File case vs Duterte, don't pass burden to EJK victims' kin, gov't urged

It should be the government and not the families of those who died in the drug war that should file charges against former President Rodrigo Duterte, a former lawmaker said Wednesday.

In a press conference, Bayan Muna chairperson Neri Colmenares said that since 2016, relatives of the drug war victims have been seeking official documents to prove the cause of death of their deceased loved ones so they could file the case themselves.

However, he said the government did not take action to support their move.

"'Wag naman sana natin ilagay sa balikat ng mga kaanak ng biktima ang budren na mag-file ng kaso. Matagal na nilang gusto 'yan, hindi talaga sila binigyan ng pagkakataon [na makakuha ng mga] police report, blotter, SOCO (Scene of the Crime Operations) report," Colmenares said.

(Let's not put the burden of filing a case on the shoulders of the victims' family. They have wanted to do so for a long time, but they were never really given a chance to get copies of the police report, blotter, SOCO report.)

"Ang gobyerno dapat mag-isip niyan at sinisisi namin ang gobyerno bakit humantong sa ganito. Dahil ang gobyerno ang nag-deprive sa mga nanay at sa mga kaanak ng mga ebidensya," he added.

(The government should be the one thinking about that and we blame the government. We're in this situation because the government deprived the victims' mothers and relatives of the evidence.)

GMA News Online has requested comment from the Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding the matter, but it has yet to respond as of posting time.

Leaders of the House Quad Committee (QuadComm) on Tuesday also said the DOJ should file criminal charges against Duterte, following his remarks during Monday's Senate blue ribbon subcommittee hearing.

During the hearing, the former President said that he would take "full, legal responsibility" on the war on drugs, despite being firm that he would not apologize for the bloody campaign.

Duterte also said he was wondering why the DOJ has not yet filed criminal charges against him, saying that he has been killing people for a long time.

He and other top officials of his administration are already being investigated by the International Criminal Court in connection with the alleged commission of crimes against humanity for systematic drug war deaths in police operations during his tenure.

These deaths reached around 6,000 based on police records, but human rights groups contend that the deaths reached as much as 30,000, including vigilante killings, due to Duterte's policy. — VDV, GMA Integrated News