Congress' anti-Duterte investigations backfire
Last of two parts
THE US-backed Marcos administration's plot to demonize former president Rodrigo Duterte by regurgitating allegations that there were widespread extrajudicial killings (EJK) in his war against illegal drugs six years ago has totally backfired.
The hearing last week by the Senate — which has again proven to be independent of the incumbent administration as it should be, in contrast to the shameless servility of the House of Representatives — reminded Filipinos that in contrast to the incumbent, Duterte was a strong, true leader, willing to take risks to wage an uncompromising stand against the drug lords, who could have made the country worse than several Latin American nations as a narco-state.
Social media — now the equivalent of the "mosquito press" that helped topple the Marcos dictatorship — was deluged with such posts as "Millions love PRRD... that is enough ..."; "This is the PRRD that we miss ... my president, salamat po"; and even sarcasm directed at Sen. Risa Hontiveros: "Good job talaga ma'am Risa Hotier, proud kaming mga adik sa'yo."
A particular viral post highlighted the fact that Duterte's triumph in fending off the Marcos demonization plot could pull down the current president's political support:
"I've witnessed the Arroyo, Aquino and Duterte administrations, but this is the first time I've seen an administration (Marcos) that seems to empower criminals and drug addicts while trying to undermine a president who spent six years weakening their influence. Who are we really protecting here?
"The millions of innocent people whose safety and security are threatened by the presence of addicts and criminals, or the human rights of the addicts and criminals?"
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Death squad
One of the most controversial moments of Duterte's testimony was his admission of the existence of the "death squad." However, he insisted that this squad was not composed of police officers but rather of "gangsters" who volunteered to kill leaders of powerful organized crime groups. Duterte also hinted that those involved in these death squads were moneyed people, bolstering reports I had received a decade ago that a few business tycoons in Davao City had become so frustrated at their businesses being hurt by unchecked criminality that they funded assassins to take out specific crime lords.
Sen. Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa, Duterte's Davao City police chief for many years, and for two years the Philippine National Police head, claimed that it was media that invented that term "Davao Death Squad," as it was a catchy phrase that made readers intrigued enough to buy their newspapers. Indeed, foreign correspondents were quick to use that phrase because such death squads were employed in the most brutal dictatorships in Asia and Latin America, such as those in Indonesia, El Salvador, Chile and even Brazil. The term indeed has become the stuff of movies, albeit on the brighter side, it refers to vigilantes going after criminals who evade the justice system.
The acronym became a widely used one later, as the opposition to Duterte used it not to refer to a "Davao Death Squad" but to "Diehard Duterte Supporters," which while having a less malevolent meaning still popularized the idea of a death squad.
"Every time there was killing [on] the streets," Dela Rosa said, "media would claim it was by a death squad."
"There were even cases where a note written in blood and pinned on a victim's body advertised that the killers were the 'Davao Death Squad,' which was intended to lead investigators away from the real perpetrators."
Negate
Throughout the hearing, Duterte and his allies defended the use of terms like "negate" and "neutralize" in police operations, which human rights lawyer Chel Diokno claimed were euphemisms for killing. He even disclosed that it was Antonio Carpio, when he was still Supreme Court justice, who advised his group to pursue that claim. Duterte's former national police chief, Senator Dela Rosa, clarified that these terms were intended to imply containment rather than execution. All of the former police chiefs during Duterte's administration asserted that "neutralize" does not mean "killing."
Duterte dared his critics, including former senator Leila de Lima and Hontiveros, to file charges against him in domestic courts, saying that he alone should be held accountable rather than the police officers who merely followed his orders.
Congress' investigations on the war on drugs are a total waste of time and government resources, intended only as political propaganda operations. This is scandalous at a period when the Philippines faces very serious economic and social problems, which laws passed by Congress can start to solve.
This claim is bolstered by two facts proven to be so true at the Senate hearing:
No charges
First, even the independent senator and head of the subcommittee, Koko Pimentel, pointed out that while she was justice secretary for six years during Aquino III's term, de Lima had been unable to file charges against Duterte. De Lima blamed the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), which she said had told her that they could not find enough witnesses to file charges against the former president. But Pimentel pointed out that the NBI was "administratively and operationally" under the justice secretary.
Second, a cleric-run nongovernmental organization (NGO) claimed they were assisting about 300 families whose relatives were EJK victims during the war on drugs. Senator Dela Rosa asked how many cases had they filed in the courts against the suspected perpetrators. The NGO's head could not say how many.
"If you haven't filed charges to seek justice for these alleged victims, then you are simply making propaganda against Duterte," Dela Rosa said.
In short, Duterte burned Hontiveros and de Lima at the hearing.
Anybody who has the slightest idea on how the justice system works will see that it is near impossible to gather evidence and convince eyewitnesses to convict persons on cases that happened six years ago. The only conclusion is that people like Hontiveros are merely undertaking black propaganda using "telenovela" dramatic tricks against Duterte, who has prevented our country from becoming the worst narco-state in Asia.
Weaponized
Marcos has weaponized this EJK issue against Duterte to ensure his clan retains power in 2028, with his daughter Vice President Sara whom many believe to be a shoo-in for the presidency, having been adversely affected by this demonization of her father.
The US is backing this plot to block Sara's assumption to the presidency, either through Marcos becoming incapacitated before 2028, or by her winning the presidential elections that year. Note for instance that the media outlet most biased against Duterte, whose articles echo the Marcos operatives' claims, is Rappler.com, which has received thousands of dollars in funding from the National Endowment for Democracy, funded by the US government and run essentially by the US State Department. Most US and Western newspapers have emphasized Duterte's alleged "confession" over the existence of the death squads, rather than explaining the sarcasm and nuances of the former president's statements.
The US, especially at this time with its rival China rising fast, cannot afford to lose its sole puppet in Southeast Asia, which Marcos has shamelessly made this country. Sara indubitably will restore the country's independence from the US hegemony.
But the US-backed plot is collapsing: Duterte burned the US' two main agents in its propaganda campaign, Hontiveros and de Lima, in the Senate hearing.
He need not lift a finger against the two congressmen at the frontlines of the Marcos campaign to demolish Duterte — former optometrist Dan Fernandez and religious teacher Bienvenido Abante.
In testimony made through a sworn statement, former Mandaluyong police chief Col. Hector Grijaldo revealed that the two congressmen tried to intimidate him into supporting a claim by retired police colonel Royina Garma that Duterte had created a reward system for those who killed drug lords. Abante even arrogantly hinted that Grijaldo could be promoted to general if he cooperated with them.
Congress should stop wasting taxpayers' money in undertaking these useless hearings that will lead to nothing.
Facebook: Rigoberto Tiglao
X: @bobitiglao
Website: www.rigobertotiglao.com
