A day after ICC issues statement on drug war, Duterte says didn't kill anyone
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte maintained that he neither killed anybody nor ordered the execution of suspects a day after the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor said there is "reasonable basis" to believe crimes against humanity were committed in the Philippines in relation to the government's war on drugs.
Duterte, whose crackdown on narcotics have resulted in the death of about 6,000 suspects, said while he ordered the police to destroy the drug apparatus, he reminded them to apply what they have learned on law enforcement.
"May mga pulis na talagang may ano sa - diretso salvage ganoon. Wala akong inutos na ganoon (There are policemen who immediate execute suspects. I did not order them to do so), Remember, in all of my utterances, I was angry when I said 'Do not destroy my country, the Republic of the Philippines, who elected me as president. Do not destroy our sons and daughters because I will kill you,'" the president said during a public address last Wednesday.
"Ang problema, wala pa akong pinatay. Marami ako dito sa puso ko, marami akong patay na pag-ibig. Wala akong pinatay na tao. Ganoon ‘yan (The problem is, I have not killed anybody. I have killed a lot of love here in my heart but I did not kill any person. That's the way it is)," he added.
"Iyang human rights, maski saan tayo magpunta. Tignan mo, i-review mo lahat (Human rights advocates can check it wherever we go. Review everything. 'Enforce the law in accordance with what you learned in the training stage of your being a law enforcement officer.'"
In an interview with reporters on Dec. 16, 2016, Duterte said he had killed "about three" people when he was mayor of Davao City.
"I said, I killed about three of them because there were three of them. I didn’t really know how many bullets in my gun went inside their bodies. It happened, and I said that I cannot lie about it because if this means killing people kneeling down with their hands tied at the back, that’s all b***s***," the president told reporters in Singapore.
"I will order that I said, if... go out and hunt for them, the drug guys, and it’s a virulent problem, arrest them if possible. But if they offer a violent resistance, and you think as a policeman or a military man you will also die, then kill them," he added.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque previously said Duterte's earlier remarks about killing people are part of the president's "colorful" language.
In a report released last Tuesday, ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda noted that the crimes against humanity tied to the Philippines' controversial drug war are murder, torture, and infliction of serious physical injury and mental harm. She said her office may decide on whether to seek authorization to start an investigation on the Philippie situation in the first half of 2021. Officials have downplayed Bensouda's report, dismissing it as a "political propaganda" that won't have any bearing on the government's affairs. They argue that the Philippines no longer has an obligation to cooperate with the ICC because it has withdrawn from the Rome Statute, the treaty that formed the tribunal.
Duterte hits Trillanes, communists
Duterte also assailed his critics who hailed the release of Bensouda's report and maintained that he is ready to take responsibility for his orders to law enforcers.
He lambasted former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, who had claimed that the time of reckoning is near for Duterte and his enablers.
"You know Trillanes, when I see your name, I see dog excrement. Every time I look at you, you’re a s*** of a dog. You pretend to know better. Why scare me about being imprisoned? If it's my destiny to land in jail, then I'd land in jail," Duterte said in Filipino.
"What did this son of a b**** do? Tell me...what did this animal do but to launch a revolt? He yelled and yelled only to surrender. That's how cowardly this son of a b**** is. And then he brags," he added.
Duterte was referring to the uprisings launched by Trillanes and his fellow rebel soldiers during the time of former president Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo.
"To be honest Trillanes, if you are brighter, if you are more intelligent, you should have been the one talking here, not me," the president said.
Duterte also chided communists, whom he claimed is conspiring against the government.
"Saan nakipagkunsabo pati itong mga komunista sa nakapasok sa gobyerno (They are conspiring with communists who are in government). Do you think that we will stop there? I said you are a member of a grand conspiracy of communism, all of you. The act of one is the act of all," the president said.
Duterte also had a message for Rep. Carlos Zarate of Bayan Muna party-list, one of the groups accused by the military of being communist fronts.
"Ikaw, Zarate, bantay ka. Medyo… Sabi niyo paalis na ako (Zarate, you watch out. You said I am about to leave)? Well, really?" the president said.
In a related development, Malacañang downplayed a statement of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), which called on Duterte to stop red-baiting lawmakers.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the statement does not deserve attention and does not reflect the sentiment of the regional bloc.
"They do not represent the views of the overwhelming majority of parliamentarians and because they are not, that’s a view of a very few ASEAN parliamentarians and I don’t think it deserves any attention," Roque said at a press briefing Thursday.
According to the APHR, red-baiting has had "extremely violent consequences in the Philippines" and puts people’s lives at risk. -
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