Duterte is not the law, nor is he above the law

By Rose de la Cruz

Rep. Rolando Valeriano (Manila, second district) chair of the Metro Manila Development Committee and member of Good Government and Public Accountability Committee, said “it is not up to former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to determine who are criminally, civilly and administratively liable for crimes committed during his brutal war on drugs. His acceptance of legal responsibility for the criminal and inhumane war on drugs does not absolve others of liability.”

This, as the Senate began yesterday its probe into the drug war and extra judicial killings during Duterte’s presidency,, where the existence of funds to kill those suspected of involvement in the drug trade and the enemies of his term were exposed. Duterte and former Senator Leila de Lima– bitter rivals–  had their first public encounter in the same hearing. In the hearing Duterte claimed full accountability for the killings and the bloody drug war, in  the hope of exonerating others involved in his orchestrated cleansing system.

Valeriano said: “Our criminal laws hold liable the perpetrators who are principals, conspirators, accomplices, and accessories. It is not up to former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte to determine who are criminally, civilly, and administratively liable for crimes committed during his brutal war on drugs. His acceptance of legal responsibility for the criminal and inhumane war on drugs does not absolve others of liability.”

Liability will be initially ascertained through probable cause determination by the Department of Justice or the Ombudsman prosecutors. Later on, guilt is for the courts to determine, and we have every expectation that this case will go all the way to the Supreme Court, Valeriano stated.

The former president does not have presidential immunity. The 1987 Constitution does not provide for presidential immunity. He is no longer president, so the impeachment mode is not applicable to him. Neither can administrative charges be filed against him because he is no longer in government, he stressed.

There are no pending criminal cases against the former president, but he does have pending charges before the International Criminal Court. Those ICC charges he will have to face first. It will take a while for either the DOJ or Ombudsman to file criminal charges and to decide whether and how he will be turned over to the Interpol, which implements arrest orders of the ICC.

The former president is grandstanding, in a feeble attempt to project strength to those hoodlum cops who committed crimes in his name, upon his orders, and with the promise of monetary rewards to suspects killed and arrested, he emphasized.

In an additional rebuke, Valeriano said: “He is not a hero. He is not God. He is not the law. He is not above the law. He is a plague.”

Here in the House, we look forward to the fulfillment of his promise to attend the Quadcomm public hearings. The House has its own sets of questions intended to unearth the truth and the facts.

Our findings and recommendations will be based on evidence. We will forward our findings to the DOJ. What happens after that will be up to them.