By Junex Doronio
MAINTAINING THAT FORMER PRESIDENT RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE should be held responsible for the “bloody drug war” during his administration, the Magdalo group of former Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV reiterated its call Saturday on the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to allow investigators from the International Criminal Court (ICC) to enter the country.
This developed as Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on October 25 said the government needs to review the jurisprudence on the issues of jurisdiction of the ICC before it can take action on the latest call for the government to cooperate on ICC’s probe into the drug war killings under the Duterte administration.
According to government data, at least 6,252 people were killed in police anti-drug operations from July 1, 2016, to May 31, 2022.
In contrast, human rights groups estimate that the victims are between 27,000 and 30,000.
Trillanes IV pointed out Duterte’s inconsistencies in giving figures on the number of lawmen killed in the course of his drug war.
Politiko.com reported that Duterte’s account was shared in a 30-second video compilation by Trillanes IV on X, formerly Twitter.
“Isang halimbawa kung paano manloko si Duterte. Paki-share na lang po para mas marami pang makakita. #TheDuterteScam,” the former senator said.
He noted that at the beginning of the video, Duterte said he was losing an average of two to three policemen a day due to the war on illegal drugs.
On another occasion, he said the figure was “three to four policemen and soldiers a day.”
Trillanes IV added the figure steadily climbed to “four to five” soldiers and policemen until it became six to eight.
(ai/mnm)
