(Editor’s note: This article was originally posted on the author’s Facebook page on September 22, 2021. Manny Mogato is a Pulitzer awardee and a veteran journalist.)
RODRIGO DUTERTE is pushing the panic button as the International Criminal Court (ICC) decides to open an inquiry into his brutal and bloody drug war which has killed thousands.
The bodies continue to pile up, making the dictator’s record of killings during martial law looked tamer.
At his UN General Assembly speech early Wednesday morning, Duterte said he had ordered a review of his centerpiece war on drugs policy, warning police who will step out of bounds will be punished.
But the facts belie Duterte. Only one case out of 6,000 killings acknowledged by the PNP and PDEA was resolved by the court – Kian delos Santos case.
His UN speech was obviously to convince the world he was taking action on the drug-related killings and is concerned about human rights.
A few days ago, his spokesman, Harry Roque, had a laughable and unbelievable statement saying the president has nothing to do with the DDS -Davao Death Squad – killings.
Harry is pulling our leg, two witnesses had already testified in the Senate that Duterte as mayor ordered the killings.
A Redemptorist priest, Pix Picardal, has documented more than 1.000 killings in Davao from 1988 until 2010 carried out by the DDS.
Harry was desperately trying to convince people the president was not connected with the DDS, which he had admitted exists.
The government’s refusal to cooperate with ICC investigation and insistence it has no jurisdiction also betrays the administration’s real fears of investigation, trial and conviction.
Duterte is not alone who will face an inquiry and possible trial, allies and enablers as well his former PNP chiefs, including Bato dela Rosa and Oscar Albayalde, will be held liable.
It may take years to convict Duterte and his cohorts but justice will be served.
They feared it will come so Duterte is making excuses starting with his UN speech.
It’s too late. Past actions and “kill, kill, kill” speeches would not convince the world of his innocence.
(About the author: Manny Mogato is a Pulitzer winner and a veteran journalist)
Panic mode
