ADMINISTRATION lawmakers yesterday said former President Rodrigo Duterte had nothing to show for after repeatedly vowing to protect and help policemen who were at the forefront of his bloody war on drugs.
Reps. Jude Acidre (PL, Tingog) and Dan Fernandez of Sta. Rosa City said Duterte was “all talk” on his “repeated and much publicized promises to protect or help policemen who carried out his bloody war on drugs during his administration.”
“Walk the talk. Puro daldal lang naman siya. Palaging ‘ako ang bahala sa inyo,’ pero yung pulis na nakabaril ng drug suspect pala ang kawawa (He always said, ‘I’ll take care of you,’ but the policeman who shot a drug suspect is now the only one suffering),” Acidre said in a statement.
The lawmakers were reacting to the statement of PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil who said that Duterte’s commitments to the affected police personnel were not kept, noting that 312 policemen were killed, and 974 others were injured in the line of duty during the drug war.
Marbil has also disclosed that 214 policemen are facing criminal charges in relation to the drug war, while administrative charges were filed against policemen during the six-year Duterte presidency.
Of the cops who were subjected to administrative investigations, 195 have been dismissed and 398 others, 20 of whom are detained, are still facing dismissal proceedings.
Acidre and Fernandez urged Marbil to tap the PNP legal service to help police personnel “who carried out the drug campaign in good faith and not for the monetary reward it offered.”
Acidre said Duterte has the propensity to repeat “the same empty promise every opportunity he gets,” noting that the last time the former president made such statement was on October 28, when he testified before the Senate and declared that he, alone, should be held “fully, legally and morally” responsible for his brutal drug war.
“He (Duterte) should tell that to the ICC (International Criminal Court). Let us see what happens,” he said.
During the Senate inquiry, Duterte said that as Davao City mayor, he created a seven-man hit squad known as the Davao Death Squad (DDS) led by former PNP chiefs, including former PNP chief and now Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa.
While claiming that he did not directly order summary killings, Duterte stated that he instructed officers to provoke suspects to fight back, making it easier to justify their deaths.
Fernandez, one of the chairmen of the House quad committee which is investigating the drug war, questioned what happened to Duterte’s vow to provide lawyers to policemen who are facing legal complaints in connection to the extrajudicial killings (EJKs) related to the drug campaign.
“Napako ang mga pangako. Puro drawing lang. Mahilig kasi sa budol-budol, pati yung mga pulis na naniwala sa kanyang pangako ay nabudol din (The promises were not kept. It’s all empty. He has a penchant to fool people, even the police who believed in his promises were duped),” he said.
Fernandez said it was President Marcos Jr. and not Duterte who is now forming a legal team to assist policemen who are facing criminal cases in courts.
Duterte last week snubbed the House quad committee’s 10th hearing into the EJKs under his administration even after he earlier vowed to attend the probe if it will be held after All Saints’ Day.
Duterte has said traveling to Metro Manila from Davao is costly for him and he has nothing more to say to congressmen since he has already faced the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee last month.
The chairmen of the joint panel led by Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers have offered to cover the former president’s airfare and accommodation just to ensure his attendance in the hearing tomorrow.
Congressmen have been wanting Duterte to confront former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma, a former police lieutenant colonel, who testified about the drug war reward system, claiming that cash incentives were provided to personnel who eliminated suspected drug offenders.
Garma has also previously accused Duterte of spearheading in May 2016 the nationwide expansion of the alleged “Davao model,” which encouraged the killing of drug suspects in exchange for cash.
