President Rodrigo Duterte’s admission that his “only sin” was the “extrajudicial killings” just made the case against him before the International Criminal Court (ICC) stronger, House opposition lawmaker and Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano said Friday.
Alejano noted that Mr. Duterte’s confession simply made the ICC’s work easier as the President’s latest pronouncement merely boosted his previous public affirmation on extrajudicial killings.
READ: Duterte: My only sin is the extrajudicial killings
“Ang pag-amin ni Pres. Duterte na ang tanging kasalanan niya ay ‘extrajudicial killings’ (EJK) ay dagdag lamang sa dati na niyang mga katulad na pahayag sa publiko. Lalong pinapadali lamang ng Pangulo ang trabaho ng International Criminal Court (ICC) kung saan nakahain ang reklamo ng iba’t-ibang grupo mula sa bansa laban sa kanya sa kasong ‘Crime against Humanity’,” Alejano said in a statement.
“Ang libu-libong namatay at namamatay pa sa ilalim ng war on drugs ay resulta lamang ng polisiya ng administrasyong Duterte na patayin ang sinumang sangkot sa ilegal na droga. Ito ay maliwanag na hindi dumadaan sa legal na proseso at napagkakaitan ang mga Pilipino ng karapatan sa due process,” he added.
Alejano rejected the explanation of Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque that Mr. Duterte was not serious about his latest statement on extrajudicial killings as the President was just being “playful” and thus, should not be taken seriously.
“Ang mga ganitong pahayag ng Pangulo ay hindi uubrang ipagkibit-balikat at palusutin bilang biro lamang tulad ng sinasabi ngayon ng Malacañang. Ang bawat salita ng Pangulo ay may bigat at kapangyarihan,” he said.
READ: Duterte just being ‘playful,’ not serious on ‘EJK his only sin’ statement
Duterte faces cases of “crimes against humanity” before The Hague-based ICC due to his controversial brutal war on drugs that claimed the lives of thousands of Filipinos nationwide.
Just as the international body started its preliminary examination of the case, Duterte in May decided to withdraw the Philippines’ accession to the Rome Statute, which created the ICC. /kga
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