out of trouble after dismissing public outcry for the thousands of deaths caused by its bloody war on drugs, human rights lawyer Jose Manuel “Chel” Diokno said yesterday.
Diokno said it was the government’s responsibility to investigate the thousands of deaths linked to former president Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, but only 52 cases were looked into by the Department of Justice (DOJ) during his incumbency.
“Alam nila ito, parang nagbulag bulagan lang sila pero ngayon na naimbestigahan na, nangangatwiran, naghahanap ng palusot. Sa akin, walang lusot sa batas yun, dapat nuon pa inimbestigahan na at pin-rosecute mga nasa likod niyan (They knew about the killings, they just played deaf and blind. Now that it is being investigated, they are arguing, trying to find a way out. To me, it has no excuse under our laws. They should have investigated and prosecuted those behind it),” Diokno told a Teleradyo interview.
Diokno, who was among the resource persons who attended last Wednesday’s continuation of the House Committee on Human Rights hearing into Duterte’s drug campaign, said it is the government’s duty, particularly the PNP and the DOJ, to go after uniformed personnel who were involved in the extrajudicial killings of drugs suspects.
He dismissed former justice secretary and now Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra’s claim that only 52 cases were probed because the families of the victims did not pursue the cases.
Diokno said the government does not need the consent of the victims’ families in filing charges “because murder is a public offense.”
“Opensa laban sa estado ‘yan whether gusto man ng mga kapamilya na magsampa ng kaso o hindi, o whether natatakot sila magsampa ng kaso o hindi, may tungkulin, may responsibilidad ang ating estado, obligado sila na imbestigahan ‘yan (That’s an offense against the State and whether or not the families want to file a murder case or not, whether they’re afraid to file cases or not, the State has the duty, the responsibility, it is obligated to investigate that),” he stressed.
Diokno reiterated his earlier explanation on why no class suit has been filed against Duterte, saying the families of victims remain afraid that the perpetrators might go after them.
While many of them want to seek justice and file charges, the human rights lawyer said the families of the victims would always ask questions like: “Attorney, can you guarantee our safety when we file cases?”
“E how can we guarantee ‘yun kanilang safety? At hindi ko naman makunsensya din na hihikayatin ko sila magsampa ng kaso at may mangyari sa kanila (But how can we guarantee their safety? I also cannot, in conscience, convince them to file cases and then something bad will happen to them),” he said.
Diokno has told the House panel that 20,322 drug suspects or almost 40 daily were killed between July 1, 2016 and Nov. 27, 2017, the first 17 months of the Duterte administration based on a 2017 year-end accomplishment report of the Office of the President, which the Supreme Court noted in the 2018 case “Amora vs Dela Rosa” (former PNP chief and now Sen. Ronald dela Rosa).
Former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea told the same hearing that he did not see the accomplishment report being quoted by Diokno, and therefore could not verify the figures. He said reports have floated different numbers, thus “we don’t know anymore which to believe.”
‘COOPERATE WITH ICC’
The families of some of the drug war victims who attended Wednesday’s hearing urged the Marcos administration and the House panel to work with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to bring Duterte to justice.
“Paano po kami hihiling ng hustisya sa ICC? Sana maramdaman nyo po bilang ina kami (How can we ask for justice from the ICC? We hope you understand us because we’re mothers),” Christine Pascual, mother of victim Joshua Lazamana, told lawmakers.
Dahlia Cuartero, mother of victim Jesus Cuartero, said: “Wala kaming pag-asa. Para bang ganoon na lang kadali kunin ang buhay ng anak ko. Sana rin po sa pamamagitan ng hearing na ito ay masuportahan ang ICC na papanagutin si Duterte (We’ve lost hope. It seems it was that easy for them to kill my son. We’re hoping that through this hearing, you’ll be able to support the ICC to hold Duterte accountable).”
But Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. told the families that the House probe is an “independent” investigation and that chamber has no intention of coordinating with the ICC.
“Wala pong pakialam sa ICC at walang pakialam ang ICC sa komiteng ito. Hindi kami kontrolado ng ICC. Independent po itong ginagawa natin dito (The ICC has nothing to do with this investigation. The ICC does not control us. We are doing this independently),” he said.
In November last year, the House Joint Committee on Justice and on Human Rights adopted a resolution calling for the government to cooperate with the ICC investigation on Duterte’s war on drugs.
The joint panel adopted House Resolution No. 1477, which Abante filed with Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez (PL, 1-Rider), in consolidation with House Resolution Nos. 1393 filed by the militant Makabayan bloc and HR No. 1482 filed by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman.
‘WELCOME TO ATTEND’
Abante said the panel will inform Duterte and Sen. Ronald dela Rosa of its next hearing but it would be up to them to decide whether to attend or not.
“Sabihin natin ‘dun na (We’ll say that) if he (Dela Rosa) would like to come, you are welcome,” Abante said. “We’re going to inform the former President of this hearing. Nasa kaniya na ‘yun kung pupunta siya or hindi (It’s up to him if he’ll attend or not).”
Abante said the House “would like to give full respect to the former President.”
“We should give full respect to the former President for being a public official also,” he said after Rep. Raoul Manuel (PL, Kabataan) stressed the need for Duterte and Dela Rosa to attend the hearings.
Manuel said the former president has to be summoned because “he is not an incumbent official, he is a civilian.”
ILLEGAL DRUGS
Meanwhile, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) yesterday incinerated P9.1 billion worth of illegal drugs which were seized in the continuing war against illegal drugs.
The illegal drugs, weighing 2.43 tons, were burned at the facility of the Integrated Waste Management Inc in Barangay Aguado in Trece Martires City in Cavite.
In a statement, PDEA said the illegal drugs comprised the evidence from various anti-drug operations conducted by the agency, together with the PNP, NBI, other law enforcement agencies and the Armed Forces “but were no longer needed as evidence in court.”
“The expeditious prosecution and disposition of drug cases where said drugs served as evidence, led to its immediate destruction,” PDEA said.
PDEA said the illegal drugs were destroyed through “thermal decomposition or thermolysis.”
“Exposed to temperatures of over 1,000 degrees centigrade, all dangerous drugs were completely decomposed or broken down, and are impossible to reconstitute,” it said.
The burning was witnessed by representatives from the DOJ, Department of Interior and Local Government, PNP, other law enforcement agencies, non-government organizations and members of the media.
“PDEA continues to practice the swift destruction of all confiscated drug evidence as soon as permitted by the courts,” said PDEA, adding: “There is no other way to address the lingering concern of the public that confiscated illegal drugs are being recycled and pilfered, than to destroy them as quickly as possible.”
The last time PDEA conducted a similar drug-burning activity at the same facility was last February, when some P4.51 billion worth of illegal drugs, also mostly shabu, were burned.
BIG PLAYERS
PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil said President Marcos Jr has ordered the PNP to go after the big players in the illegal drugs trade.
“The guidance of the President is for us to hit the big ones,” Marbil told a radio interview, adding that the PNP’s campaign against illegal drugs has been successful.
He said the PNP usually evaluates its performance in the war against illegal drugs every six months. “We have good statistics but I want it (done) quarterly,” he said.
Marbil said drug syndicates may step up their operations as the 2025 national and local election approaches.
“We have to talk to PDEA and discuss what’s our strategy,” said Marbil, referring to efforts that will be adopted to preempt such plans by drug syndicates. — With Victor Reyes
