Palace on Duterte’s EJK sin: No admission

MANILA, Philippines — To prevent some groups from using President Duterte’s words against him before any court of law, Malacañang has clarified anew that the Chief Executive has not owned up to the thousands of drug-related killings that occurred under his administration.

“First, there is no admission on the part of the President. He merely wanted to underscore the point that he has not been accused of corruption nor has he engaged in political vendetta,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said yesterday.

“All the critics and detractors can allege are killings attributed to his drug war,”  Roque said.

The Palace issued the statement after Duterte’s critics claimed that his admission should prod the International Criminal Court to speed up the inquiry into the alleged extrajudicial killings in the country.

Roque said the President remained steadfast in his anti-drug campaign.

“The President knows fully well that his policy on the war on drugs is necessary, even saying that he is willing to sacrifice his life, honor and the presidency to fulfill his electoral vow,” he said.

Roque said the intention of the drug war is to save the youth.

“The President has to weigh the interests of the many against those of the few, but we must emphasize that most of the killings, although drug-related, did not result as part of any police operation,” he added. 

Roque reiterated the President’s statement that the police have the right to protect themselves from violent resistance.

“The President remains steadfast in his belief that one of the country’s greatest ills is the rampant use, sale and distribution of illicit drugs, which is why he led with this campaign promise during the elections, for which the Filipino elected him with more than 16 million votes,” he said.