Defends bloody war on drugs; admits existence of death squad

Former President Rodrigo Duterte said he takes full legal responsibility for his administration’s war on drugs amid accusations of a reward system that led to extrajudicial killings of drug suspects.

“For all of its successes and shortcomings, I, and I alone take full legal responsibility,” Duterte said, strongly defending his deadly drug war as he testified at a Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing on Monday.

“My job as President was never easy. I have tried to do the best I can to address the problem of illegal drugs firmly and without compromises,” he said.

Duterte, who was accompanied by his former chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panel, said he should face legal consequences for his actions, not the police who followed his orders.

He also admitted the existence of the Davao Death Squad as he taunted the Department of Justice to file a case against him.

“I have long been killing people, but until now there is no case filed against me,” he said.

“I have a death squad. Death squad – seven (members). But those are not police. They are gangsters. That one gangster, I ordered: ‘Kill that person. If you don’t kill them, I will kill you now,'” Duterte said in a mix of English and Filipino during the hearing led by Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III.

Asked by Senator Risa Hontiveros about the DDS structure and the identity of its alleged seven killers, Duterte said he could no longer remember the details.

“I am now 73. For the life of me, I cannot remember the name… The problem is the person is dead… Don’t ask me the history of the person, they are dead,” he said.

Hontiveros pressed him if the DDS were given cash rewards for their successful kills, but the former President said there was no such incentive system.

Hontiveros’ office investigated the case of Kian de los Santos, a 17-year-old student who was gunned down in August 2017 during an anti-drug operation in Caloocan. Despite claiming that Kian fought back (‘nanlaban’), the three police officers involved in the operation were later found guilty of murder.

“To all those who say that the War on Drugs is a punishment for those who lose their way, my message to you is this: There is no honor in punishment like tokhang. It should not be an honor to be called ‘The Punisher,’ when thousands of innocent people, including babies, have died in your name,” she said.

Retired police colonel Royina Garma earlier told the House Quad Committee that Duterte and other high-ranking officials during his term operationalized the so-called “Davao model” of EJKs on a nationwide scale, rewarding cops for every drug suspect killed.

Police Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido also testified that a scheme of payouts to hitmen neutralizing or killing drug suspects existed, with funds flowing from the level of Duterte’s former special adviser and now Senator Bong Go.

Go as well as Senator Ronald dela Rosa, who served as Philippine National Police chief during Duterte’s term, have both denied involvement in the drug war reward scheme.

During the hearing, Dela Rosa, who previously sought to lead the Senate probe, criticized human rights lawyer Chel Diokno’s misinterpretation of the term “neutralization” to limit its definition to killing.

Dela Rosa said “neutralization,” according to the police operational manual, means the utilization of police intervention in strict accord with the use of force continuum and the use of force purposely to contain or stop the local aggression of the offender.

He said this may include an arrest, capture, surrender or other acts to subdue the suspect, and that nowhere in the manual refers to neutralization as killing the suspect.

The Philippine National Police earlier reported 6,200 deaths in anti-drug operations, but human rights organizations estimated the death toll to be around 12,000.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating allegations the killings were a state-sanctioned “crime against humanity.”

“Do not question my policies because I offer no apologies, no excuses. I did what I had to do, and whether or not you believe it or not, I did it for my country,” Duterte said.

Duterte also claimed Monday that “drug-related crimes are on the rise again,” a statement that was immediately belied by Malacanang.

“The purveyors of this menace are back in business…The Filipinos are anxious and distressed,” he said.

“Every day you can read about children being raped, people getting killed and robbed, and just recently a drug den was raided within the Malacañang complex. This clearly manifests that the purveyors of this menace are back in business. What are we doing about this?” he added.

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said the national crime rate has, in fact, declined significantly, according to the Philippine National Police.

“Our country is safer, our people more secure, and our future more assured than ever before under the stewardship of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.,” he said.

“Moreover, we have achieved stability and maintained peace and order in our country without foregoing due process nor setting aside the basic human rights of any Filipino,” Bersamin added.

Manila Rep. Benny Abante Jr., House Quad Committee co-chairperson, urged the DOJ and the Office of the Ombudsman to study the filing of appropriate charges against Duterte.

“The House Quad Comm has already unearthed evidence and testimony that bolster allegations that the victims of the war on drugs were innocent, that they were victims of a campaign that was sanctioned by Malacañang,” Abante said.

“We have testimony that shows that the president issued directives and gave the green light to a reward system that led to the death of innocents. If the former President says that he is taking responsibility for the illegal and fatal acts of law enforcement during his administration, then he should be held accountable,” he said.

Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas, for her part, criticized the participation of Go and Dela Rosa in the Senate hearing.

“These two senators, who were key officials during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s term, have no moral authority to participate in this investigation. Senator Go, as Duterte’s former top aide, and Senator Dela Rosa, who implemented the deadly Oplan Tokhang as then-PNP chief, should inhibit themselves from the proceedings due to clear conflict of interest,” she said.

“Their attempts to whitewash and sanitize the brutal drug war is a grave insult to the thousands of victims and their families who continue to seek justice. Their statements are nothing but a desperate bid to protect their former boss while completely disregarding the pain and trauma of those who lost their loved ones to extrajudicial killings,” Brosas added.

Tingog party-list Rep. Jude Acidre added: “The former President has publicly accepted responsibility for these deaths. If we truly stand by our principles of justice and the rule of law, then Mr. Duterte must be held accountable. He must go to jail for these EJKs. This is not about politics. It is about justice.” With AFP

Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “‘I’m willing to die for it!’ Duterte takes full responsibility for war on drugs.”