‘I never ordered EJK’

Phl to accept EU aid if…

MANILA, Philippines — Before a gathering of regional lawyers and foreign diplomats, President Duterte again denied ordering extrajudicial killings as part of his war on drugs, and told the European Union (EU) to “go to hell” if it would continue to ignore his explanation for his repeated tirades.

Duterte denied for the umpteenth time his role in the killing of drug offenders, in remarks at the commemorative session and concert program of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Law Association (ALA) at Malacañang yesterday. Among the guests was EU Ambassador Franz Jessen.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, however, clarified yesterday that the country is not closing its doors to EU aid.

Cayetano said he had told Jessen that Duterte’s rejection of aid with conditionalities was not specific to the EU but applied to all foreign aid.

“What we told them was simple,” Cayetano said. “If you’re going to give us conditionalities that will affect our sovereignty, to give you the right to interfere into our domestic affairs, we will not accept that donation.”

Duterte’s denial came as the country prepares to host a gathering of regional and world leaders next month.

Duterte said while some of the accusations against him were true, condoning or promoting extrajudicial killings is not one of them.

“I know that I have been demonized. And well, of course, I will assure you upon my oath as a lawyer and before God that some are true, some are not,” the President said.

“And the extrajudicial tag that has been placed on me is simply not true. I have been a prosecutor for almost eight years doing trial work almost every day to earn my keep before I became mayor,” he added.

Yesterday’s event was attended by legal luminaries of ASEAN countries, Cabinet members, law professors and key Filipino personalities like former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and special envoy to the European Union Edgardo Angara.

Duterte said he is confident that God is on his side as he carries out his brutal war on drugs.

“My God doesn’t allow youngsters to be raped or killed. My God doesn’t allow shabu to thrive. My God says I should do something,” the President said. “If I kill innocent people, what will I get? Do you think God will like it?”

Duterte said he is ready to answer God about the thousands of people killed in his campaign against illicit drugs.

He said he would tell God to ask those in hell why they were killed, affirming his position that the fatalities of the drug war violently resisted arresting officers.

Duterte insisted that there is nothing wrong with threatening criminals who seek to destroy the country and the youth.

“Now, find me a wrong in my statement, when I say, ‘I will kill you if you destroy my country. I will kill you if you destroy the young of my country,’” the President said.

“I am asking everybody to find me a fault in those two statements. I have always stressed that the only time that you can kill a criminal is when your life is also in danger or you’re about – self-preservation,” he added.

Duterte, a longtime mayor of Davao City, dismissed as “fake news” the claim that 4,000 have died as a result of his anti-drug crackdown.

“For the 22 years that I was mayor, I would say easily, 600, maybe, it could reach that number and all because of police encounters,” he said.

“And this is really what happened in my city. Find me a wrong if you can and tell me about it after this program,” he added.

Duterte went on to talk about the effects of shabu on the brain and the mayors whom he suspected of involvement in the illegal drugs trade.

He cited the cases of Albuera, Leyte mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. and Ozamiz City mayor Reynaldo Parojinog, both killed in separate incidents since Duterte took office.

Duterte also mentioned Iloilo City Mayor Jed Mabilog, whom he accused of protecting drug lords. “You are next,” he said. It was not clear what he really meant.

Falling on deaf ears

Duterte also said Angara, as special envoy to the EU, has been trying to explain the context of his tirades against some members of the bloc over their call to stop alleged human rights violations in the pursuit of his war on drugs.

“He’s been trying to explain but if they don’t want to listen, they can go to hell,” Duterte said.

Interviewed after the event, Angara said the Chief Executive’s statements should not be taken as an attack against the EU as an institution. Instead, it is an outburst against certain groups claiming to represent or speak for EU.

“It’s not a tirade against the EU, it’s a tirade against those who come here and say, ‘10,000 Filipinos were extrajudicially killed’,” said Angara, also a veteran lawyer and founding partner of the ACCRA Law Office.

He said the Chief Executive has been trying to explain himself amid the barrage of allegations of human rights violations in the conduct of the campaign against criminality, especially the drug trade. 

Duterte’s statements, Angara said, should be taken in the context of his mandate to save the country from the drug problem.

“He said, ‘You can say anything about me but you must understand why I act this way and why I curse you because it’s my duty to protect my people.’ In essence, that was what he has been saying,” Angara said.

He said the President had been trying to emphasize that his tirades were against a group of people, not the entire 27-member European bloc.

“This is a very mild outburst. He is saying, ‘I don’t care. If you don’t tell the truth, I will tell the truth. I’ll curse you.’ But he is not against the institution, it’s an institution of 27 countries and it’s not EU,” Angara said.

He added Duterte’s rants were “just directed at those who come here who represented themselves as EU delegation, when in fact they are not.”

“Like this progressive Liberal grouping, they are not from the EU. In fact, only one of them is from the EU. The rest is from outside the EU who make fake representation. I think, that’s right of him,” he said, referring to a group which had expressed sympathy for detained Sen. Leila de Lima.

Meanwhile, Angara noted that the upcoming visit of EU council president Donald Tusk is a welcome development in light of the Philippines’ hosting of the 31st ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings on Nov. 13 to 15.

“That’s a big thing. It’s probably bigger than the visit of  (US President) Donald Trump because the EU is much bigger in terms of influence than Donald Trump. Donald Tusk is a much respected leader of the EU,” Angara said.

A total of 21 heads of state, plus the UN secretary general, will be attending the ASEAN event in Manila.