By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – Eight years since Llore Pasco lost her two sons in an anti-drug police operation, no one has been held responsible for their killings.
For this reason, Pasco, and the rest of the families of the drug war victims, believe that former president Rodrigo Duterte must be held accountable.
“Justice is holding Duterte and his accomplices accountable. They are responsible for thousands of extrajudicial killings,” Pasco said in a press conference on Monday, Nov. 25, where different civil society organizations launched the Duterte Panagutin (Hold Duterte Accountable) Network.
The network, of which Pasco is a member, is committed to hold Duterte accountable and to press for justice for the human rights violations under his term.
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) Chairperson Teddy Casiño said that the network’s launch is a significant step toward achieving justice. “This includes the systematic killings of drug suspects and critics, the weaponization of the law, corruption, and the abuse of power under his administration.”
‘No justice’
Apart from drug-related killings, justice has also been elusive for politically motivated killings.
Liezel Asuncion, wife of labor leader Manny Asuncion who was killed inside his office in Cavite on March 7, 2021 or what was also called as Bloody Sunday Massacre, also lamented how the police involved in her husband’s killing got acquitted.
Read: Finding no justice here, kin of Bloody Sunday victims turn to UN body
“(The) Philippine justice system remains rotten. Our petitions were denied by the Department of Justice because our case allegedly lacks evidence. What’s worse is that the motion for reinvestigation was also denied. But we remain undeterred,” Asuncion said.
Former senator Leila De Lima said that Duterte has evaded accountability for years as investigations that she initiated when she was head of the Commission on Human Rights in 2009 and as chairperson of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights did not prosper.
She cited threats, intimidation and other forms of attacks experienced by the witnesses. “In the Senate, the senators have questioned self-confessed hitman Edgar Matobato’s credibility and the credibility of his accounts. I was even ousted as chairperson of the committee.”
She was later imprisoned under the Duterte administration for false charges.
Casiño stressed that the failure to hold Duterte accountable has allowed others, especially his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, to imitate him.
The younger Duterte is currently being investigated over the alleged misuse of confidential funds, including questionable receipts. She also threatened Marcos Jr., saying that someone will go after him, his wife and his cousin who is House Speaker if she gets killed.
Sara and Marcos Jr. once ran under the same ticket in 2022, dubbed as UniTeam.
“The events this week show how [Sara] Duterte behaves not just as a brat or an entitled person, but as a carbon copy of his father. He displayed contempt for the law, for the rule of law, and his penchant for late-night press conferences where he curses and threatens to kill the president. This has gone too far,” Casiño said. “The continued violations of the law by both Duterte and Sara reflect the utter failure of our government agencies and institutions to hold the highest officials in our country accountable. We hope that through this network, we can strengthen the people’s fight for truth, justice, and accountability.”
‘Why Duterte must be held accountable’
Human rights lawyer Dino De Leon of Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) Duterte must be held accountable to prevent another populist leader from coming to power.
“If they are not imprisoned, it will only be a matter of time before they come back to power. If we don’t hold them accountable, our institutions will once again be weak and unable to withstand another populist president. They will return, not necessarily Duterte himself, but a permutation and combination of people like him,” De Leon said. “We owe it to the victims and their families to hold them accountable and ensure that those things do not happen again.”
Former Commission on Human Rights Commissioner Karen Dumpit said that Duterte must be held accountable for the country “because it is crucial to restoring the rule of law and ensuring that such abuses will not happen again.” Dumpit is now with the Human Rights and People’s Empowerment Center.
She added that Duterte’s accountability is also for the justice system. “It is a necessary step to rebuild trust and demonstrate that no one is above the law.”
Duterte’s accountability is also for the people, she said, “especially the victim survivors and their children.
“The cycle of intergenerational violence must be broken to pave the way for a peaceful and just society. Access to justice and all its forms must be attained ensuring that every individual can seek redress and accountability for wrongs committed. Justice should not be a privilege but a fundamental right accessible to all regardless of circumstances.” Dumpit said.
“That’s why we’re here — because we want to ensure that justice is served in different ways. There must be someone held accountable, there must be an example set to show that accountability is necessary,” Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay said.
She said that there must also be a recognition that crimes were committed, such as extrajudicial killings (EJK), enforced disappearances, illegal arrests and detentions.
“This must never happen again,” Palabay said.
Under Marcos Jr., killings continued with over 800 drug-related killings and at least a hundred farmers and indigenous peoples.
Palabay added that the network will monitor the hearings of the quad committee, and key government officials including Marcos Jr. himself, to ensure full accountability of Duterte.
Other members of the network include Mo. Mary John Mananzan, OSB, Atty. Antonio La Viña, Atty. Anna Maria Abad, Adamson University College of Law Dean, Fr. Rico Ponce, O.Carm, Prior Provincial of the Carmelite Philippine Province of St. Titus Brandsma, Atty. Rommell Lumagui, Artikulo Tres Human Rights Alliance and more. (JJE, RTS, DAA, RVO)
