Former President Rodrigo Duterte took a strong stand on Monday, saying he won’t apologize for the deaths in his tough anti-drug campaign that started in 2016. Speaking at a Senate hearing, Duterte said he takes full legal responsibility for actions taken by the police, who were following his orders during the war on drugs.
Duterte’s drug war led to more than 6,000 deaths of suspected drug dealers, many of whom were not given a trial. He emphasized that it was his responsibility, not the police officers’, to face any consequences, as they were just doing their job. “If anyone goes to jail for this, it should be me, not the police,” he said.
The United Nations and the International Criminal Court (ICC) have raised concerns about the drug war, calling it a potential violation of human rights. But Duterte said he was only trying to protect the people and wouldn’t back down on his decision.
Senator Leila de Lima, a longtime critic of Duterte, reminded everyone at the hearing about her past investigations into extrajudicial killings. She urged that the law should not allow anyone to encourage or order killings, regardless of their position. Duterte challenged her to file charges against him if she believes he broke the law.
Duterte defended his policy by saying, “This was not about killing people, but about keeping the country safe from dangerous drugs.” He described the ongoing rise in drug-related crimes as evidence that the drug problem is far from over and urged the government to keep fighting drug abuse to protect innocent citizens.
