DOJ urged: Start drug war probe

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) should start its probe into the “fake drug war” of former president Rodrigo Duterte and his cohorts, Alliance of Concerned Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro said on Thursday.

About 30,000 people, including innocent civilians, were believed killed in the drug war. The government reports over 6,000 suspects killed in police operations.

In an interview with Teleradyo Serbisyo, Castro recalled that the House of Representatives approved a resolution allowing the Marcos administration to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“My principles remain and we hope that by next year, the ICC would be able to enter the country and personally investigate freely,” Castro said.

“We want justice to be served to the victims of extrajudicial killings, especially young victims, which they just called collateral damage,” she added.  

Castro also hoped that the evidence gathered during the House quad committee hearings would be enough to provide probable cause for the filing of charges against Duterte and his allies.

“We are happy with the latest findings of the quad comm and its recommendation to file charges for crimes against humanity,” she noted.

As for Vice President Sara Duterte’s assassination plot in the event of her death, Castro said the Marcoses should take a strong stance.

“The Duterte family is used to that. They issue threats and we really know their capabilities. It all came out during the investigation of the House of Representatives. It revealed what former president Duterte did. He said he had killed at least six people,” she said.

In November, the Vice President alleged she was the subject of an assassination plot and that she has ordered a member of her security team to kill President Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos and Speaker Martin Romualdez should it succeed.

Castro welcomed the Vice President’s statement that her father will be serving as one of her lawyers in the three impeachment complaints filed against her.

The impeachment complaints stemmed from the Vice President’s alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds.

Meanwhile, a group of human rights lawyers is calling for decisive legal action against former president Rodrigo Duterte following the House affirmation of his criminal responsibility for extrajudicial killings during his administration’s war on drugs.

Failing to act on the House findings will risk exacerbating the country’s entrenched culture of impunity, the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) said.

“Crimes against humanity are the appropriate charges for Duterte,” the NUPL said.

“Former police chiefs, including Sen. Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa, Oscar Albayalde and Debold Sinas, who implemented the Philippine National Police’s ‘Double Barrel’ campaign must also be held accountable,” the group noted.

Department of Justice Undersecretary Jesse Andres confirmed that the DOJ is consolidating evidence, including documents submitted by the quad comm, to potentially prosecute Duterte. — Christine Boton