By Junex Doronio
MANILA — Despite former Senator Leila de Lima’s acquittal from charges brought by the Duterte administration, Liberal Party president and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman persists in urging the filing of charges against former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte in Philippine courts.
Lagman asserts that this action is crucial to demonstrate the functioning of the justice system in the Philippines.
Human rights organizations claim that more than 20,000 deaths occurred since Duterte’s 2016 inauguration, linked to his “war on illegal drugs.”
“As long as former President Rodrigo Duterte, the main proponent of drug-related extrajudicial killings, remains unindicted in Philippine courts, our justice system fails to deliver justice to both perpetrators and victims,” Lagman emphasized.
Meanwhile, Arturo Lascañas, a self-proclaimed former member of the infamous Davao Death Squad (DDS), alleged Vice President Sara Duterte’s involvement in the “bloody drug war.”
According to a January 29, 2024 report by Vera Files, Lascañas stated in his affidavit submitted to the International Criminal Court (ICC) that Vice President Sara Duterte was aware of and endorsed the killings ordered by her father during her tenure as Davao City mayor.
“I was never implicated in this issue during my tenure as Vice Mayor and Mayor of Davao City,” the Vice President rebutted in a statement on February 1.
Lagman, however, argues that De Lima’s acquittal does not signify a functioning justice system for all involved in drug-related offenses and their victims under the Duterte administration.
“The Philippines cannot invoke the complementarity principle to exempt itself from the ICC’s jurisdiction in the case of alleged crimes against humanity committed by Duterte and his top allies,” the opposition lawmaker maintained.
(el Amigo/mnm)
