“Focus on the investigation on the war on drugs carried out by former President Rodrigo Duterte, former police chief Ronald ‘Bato’ Dela Rosa, and the police.”
This is the statement of the victims of families of Duterte’s so-called war on drugs as he attended the Senate’s blue ribbon sub-committee hearing on Monday, Oct. 28.
They also urged the Senate to dig deeper into the rewards system mentioned by former Cebu City police chief Royina Garma during the quad-committee hearing at the House of Representatives.
For human rights group Karapatan, the Senate hearing became a platform for Duterte’s “usual expletive-laced rants, with support from his subalterns Dela Rosa and Robin Padilla, among others.”
“The proceedings have become a three-ring circus,” the group said in a statement.
Monday’s hearing was the first for the Senate’s blue ribbon sub-committee probing drug-related killings that Duterte attended.
He admitted having death squads responsible for the killing of criminals during his term as mayor of Davao City. He justified the drug-related killings by allowing the police to “draw their guns” in case drug suspects resist arrest.
Duterte said that he alone takes full responsibility for the police’s action “pursuant to his order.” Karapatan stressed that this statement of Duterte “is part of his hubris-laden testimony.”
“When asked about individual deaths, he would wash his hands of his responsibility. Nothing new here – just the usual Duterte who curses through his answers when he squirms his way out of responsibility,” Karapatan said. “It is looking more and more that the purpose of the Senate hearings is to defuse the ticking bomb in the House of Representatives which, if allowed to reach their logical conclusion, would end up blowing up in the face of the Marcos Jr. regime.”
Karapatan said that the administration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. “has not rescinded any of the policies that engendered the grave human rights violations that marked both the war on drugs and the counter-insurgency war under Duterte.”
The group said that Duterte is not only responsible for the thousands of drug-related killings but also for the summary execution of 422 political activists and the frustrated extrajudicial killing of 544 others. “Add to this at least 39 hors de combat extrajudicially killed by Duterte forces in violation of International Humanitarian Law.”
Karapatan stressed that “unless the Senate is able to get the proceedings on track, its hearings will end up derailing the objective of determining and exacting accountability for the tens of thousands of killings under the war on drugs.”
Rights groups have recorded up to 30,000 extrajudicial killings of drug suspects.
Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raoul Manuel criticized Dela Rosa as he should just sit as a resource person, not as an interpellator. “He must answer questions, not ask the questions himself. He should not be allowed to abuse his position as a senator for personal gain!”
Manuel said that it is infuriating that Dela Rosa called the testimonies of the families of the drug-war advocates as “propaganda.” “The Senate should not allow this.”
Demanding truth and accountability
Counsels for families of the victims said that the growing interest in Duterte’s war on drugs “reflect the general public’s restless and righteous demand for truth and accountability over thousands of killings, serious rights violations and abuses.”
In a statement, National Union of People’s Lawyers-National Capital Region (NUPL-NCR) Secretary-General Maria Kristina Conti said that the “victims of the extra-judicially killed have perennially called for fair, comprehensive, and genuine investigation and prosecution into crimes foremost of which are crimes against humanity as defined in international and domestic laws.”
In 2018, Rise Up and NUPL went to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to report and to seek the opening of investigation and eventual trial against Duterte. NUPL also participated in the hearings conducted by the House of Representatives’ Committee on Human Rights which was later on joined by three other committees in the “quad committee.”
“These investigations have already yielded significant revelations about a massive scheme encompassing years of operations, layers of authority, and various methods of evading or violating the law. Continuing these investigations under conducive circumstances and promising remedy for any or all liabilities provide a measure of relief and comfort for victims,” Conti said in a statement. Conti is also registered as the ICC assistant to counsel.
The NUPL-NCR said that they are aghast that the Senate hearing “has become a platform for those involved and accused.”
“This raises significant questions over the independence and effectivity of the Senate investigation, and the possibility that this might serve as a whitewash,” Conti said.
She added that Go and Dela Rosa “had neither the decency nor discretion to inhibit themselves, despite persistent and credible allegations of their participation in the whole scheme of things.”
Go served as executive assistant and personal aide of Duterte.
Rise Up said that they want the truth to prevail and for steps to be taken to hold those involved in the killings accountable due to the war on drugs. “We, the families who witnessed and had the opportunity to attend several hearings held in Congress, have gained clarity on the true events based on the testimonies and statements related to the resource persons.”
They also called on other families of victims and citizens to join them to achieve justice in the country. “We believe that now is the time for us to unite in the call to hold Duterte accountable for the killings and violations of citizens’ rights.”
