HRW calls out Bato for ‘kill imprisoned drug lords’ comment
MANILA, Philippines — Human Rights Watch denounced newly-installed Bureau of Corrections chief Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa over his remark to New Bilibid Prison guards to shoot drug lords and other convicts.
During his first flag raising ceremony at the NBP compound Monday, Dela Rosa told prison guards that he is ready to protect them should they end up killing an inmate.
“You’re afraid of drug lords? If they can kill you, you can also kill them because they’re in prison. You’re afraid of dying? I hate cowards,” he said.
The former police chief’s pronouncement shows that he has a “killer attitude” toward his new job, HRW Asia Deputy Director Phelim Kine said in a dispatch Thursday (Manila time).
“Dela Rosa’s comments suggest he will apply the same disregard for rule of law and accountability that defined his tenure as police director general in his new role as head of the Bureau of Corrections,” Kine said.
READ: Corrections head Bato dela Rosa tells guards: 'Be ready to kill'
HRW earlier called Dela Rosa an “enthusiastic supporter” of the brutal anti-drug campaign that President Rodrigo Duterte launched in 2016.
He previously led the Philippine National Police, which has been heavily criticized for being on the forefront of the war on drugs that has killed thousands, mostly urban slum dwellers.
According to the PNP, there were 4,251 “drug personalities” killed in police operations. But rights groups and critics have higher estimates.
Kine said that Dela Rosa must remember that the International Criminal Court has begun a preliminary examination into the drug war killings and would likely consider any extension of the campaign into the country’s prisons.
“These developments suggest that sooner or later, Dela Rosa may be held to account for his ongoing role in the bloody campaign he continues to zealously endorse,” the HRW executive said.
Reuters wins Pulitzers, the most prestigious awards in American journalism, in international reporting for its story on the methods of police killing squads in President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs and for feature photography documenting the Rohingya refugee crisis in Myanmar and Bangladesh.
In covering the deadly drug war in the Philippines, Reuters reporters Clare Baldwin, Andrew R.C. Marshall and Manuel Mogato "demonstrated how police in the president’s 'drug war' have killed with impunity and consistently been shielded from prosecution," Reuters Editor-in-Chief Stephen J. Adler says.
Sen. Francis Tolentino says he has agreed to serve as legal counsel for Sen. Bato dela Rosa before the International Criminal Court. — Xave Gregorio
Sen. Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa says he is “not worried” of the ICC’s resumption of investigation into the brutal war on drugs.
The Commission on Human Rights welcomes the verdict of a Caloocan court that convicted police officer Jeffrey Perez of torture and planting of evidence in the killings of teenagers Carl Arnaiz and Reynaldo “Kulot” de Guzman during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs.
"The Commission hopes that more cases similar to Carl and Kulot will reach the courts," the government agency says in a statement.
"We hope that more eye witnesses will step forth and feel encouraged to help progress the thousands of drug-related killings still pending investigations and trials," it adds.
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights' work on the Philippines "is far from done" as victims of the bloody "war on drugs" continue to seek accountability and justice, the Human Rights Watch says.
"The Human Rights Council should adopt OHCHR’s recommendation that the high commissioner’s office continue to monitor and regularly report on the country’s rights situation," Carlos Conde, the senior researcher for Asia Division of the HRW, says in a statement.
"There’s no short-term solution to making real progress on accountability and providing justice for people in the Philippines," he adds.
Gabriela Women's Party supports the request of International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan to resume probe on President Duterte's drug war killings. — The STAR/Sheila Crisostomo
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