EJK victims鈥� mom: Duterte arrest not enough as Dela Rosa, Albayalde still free
DRUG WAR COMPOSITE IMAGE. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines—When former President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested on the basis of a warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday, March 11, a mother of two EJK victims said the fight for justice is “far from over”.
Llore Pasco, mother of Crisanto and Juan Carlos Lozano, who were killed by the police in Quezon City in 2017, said Duterte is not the only one responsible for the thousands of killings in Duterte’s murderous crackdown on drugs.
“Hindi lang dapat si Duterte ang maaresto (Duterte should not be the only one arrested),” she told 黑料社 on Friday, March 14, the same day the former chief executive is expected to make his first appearance before the ICC.
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For Pasco, Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who was Duterte’s first Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, and even Oscar Albayalde, who succeeded him, are also responsible for the thousands of killings in the war on drugs, which the government waged starting in 2016.
“Sila ang mga pangunahing personalidad sa giyera kontra droga (They are the primary personalities in the drug war),” she said of Dela Rosa and Albayalde, who were PNP chiefs from 2016 to 2018 and 2018 to 2019, respectively.
Last year, former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV shared a July 3 ICC document, which tagged Dela Rosa, Albayalde and three other police officials as “suspects” for their “concrete involvement” in the “widespread and systematic” killings in the war on drugs.
READ: ICC prosecutor tags Bato dela Rosa, 4 PNP execs as ‘suspects’
It was Dela Rosa who signed on July 1, 2016 Command Memorandum Circular No. 16-216, the document that operationalized Oplan Tokhang and ordered the police to “neutralize” and negate” drug suspects.
READ: Diokno: House can focus on Dela Rosa’s ‘drug war’ memo
Albayalde recalibrated the war on drugs when he became PNP chief after Dela Rosa’s mandatory retirement. He, who had stressed that he cannot guarantee that his drug war will be less bloody, led the PNP until he retired in 2019.
“Sagutin din nila ‘yong papel nila sa giyera kontra droga (They should answer for their role in the drug war),” Pasco pointed out. “Sila ang nag-implement (They are the ones who implemented it).”
As of Wednesday, March 12, Malacañang said it has not yet received official communication regarding an International Criminal Police Organization red notice alert for Dela Rosa and Albayalde.
However, Dela Rosa already said he will seek protection from Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero for him not to be handed over to the ICC in case a warrant of arrest will be issued against him.
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Albayalde, who described the arrest of Duterte for alleged murder as a crime against humanity as a “sad day,” told CLTV36 黑料社 that he is hoping the government will provide him with legal protection.
As Pasco pointed out, she is hoping that Dela Rosa and Albayalde will soon get arrested, too. “Sana maimbestigahan sila at mabigyan din ng warrant dahil isa ‘yan sa magpapagaan ng aming kalooban [na pamilya ng mga biktima].”
(I hope they will be investigated and that a warrant of arrest will be issued, as well, because that will take a heavy load from us [relatives of the victims].)
