Duterte’s drug war revelations a ‘shocking normalization of brutality’ – Abante

House Committee on Human Rights Chairperson Rep. Bienvenido Abante in a press conference on Oct. 29 denounced former president Rodrigo Duterte’s admission upon his role in drug war-related deaths during a recent Senate inquiry, calling it a ‘shocking normalization of brutality, death, and a disregard for due process’.

“What we witnessed during the former president’s testimony was a shocking normalization of brutality, a normalization of death, and a disregard for due process that has infected our legal institutions,” he said during his opening statement.

Abante also blasted Duterte’s behavior during the inquiry, underscoring his use of profanity and apparent disregard for decorum, arguing it reflected issues and social norms the latter has established under his watch.

“Duterte’s nonchalant attitude toward life itself lies at the root of the thousands of deaths during his term. His casual language, his swearing in formal proceedings mirrors the erosion of his standards in his administration where the value of life itself was cast aside,” he added.

These statements follow after the former president on Oct. 28 appeared and told the Senate under oath that he had his own ‘death squad’ and he ordered cops to ‘encourage’ suspects to fight back so police could kill them during his bloody anti-drug campaign.

This was also Duterte’s first appearance in Congress after he skipped a similar inquiry by the House of Representatives on extrajudicial killings tied to his anti-drug campaign, citing health reasons.

The House quadcomm, led by Abante and other co-chairs, is set to resume its hearing on Nov. 6, with the former challenging Duterte and his allies, Senators Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa and Bong Go, who have yet to appear before the committees.

During the same press conference, Abante asserted that Duterte’s statements during the hearing serve as apparent evidence of criminal liability, indicating that the former president and others allegedly involved could face charges for “crimes against humanity” under Philippine law.

“When a leader knowingly permits the slaughter of civilians under his watch, and when he admits that he bears responsibility, it is an inescapable truth: he is criminally liable,” he pointed out.

He noted that cases against those responsible for the extrajudicial killings during the drug war are already “ripe” for filing.

Abante cited Republic Act No. 9851 or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity.

He argued that Duterte’s admission are elements of ‘willful killing’ which is a crime against humanity as highlighted under Section 6 of the law.

Duterte explicitly said during the hearing that he should be “held accountable and detained” instead of the police who “only followed his orders.”

“Sa lahat ng nagawa ng pulis pursuant to my order, ako ang managot at makulong,” he said.

Under Section 10 of RA 9851, superiors are to be held liable for crimes of humanity committed by their subordinates if they had knowledge of the crimes and failed to take necessary actions to prevent or repress them.

“It is now up to the proper authorities to consider the statement carefully and ascertain the criminal liability of responsible individuals whether under the concept of command responsibility or conspiracy.” Abante added.

During his presidency, Duterte’s drug war resulted in more than 6,200 killed based on government records, with some tallies from human rights groups exceeding 20,000.