Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa (Bibo Nueva España /Senate PRIB)
MANILA, Philippines — Former President Rodrigo Duterte’s “kill” order against illegal drug peddlers was just a figure of speech, Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa said on Monday.
During Duterte’s leadership, he told the police and military in separate occasions to kill illegal drug peddlers and even communist rebels.
“Nakatapos na si President Duterte ng six years. Until now hindi pa tayo nakaka-adjust sa kanyang style ‘di ba?” Dela Rosa said on ANC’s Headstart.
(President Duterte has finished his six-year term. Until now, we have not adjusted to his style?)
“They are all figure of speech, ‘yung mga pinagsasabi niya. Mga hyperbole, mga metaphor o whatever or how you call it,” he added.
(What he said are all figures of speech. Hyperboles, metaphors, or whatever you call it.)
Dela Rosa pointed out that even though Duterte has ordered killings, the former chief executive did not end any person’s life.
In a meeting with business leaders in 2016, however, Duterte shared that he personally killed drug suspects when he was the mayor of Davao City.
Last June, International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan proposed the resumption of the investigation on Duterte’s bloody war on illegal drugs.
Duterte and Dela Rosa, former Philippine National Police chief, were accused of committing crimes against humanity for their supposed human rights violations amid the war on drugs.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency last month reported that 6,252 drug suspects were killed in the Duterte administration’s war against illegal drugs as of May 31, 2022.