‘Duterte’s drug war must be free of abuse, excesses’

Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday expressed support for the proposed Senate investigation on the spate of drug-related killings throughout the country amid the administration’s relentless war against criminality and illegal drug trade.

While saying she supports the government’s desire to get rid of crime, Hontiveros noted that its efforts should not “sow fear among the public and encourage vigilantism.”

Hontiveros raised alarm that lawless elements and even government officials may take advantage of the administration’s ongoing drive against drugs to protect big-time criminals.

“I am worried that lawless elements and public officials with less commitment to the rule of law are taking advantage of the government’s anticrime campaign to cover up higher crimes … I therefore support any legislative inquiry that will seriously look into the cases of extrajudicial killings and summary executions allegedly done in the name of fighting crime,” Hontiveros said in a statement.

Hontiveros belied that a proposed Senate probe would water down the administration’s anticrime efforts, saying an impartial inquiry would instead “contribute in preventing it from being hijacked by vested interests while safeguarding the rights of all citizens.”

“The government’s effort to protect the public from crime and illegal drug trafficking must not sow fear among the public and encourage vigilantism. It must not be tainted by abuse and other excesses. Fighting crime and safeguarding the rights of all citizens are not mutually exclusive of one another. They coexist,” she said.

“President [Rodrigo] Duterte himself said during his inauguration that his adherence to due process and rule of law is uncompromising. I trust that the administration will prosecute its anticrime campaign based on the said standards,” Hontiveros added.

The Philippine National Police has confirmed the killing of more than 100 drug suspects.

Human rights lawyers and lawmakers alike have raised the red flag amid the rising body count. Sen. Leila de Lima, former justice secretary and human rights chief, said she would file a resolution for an inquiry into the drug killings, noting the “telltale signs of summary executions” in a number of cases.

Duterte won the elections in a landslide, with a platform deeply rooted on a relentless war on drugs and criminality, including shoot-to-kill orders against drug lords and peddlers.