Palace reminds public: Duterte admitted to meddling in NBI probes
Police chief Director General Ronald Dela Rosa presents Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. to the press. PNP PIO/Released, File
MANILA, Philippines — Remember when former President Rodrigo Duterte admitted to intervening in a National Bureau of Investigation probe to downgrade a murder charge to homicide? Malacañang wants you to remember.
The exchange of statements between the Duterte clan and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s official mouthpiece, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), continued on Wednesday, March 26. The two parties have been at odds in the weeks following the arrest of former President Duterte and his subsequent transfer to the International Criminal Court (ICC), with the PCO responding to the Duterte clan's criticisms.
This time, PCO Undersecretary Claire Castro was asked why a case against Duterte cannot be pursued under the Marcos administration. Supporters of Duterte argue that since the former president is no longer in power, it would be easier to pursue legal action.
Castro responded that it was the Duterte administration that failed to prove that the Philippines could prosecute cases related to drug war abuses.
To recall, the ICC paused its probe into the drug war in 2021 to allow the Philippines time to prove that it can dole out justice on its own. With only a handful of convictions amid thousands of deaths, the ICC resumed its probe.
The PCO went on to state that Duterte himself hindered investigations into extrajudicial killings (EJKs).
“May mga pagkakataon din po si Pangulong Duterte noon, si dating Pangulong Duterte, na mismo ang mga findings ng NBI ay pinakikialaman. So, talagang masasabi nating hindi gumana ang justice system sa kanila; sa ibang tao, sa ordinaryong tao – yes, gumagana pero sa kanila ay mukhang hindi,” Castro said in a press briefing on Wednesday.
(There have been opportunities that former president Duterte himself would meddle with the findings of the NBI. So we can really say that the justice system was not working for them, on others, for ordinary people — yes, it was working, but for them, it looks like it is not.)
Castro brought up the case of slain Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. Duterte had accused Espinosa of involvement in the illegal drug trade, and he was subsequently killed while in prison. The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) recommended that Police Superintendent Marvin Marcos and several other officers face murder charges.
However, in 2016, Duterte commented on the Espinosa killing: “I will not allow these guys to go to prison maski sabihin ng NBI na murder. Tutal under ko naman ang NBI under ko rin ‘yan Department of Justice."
(I will not allow these guys to go to prison even if the NBI says that it is murder, After all, the NBI is under me, as well as the Department of Justice.)
After this statement, the charges were downgraded to manslaughter, and the superintendent was reinstated.
During Duterte's drug war, killings were widespread, not only among drug suspects but also involving local politicians, lawyers, journalists, and activists.
Espinosa’s case is not an isolated incident: in the same month he was killed, Datu Saudi-Ampatuan town, Maguindanao Vice Mayor Anwar Sindatuk was also slain. Like Espinosa, Sindatuk had been accused by Duterte of involvement in the illegal drug trade.
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