AS has happened so many times in the past, President Duterte had critics pouncing on his recent statement in his remarks while addressing a group in Malacañang last Thursday. He was talking about some soldiers reportedly being recruited in an alleged plot to oust him, when he said: “Sabi ko sa military. Ano’ng kasalanan ko? Nagnakaw ba ako diyan, ni piso? Did I prosecute somebody, na ipinakulong ko? Ang kasalanan ko lang ‘yung mga extrajudicial killing.”
Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros immediately commented that the President’s statement confirms the existence of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) and establishes his accountability for them. “It completely demolishes the argument peddled by his apologists that while there are EJK cases under his term, they were carried out by rogue police personnel without the President’s express orders and approval.”
Malacañang presidential spokesman Harry Roque, however, said the President’s statement was not an admission; he was just saying he has been blamed for the killings in the anti-drugs drive, but never of corruption or illegal arrest. Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Oscar Albayalde said he thinks the President was just expressing his frustration over the repeated allegations against him, that he is behind the EJKs.
The administration has long been accused of extrajudicial killings in its all-out war on the drug menace in the country. Thousands have been killed by the police, who claimed the drug suspects had fought back – “nanlaban.”
The President has said he told policemen to shoot if their lives were in danger, if the drug operators they were out to arrest fought back. At one time, the police claimed they should not be called extrajudicial killings, as the term, under an executive order issued by the previous president, is supposed to refer only to killings of political leaders, such as those of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
For the anti-drugs drive killings, the President has been criticized by officials of the United Nations, the European Union, and, at one time, former President Barack Obama of the United States. The PNP was replaced in the drive by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Authority (PDEA), while the PNP went about cleaning its ranks of rogue cops.
The killings in the anti-drugs drive had largely been forgotten as an issue against the administration – until the President’s remarks last Thursday in Malacañang.
Critics of the President will continue to believe he was making an admission in his Malacañang remarks, while administration officials say that was not what he meant. We recall that very early in the administration, one presidential aide said the President’s words should be taken with “creative imagination.”
In the wake of his new controversy, there will be renewed calls for the President to avoid off-hand remarks in his speeches and stick to carefully worded statements befitting the office of the President. Many recall with satisfaction his recent State of the Nation Address. It was a solid presidential performance, although the President did not appear to be his usual jovial self as a coup had just taken place in the House leadership.
We expect the controversy over the President’s remarks over extrajudicial killings to continue for a while, especially since we are about to enter the political season leading to the midterm elections in May. But the controversy over the President’s EJK statement will pass on like all the many other equally debatable statements before this.
