Espiritu: Don’t let politics trump justice in handling Duterte
Labor leader Luke Espiritu. PHOTO FROM OFFICIAL FB PAGE
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Lawyer Luke Espiritu, a senatorial candidate of Partido Lakas ng Masa, has urged justice and human rights advocates to follow closely how the Marcos administration behaves in relation to the legal issues hounding former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Espiritu, who is on a nine-day campaign swing in Mindanao, told journalists in Cagayan de Oro City on Monday that he is worried that if the public let their guards down on Duterte’s cases, “political considerations could take precedence instead of the cause of justice.”
“If Duterte eventually succumbs to the ICC (International Criminal Court) and he is rendered politically irrelevant, there might be a tendency not to complete the process of seeking justice,” Espiritu said.
“But what we are after for here is not just politics, so we should push further until real justice is achieved,” he added.
Espiritu cited the case of former President Joseph Estrada who was convicted for plunder but was eventually pardoned by then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Estrada went on to run again for president in 2010 and placed second in the race. In 2013, Estrada was elected Manila mayor.
Recently, there have been talks about an arrest warrant for Duterte from the ICC which is investigating him for crimes against humanity owing to thousands of deaths during his administration’s war on drugs.
Based on the official count, the drug war deaths reached over 6,000. But human rights groups estimated the casualties at over 20,000.
Although the Philippines is no longer a state party to the ICC, the Marcos administration had said the government is prepared to cooperate with Interpol to implement an arrest warrant against Duterte.
The speculations of the impending arrest of Duterte were fueled by the increased presence of police officers at the Davao International Airport beginning on Sunday.
However, the Davao regional police leadership said it was only for a simulation exercise.
“Government must administer justice to Duterte and to his infrastructure of death,” Espiritu said.
