Leonen slams impunity, abuses in drug war

MANILA, Philippines - A magistrate of the Supreme Court (SC) is calling on the Duterte administration to respect the rule of law in its fight against criminality.

In posts on his Twitter account, Associate Justice Marvic Leonen said impunity in the conduct of the war on illegal drugs has left a trail of abuses by law enforcers and vigilante groups.

“Impunity undermines the Rule of Law. The Rule of Law protects those who are weak and poor from the abuses of those who have power,” read the justice’s Twitter post.

“It may be true that no system is perfect. But, this is no justification to contribute to its imperfection,” he said in another post.

He has also called for strict adherence to the rule of law in his concurring opinion on the SC ruling clearing three judges publicly tagged by President Duterte as protectors of the illegal drug trade.

“If we truly desire a society that works to rid itself from the menace of illegal drugs and corruption, we should strengthen the institutions that effect the rule of law. Support should be given to those who struggle to do what is right,” he said.

Leonen has called Duterte’s public announcement about the judges as premature as “it was not fully supported by evidence that were professionally validated and which could be presented in a court of law.”

“All it achieved was to shame the judges and others similarly situated,” he stressed, adding that it also “dangerously contributes to the President’s public misperception that courts of law are incompetent.”

“The truth is that, in these cases, evidence is not available from the law enforcers, who could have presented opportunities for this court to clean its ranks,” he added.

Leonen has been actively posting on Twitter his positions on pressing political issues, many of which are perceived to be critical of the Duterte administration.

At the height of the protest rally against the SC order allowing the burial of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, Leonen also posted on Twitter a statement on the need for the people to take a stand when freedom is under threat.

“Freedom has never been won with silence in the face of abuse nor through unprincipled compromises. Meaningful freedoms are always earned,” read his Twitter post.

Leonen, an appointee of former president Benigno Aquino III, was among the five SC justices who dissented from the majority ruling and voted against the Marcos interment at the Libingan.