Duterte liable for drug war deaths by taking ‘full, legal’ responsibility —Luistro

Former President Rodrigo Duterte is liable for conspiracy to commit a crime by taking responsibility for the drug war killings during his presidency, Batangas Representative Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro and former Justice secretary Leila de Lima said Wednesday.

Luistro and De Lima made the assertion amid Duterte’s repeated statements that he takes "full, legal responsibility" for the war on drugs and its consequences, including the thousands of Filipinos killed as a result.

“For enlightening us with your statement that you are taking full legal responsibility to all the victims of war on drugs, both legal and illegal...it is my humble submission, Mr. Chair, that the former President can be considered liable for all these crimes under the theory of conspiracy being a principal by inducement,” Luistro said during the House QuadComm probe on the drug war killings during the Duterte administration.

“I wish to manifest, Mr. Chair, that without the order, without the reward, these police operatives should not have resulted o killing a huge number of victims of war on drugs,” she added.

Duterte disagreed with Luistro’s argument, saying that there should be presumption of regularity when it comes to police operations.

“I beg to disagree with your premise, Madam. The police are supposed to do his duty. He goes to school for two years, receives instructions how to go about his duty. And we have to give the presumption of regularity. That's the principle of law,” Duterte said.

Luistro then asked Duterte if his statement of taking full legal responsibility both to legal and illegal activities in the drug war is tantamount to an extrajudicial confession of guilt. Duterte answered in the affirmative.

“Yes, because I ordered the campaign against the drug syndicate. At kung anong ginagawa nila, whether illegal or not, ako ang nag-uutos. In that sense, I take that responsibility of their actions. Wala akong magawa eh, commander ako, nag-utos ako, puntahanin niyo ‘yan,” Duterte said.

(Whatever they did, illegal or not, I gave the order. I cannot do anything about that, I gave the order for them to go there.) 

“Just like a commander, or not a military, or a police, inutusan mo. Pag may nangyari diyan, magkabuliyaso, whether right or wrong, iyo yan. Iyo talaga ‘yan. Hindi mo iiwanan ‘yung tao na inutusan mo,” Duterte added.

(I gave the order. If something bad happens, that's on me. You won't abandon the people you gave orders to.)

  Duterte, however, clarified that he will not vouch for crooked police officials.

"Unless, ‘yung pumunta doon [na] inutusan mo mag-operate [nag] illegal gambling o droga, tapos nang-rape, kung anong ginagawa ng kabulastugan, ako na mismo ang papatay,” Duterte added.

(Unless, if those people you sent to operate committed illegal gambling, or drugs, then raped, whatever crime, I'll kill them myself.)

'Maling pag-iisip'

De Lima, for her part, stressed that Duterte’s repeated statements that he takes “full legal and moral responsibility” will never absolve the police of the criminal liability of murder.

“If the former President thinks that the police who followed his illegal orders of kill, kill, kill, will be absolved of liability because of his statement, mali pong pag-iisip ‘yun [that's wrong thinking]. No matter how many times, a thousand times that the President says he takes full responsibility, hindi pa rin pwede makalusot at maabswelto ‘yung mga gumawa, sumunod sa kanyang kill orders [those who followed his kill orders cannot be absolved of guilt and should not be allowed to slip away],” De Lima said.

However, she added, Duterte remained the principal by supposedly ordering and "inducing" the police to kill.

“While iyong pumatay mismo ang may personal guilt [such as] the gunman, hitman, assassin, there is also principle of conspiracy. ‘Yung dating Pangulo, dating Mayor, siya ang malinaw na principal [in the conspiracy] by inducement because he ordered, he solicited, he induced ‘yung mga pagpatay. So he is definitely principal by inducement. Sinunod ka, nagkaroon ng mga principal [They obeyed you, so there is a principal] by direct participation. [And] when it comes to conspiracy, the act of one is the act of all,” she added.

(While the person who killed such as the gunman, hitman, assassin has personal guilt, there is also the principle of conspiracy. The former president, former mayor, is the clear principal by inducement because he ordered, he solicited, he induced the killings. ) — BM, GMA Integrated News