There is nothing irregular on the remarks of President Rodrigo Duterte that families of “bullshit” drugs suspects killed in drug operations will not get justice, Malacañang said on Thursday.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said President Duterte was referring only to those drug suspects killed during firefights with the police.
In a speech on Monday, the President said, “If you think that you can get justice simply because you lost somebody who’s a bullshit into drugs, I’m sorry to tell you I will not allow it.”
READ: Duterte: No justice for kin of suspects killed in drug war
Roque said Duterte’s remarks do not cover those killed in drug operations due to “police excesses.”
“It does not involve victims who are otherwise victims of police excesses,” he said in a Palace briefing.
“So ‘yung mga napatunayan na talagang kinakailangan na gamitan ng dahas, obviously ‘yun ang tinutukoy ng ating Presidente,” he added.
Asked what the President meant by “bullshit,” Roque said the President was referring to those who fought back and eventually got killed during drug operations.
“Sinasabi niya na ‘yung mga talagang nanlaban for instance, ano na mang katarungan ang ibibigay mo kung nanalaban yung napatay, di ba? ‘Yung mga nagbebenta ng droga, nahuli in the act, napatay, nanlaban, so yun ang sinasabi ng Presidente,” he said.
The Palace official said the President’s remarks were not meant to intervene on the duty of the courts to prosecute drug cases against policemen.
“Wala pong sinabi ang Presidente pagdating sa hukuman. I think let’s just go by what the President said,” he said.
“In fact wala ka naman talagang makukuhang katarungan doon dahil it’s a lawful use of force,” he added. /muf