‘Duterte was afforded due process, our loved ones were not’ – kin of drug war victims
“We will not be swayed. Our loved ones were killed, mercilessly desecrated and it was inhumane. Until now, the situation of the victims’ families is still not good,” Jane Lee, who lost her husband in Duterte’s “war on drugs” said in Filipino.
MANILA – There is nothing more painful than to lose loved ones who were deprived of due process under former president Rodrigo Duterte’s so-called war on drugs.
This is the response of families over the outcry of Duterte’s family members when he was arrested by the police on March 11, and was escorted to a plane that brought him to The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity.
“Pakiramdam nila sila yung api,” (They feel like they’re aggrieved) said Llore Pasco who lost her two sons in Duterte’s war on drugs. She said that when her two sons went missing, they were given a runaround in every police station that they went to.
“We went to about five police stations, but they said it hadn’t been 24 hours yet. The police made us go in circles but we couldn’t find my sons. The body [of one of my sons] was left in a distant morgue. [Imagine] the pain we endured while looking for our son’s body for eight days. We grieved until it turned into anger,” she said in a press conference on Wednesday, March 12.
“Paawa effect lang. (They just want to get sympathy.) But the public doesn’t feel the same way, especially us,” Pasco added.
Jane Lee pointed out the stark contrast in the due process afforded to him while their loved ones were denied justice.
Lee lost her husband in 2017. He was shot by an unidentified men riding in tandem in Caloocan.
Read: #UndoingDuterte| Five years of bloody drug war, kin of victims fight for justice
She said that while the reaction of Duterte’s daughter, Veronica, is understandable, she said the truth remains that Duterte must be held accountable for his wrongdoings.
“She can say what she wants to say. We will not be swayed. Our loved ones were killed, mercilessly desecrated and it was inhumane. Until now, the situation of the victims’ families is still not good,” Lee said in Filipino.
The families also said that Duterte should not be pitied for celebrating his birthday alone in prison.
“At least he gets to celebrate it. Unlike my son who was killed,” said Dahlia Cuartero. Her 26-year old son, Jesus, was killed in purported police operations on March 25, 2019. Jesus was out with his friends and cousins when he gave two of them a motorcycle ride. They were later found dead, accused of peddling illegal drugs.
Lee meanwhile pointed out that in Duterte’s war on drugs, a child also became a victim. “There was an innocent three-year old victim and that’s how she ended up. Unlike Duterte who is 80 years old,” she said.
Pasco meanwhile said, “Duterte is still lucky that he is still alive. We wish that he will live longer so that he will make him accountable for his crimes,” Pasco said.
Meanwhile, International Criminal Court Assistant to Counsel Kristina Conti said that Duterte is still in a good condition even if he will be detained in The Hague.
“The ICC will ensure that it will implement the highest standards of due process and care that are being observed in the ICC detention facilities,” Conti said. This includes good ventilation, food, and provides him with his need. He is also allowed 24-hour access to counsel and the right to be visited by his family every year. “They would even provide for their transportation,” she added.
“This is an illustration of what should be the standards,” Conti said, adding that there is no reason to get paranoid on Duterte’s safety.
“No one wants Duterte to die. We are excited about the coming trial,” she said. Duterte is turning 80.
Duterte was with his former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea when he was flown via charter flight on the night of March 11.
Conti said the families of the victims chose the ICC as a venue to file their complaints because the international court listens and continues to listen to them and looks into their complaints. Here in the Philippines, they have gone to different agencies to press charges against the perpetrators for eight years but there is no significant progress on the cases that they have filed.
The families under the Rise Up for Life and for Rights were assisted by the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers to file the case at the ICC in 2018.
“Both Duterte and Marcos Jr. administrations are at fault here, not only because they are not acting on the cases but also for implementing the policies. Up to now, the police are still following Oplan Double Barrel Finale or Adore protocol. It’s the same template,” Conti said.
She added that the case of Duterte in the ICC shows that “David can win against Goliath.”
“We hope that this case will lead to his conviction,” Conti said. (RVO)
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