Category: Illegal Drugs

VP Sara, 2 senators named in ICC probe documents

Published by Ellen on July 23, 2023

Former president Rodrigo Duterte with daughter Vice President Sara and Sen. Bong Go in a 2019 photo when they attended the enthronement of Japanese Emperor Naruhito. Malacañang photo

Aside from former president Rodrigo Duterte, Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio and two incumbent senators were named in documents submitted to the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigating the killings related to the drug war during the previous administration and when Duterte was mayor of Davao City, a copy of the documents obtained by VERA Files shows.

The vice president’s name was mentioned as knowing and approving the killings when she was city mayor, a post that her father held for more than 20 years. Sara was mayor from 2010 to 2013, and from 2016 to 2022.

A person knowledgeable of the ICC probe said she could be issued a “summons” by the ICC. If she would not comply with the summons, she would be issued a warrant of arrest.

This is the first time the name of Sara was mentioned in the documents relevant to the ICC investigation.

‘Ridiculous,’ SC says on drug war records as ‘national security’

Published by Ellen on June 6, 2021

Several times, President Rodrigo Duterte has proudly taken responsibility for the killings in his bloody campaign against illegal drugs. It goes without saying, therefore, that the prosecution of the drug-related killings would have to reach his level.

If he thinks that citing “national security” will save him and the top officials who implemented his war on drugs, including his first police chief, now Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, from being accountable for all those killings, he is wrong.

The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) already used that line in the 2018 case of Aileen Almora, et al. Vs. Director General Ronald Dela Rosa, et al./Sr. Ma. Juanita R. Daño, et al. Vs. The Philippine National Police, et al. and the Supreme Court vehemently rejected it.
The Supreme Court’s words: “It is simply ridiculous to claim that these information and documents on police operations against drug pushers and users involve national security matter.”

Why does DOJ need PNP consent to probe cops in drug war?

Published by Ellen on May 30, 2021

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra is very grateful and called it a “very significant milestone” because it “did not happen in previous years.”

This is no different from President Duterte thanking China for allowing Filipino fishermen to fish in the area of Scarborough Shoal, a Philippine territory. But that’s another topic that requires a separate discussion.

This so-called “very significant milestone” came after a meeting with newly installed PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar who said this is being done to dispel allegations that they are hiding facts on the killings from the public to protect the law enforcers involved in carrying out Duterte’s brutal banner program that has elicited international concern and condemnation.

No one is biting the bait, especially the families of the victims and their lawyers.

Guevarra’s speech reveals concern on ICC probe of Duterte

Published by Ellen on March 7, 2021

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra (inset) addressed the U.N.Human Rights Council.

Despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s bravado that he is not worried about the complaints of crimes against humanity filed before the International Criminal Court (ICC) against him and officials involved in the government’s bloody drug war, the speech of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra before the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) last Feb. 24 betrayed the administration’s concern about it.

Toward the end of Guevarra’s speech delivered online, he enumerated what the Philippine government has done on the human rights aspect of Duterte’s brutal war on drugs. He said: “The PH strongly emphasizes its legal and judicial system, its domestic accountability mechanisms are functioning as they should. We reject any attempt by any external entity to assume jurisdiction over internal matters which are being addressed more than adequately by our national institutions and authorities.”

Are they concerned that outgoing ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda’s report expected to come out before the end of her term on June 15 would recommend investigation of the more than 50 communications that her office had been examining since 2018 and from which it has found “reasonable basis to believe” that crimes against humanity were committed in Duterte’s drug war?

What’s next for those high-profile inmates who ‘died’ of Covid-19?

Published by Ellen on July 21, 2020

Doubts that were raised in reaction to news reports about the death of nine high-profile inmates of the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa due to Covid-19 reflect on the zero credibility of the agency that has been embroiled in a number of scandals, the most recent of which was the “freedom for sale” scheme.

News reports said among those who died and whose body was immediately cremated was Jaybee Sebastian, a government witness and also a co-respondent in the drug trafficking cases filed against Sen. Leila de Lima.

Others who were reported to have died due to Covid-19 were Benjamin Marcelo, leader of Chinese inmates at NBP; Zhang Zhu Li, Jimmy Kinsing Hung, Francis Go, Jimmy Yang, Eugene Chua, Ryan Ong and Amin Imam Buratong, convicted operator of the shabu tiangge in Pasig City in 2009.

More on Bato visa ban and ARIA

Published by Ellen on December 15, 2019

Senate President Vicente Sotto and Sen. Ronald Bato de la Rosa watch the Pacquiao-Thurman fight in a movie house in Makati in July 2019. Permission granted by Inquirer.net for the use of this photo by Neil Arwin Mercado.

Remember this photo of Senate President Tito Sotto and Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa watching the Las Vegas fight between Senate colleague Manny Pacquiao and American boxer Keith Thurman fight at a theater in Rockwell last July?

We wondered then why de la Rosa, who was investigated by the Ombudsman for accepting an all-expenses paid trip to watch the Pacquiao-Jesse Vargas fight in Las Vegas in November 2016 when he was police chief, opted to stay in Manila when President Duterte cleared him of any wrongdoing. (In fairness to the former police chief, he also skipped the Pacquiao -Jeff Horn fight in Brisbane, Australia in July 2017.)

A source told us that De la Rosa actually wanted to watch the Pacquiao-Thurman fight but his United States visa was cancelled in connection with The Asia Reassurance Initiative Act (ARIA).

Leni’s questions – a statement on the government’s drug war

Published by Ellen on November 29, 2019

Vice President Leni Robredo: comforting the afflicted, afflicting the comfortable, especially those with a lot of rot to hide.

Ngayon ang tanong ko: Ano bang kinatatakutan ninyo?
Ano ba ang kinatatakutan ninyong malaman ko?
Ano ba ang kinatatakutan ninyong malaman ng taumbayan?

Now my question: what are you afraid of?
What are you afraid of me to know?
What are you afraid of knowing the people?

With those questions, Vice President Leni Robredo painted to the public the real problem in the Duterte government’s battle against illegal drugs which has not shown signs of decreasing despite the loss of more than 20,000 lives (government will admit to only about 6,000).

Robredo asked the question after he was fired by Duterte as co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs late evening of Sunday for reasons that Malacañang has muddled in its nine-page statement.
In one paragraph, the statement said, it was “in response to the suggestion of Liberal Party President, Senator Francis Pangilinan, to just fire the Vice President from her post” and to the “taunt and dare of VP Robredo for the President to just tell her that he wants her out.”

That’s childish.

Go’s statements betray reservations about Robredo’s drug czar role

Published by Ellen on November 11, 2019

If Vice President Leni Robredo succeeds in dismantling the illegal drugs network and reducing the menace without the killings that have characterized President Duterte’s failed drug war, it would be a slap on Duterte’s much vaunted iron hand strategy.

Vice President Leni Robredo holds press conference with ICAD co-chair PDEA chief Aaron Aquino

Sen. Bong Go’s statements betray this concern even as he expressed “full support”for her as c-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) together with the head of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

In his press release after his visit to Leyte to witness the groundbreaking ceremony of housing projects for typhoon Yolanda victims in Tanauan and to give aid to fire victims in Tacloban Nov 8, Go took exception to Robredo’s statement about no killing of innocent lives in the drug war.

Gordon’s friendly warning as Duterte continues to promote culture of killing

Published by Ellen on October 22, 2019

President Rodrigo Duterte awards a medal on then Ozamiz City police chief Jovie Espenido during the 116th anniversary of the police service at Camp Crame, Aug. 9, 2017. Photo from the Philippine Star.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, in his attempt to explain President Duterte’s alarming order to newly promoted Police Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido to go to Bacolod City in Negros Oriental and “feel free to kill everybody” said it was an exaggeration to emphasize a point.
He also said the President might have just suggested a “shortcut.”

“Shortcut” is most disturbing and that is not assuaged by his assurance that the Philippine National Police still follow the law.
In a speech at the 45th Philippine Business conference and expo at the Manila Hotel Oct. 17, Duterte again talked about his favorite topic- illegal drugs- and repeated his quarrel with human rights groups, who condemn the extra judicial killings.

Truth catches up with Duterte’s controversial drug war on drugs

Published by Ellen on October 7, 2019

Senate hearing on Good Conduct Time Allowance law. Extreme right iin police officers’s uniform is PNP Chief Oscar Albayalde. Extreme left is Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, former chief of the PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.

It is poetic justice that President Duterte’s brutal drug war, on which he built his presidency, is unraveling not because of the efforts of those who oppose it but because of the greed and impunity of the people that he trusted to carry it out.

The hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chaired by Sen. Richard Gordon started with the investigation of the anomalous implementation of the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law which almost set free heinous crime convict Antonio Sanchez, former Calauan mayor who raped and killed a UP Los Baños student and her male friend in June 1993. The initial hearings exposed the incompetence of Bureau of Corrections officials led by former Marines officer Nicanor Faeldon, who is eternally trusted by Duterte.

One of the resource persons called by Gordon was Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong, former chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, to share the findings of the investigation his office conducted in 2014 when Sen. Leila de Lima, who is currently in prison on unproven illegal drugs charges , was justice secretary under the administration of Benigno Aquino III. The probe showed that It was discovered that some inmates continued to run their illegal drug operation from inside the prison.