The Palace scrambled Thursday to defend President Rodrigo Duterte’s idea to create an armed civilian group called the “Duterte Death Squad” to counteract communist assassins, saying such an operation would bring “relief” to the people.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the President’s proposal is still an “idea,” but the government needs to work for it to come to fruition.
“I think the President was just bringing an idea, and if that idea becomes a reality, as Secretary of Defense Delfin Lorenzana said, the army will be in charge of that,” said Panelo in a Palace press briefing Thursday.
Panelo said Duterte thought of creating the DDS because of his responsibility not to let soldiers and policemen die at the hands of communist rebels without putting up a fight.
“He is duty-bound by the Constitution to protect them. It is included in his duties to protect and ensure the safety of the public and men who enforce the law,” he added.
He also said the formation of the DDS would not violate the due process rights of suspects.
“Why are you violating due process? You’re running after criminals. You’re running after people who will assassinate us, so how can that be? You will even prevent it from happening,” he said.
“We have a situation here where there is a group of men who will kill with impunity. What do you want the state to do, just sit idle and watch? We cannot do that,” he added.
He also dismissed the possibility that the presence of a state-recognized death squad would encourage a culture of impunity where civilians might take the law into their hands and follow the President’s mindset to take out their enemies.
“No, I don’t think it will encourage [that]. In fact, people will be relieved that there is such. If this idea becomes a reality where there will be someone who will protect us from those who want to kill us. If it were me, I would be happy,” Panelo said. Nat Mariano and Maricel V. Cruz
“We should, in fact, be relieved that we have a President doing everything in his power to stop all acts of violence, all acts of criminality, all acts of terrorism against the civilians,” he added.
Panelo also took a swipe at the Commission on Human Rights for saying the formation of the planned death squad would violate the International Humanitarian Law.
He said CHR chief Jose Luis Martin C. Gascon was “too narrow” in his interpretation of Duterte’s pronouncement.
“You know if you say death squad, the intention of it is just to kill but not killing in self-defense, he is right. But this is different; precisely you are going to create that to prevent the killing of these people, of civilians,” he said.
“His point of view on this matter is just too narrow,” Panelo said, referring to Gascon.
On Wednesday, Duterte announced that he will form his own death squad to counteract the New People’s Army’s Sparrow unit, and team of assassins active in the 1970s and 1980s.
Lorenzana expressed apprehensions about the plan, and said they would need to closely study the formation of the DDS.
Also on Thursday, a panel in the House of Representatives approved a substitute resolution that urges President Duterte to resume the peace process negotiations with the communist National Democratic Front of the Philippines.
The House special committee on peace, reconciliation and unity chaired by Rep. Ruby Sahali of Tawi-Tawi, passed the unnumbered resolution that substituted House Resolution No. 1803.
The resolution also urges Malacañang to complete the comprehensive agreements on social, economic and political reforms to lay the basis for a just and lasting peace.
The adoption of the resolution comes on the heels of the resignation of Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza.
Sahali, in her opening remarks, said that despite the resignation of Dureza, she is duty-bound to express the sentiments and interests of the people for the immediate resumption of the stalled peace talks to find a peaceful and just resolution to the decades-long armed conflict.
“We can start by maintaining effective communication exchanges that strike at the very root of these peace negotiations,” she said.