The rule of law

The rule of law should be the foundation of our liberties and social order. The rule of law means that the law is above everyone and it applies to everyone. Whether you are the president of the country or the street-sweeper who just wears the president’s shirt – ruler or ruled, no one is above the law and no one is exempted from the law.

All government officials in the Philippines pledge first and foremost to uphold the Constitution, affirming that the rule of law is superior to their offices and provides the basis of their mandate.

But we know only too well that the rule of law is weak or even nonexistent in this country.

Sadly, it is mere rhetoric, not reality. More often than not, it is only good for sound bytes.        

When top officers of the Philippine National Police (PNP) run their organization like an organized crime gang or as the henchmen of the President, their commander-in-chief, how can there be rule of law?

When you’ve got legislators and judges who act as proxies for the administration, there is no rule of law. When journalists, activists and ordinary people disappear and are tortured and killed without getting justice, there is no rule of law. When government officials and law enforcement officers continue to enjoy impunity for their actions, there is no rule of law.

Large-scale extrajudicial violence as a crime solution marked the six years of Rodrigo Duterte’s tenure as president of the Philippines while he was in office at Malacañang Palace.

Reports about the actual number of victims vary. Some reports say more than 5,000 drug suspects were gunned down by the police in that drug war.

Other reports claim Duterte’s drug war killed an estimated 12,000 to 30,000 victims. Most of them died execution style, usually conducted by motorcycle-riding masked gunmen. But we Filipinos are notoriously known for having short memories. And we are kind and quite forgiving of our leaders’ wrongdoing.

These alleged extrajudicial killings (EJKs) during Duterte’s deadly campaign against illegal drugs trampled upon the very essence of our democracy and the integrity of our judicial system. The suppression of truth when the answers we are looking for are not unknowable and at this time certainly not moot is most unforgivable. We have to get to the bottom of these state-sanctioned killings, especially the heinous executions. We have to know what went wrong with the rule of law.

This we shall see after ex-president Duterte has been taken into custody after the International Criminal Court (ICC) finally acted on his so-called “all-out war on drugs.” We now have this unique opportunity to know the truth and get justice. The bold legal move by the ICC obligates our government to arrest Mr. Duterte and transfer him to The Hague for trial.

For the families of the slain victims of the deadly “Tokhang” anti-drug war, Mr. Duterte’s international prosecution cannot come soon enough. The inaction, apathy and evasiveness that prevented Tokhang victims and their families from seeking justice from the Duterte administration have damaged the pillars of our criminal justice system.

The administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM) is now in a quandary. PBBM has previously reiterated policy statements of his every intention to respect and sustain his immediate predecessor’s decision to break off the Philippines from its membership in the ICC. And this is precisely the contention of the Duterte camp in refusing to acknowledge the jurisdiction of the ICC.

Hours after he was arrested and detained at the Kalayaan lounge in Villamor Air Base, his battery of lawyers led by lawyer Israelito Torreon sought relief yesterday afternoon from the Supreme Court. Torreon filed an urgent petition asking for the immediate release of ex-president Duterte and set aside the ICC arrest order. Included in the petition is former PNP chief-turned Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who is one of the co-accused in the ICC case.

“We are begging on bended knees,” Torreon told court reporters after he filed the 90-page petition in behalf of the two ICC accused. Torreon is also the legal counsel for Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) Pastor Apollo Quiboloy who, along with Sen. Dela Rosa, are endorsed by ex-president Duterte as his senatorial candidates in the coming May 12 elections.

Currently jailed on human trafficking charges, Quiboloy’s KOJC invited ex-president Duterte, along with his daughter Vice President Sara Duterte, to speak before their congregation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Hong Kong. Mr. Duterte was served the ICC arrest order after he arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and whisked off to Villamor Airbase for processing.

Thus, rumors flew thick that Mr. Duterte flew to Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, to seek asylum but that purportedly his good friend, Chinese President Xi Jinping, denied his request.

While the Philippines had officially disengaged from the ICC, our country is still bound by our government’s commitments with the International Police, the law enforcement arm of the ICC. So PBBM is bound to answer the cry for justice of the bereaved families of EJK victims. Some of Duterte’s henchmen have already made public admissions and more are willing to talk on these EJK cases. This matter is now out of PBBM’s hands. All PBBM has to do is to let the ICC investigate and ferret out the truth behind the mass killings and bring the case to a satisfactory resolution.

During Duterte’s term, he used the powers of his presidency to protect himself from prosecution. All the virtues of a good, working democracy – civil society, civil liberties, constitutionalism, the rule of law – were violated by his official actions.

We owe it not just to the Tokhang victims and their families. We owe it to our country. We also owe it to ourselves to find closure and accountability, to find out the truth and get justice for the thousands of alleged EJK victims in this bloody war on illegal drugs.

Mr. Duterte brazenly flouted the law. He has not been held accountable. He has been untouchable. Until now.