MANILA (UCAN): The Catholic Social Action Group in the Diocese Legaspi, Albay province, the Philippines, together with the Akbayan partylist, criticised newly installed police chief, General Rodolfo Azurin, for vowing to continue the deadly war on drugs of former president, Rodrigo Duterte
The groups said on August 10 that Azurin’s vow revealed the position of the new president, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the alleged human rights violation of his predecessor.
General Azurin said he would sustain the war on drugs because he realised its value and significance in safeguarding the public from criminals.
“I emphasise that our war on drugs shall be relentlessly continued regardless of who gets hurt and who gets caught. We have already reaped the benefits of having a peaceful, more orderly society because of it… so we must sustain it,” Azurin told fellow policemen on August 4 at Camp Crame in Quezon City, Manila.
The social action group said, “The Chief of Police’s statement that he would continue the war on drugs is the preamble of the drug war policy of President Marcos. He is no different from President Duterte who has allegedly killed an average of 30,000 individuals without giving them due process of law.”
The Philipine police chief also said he would expand the partnership of the police force with other government agencies. “We will intensify our efforts and our coordination with other government agencies like the Bureau of Customs and the Department of Justice, among others. We need the helping hand of other agencies in the government if we want to combat this great enemy,” Azurin said.
The Duterte-Marcos tandem in the last election should tell us a lot. It was more than for election purposes. It is to protect two political clans from any accountability while they were in public office
However, Akbayan said that Azurin’s policy, should not surprise human rights advocates, with Akbayan member Cynthia De Castro saying, “Why are we surprised? We should not be. This is part of the deal when former Davao City mayor, now vice president, Sara Duterte, agreed to run with former lawmaker, now president, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos. They need to protect each other, particularly in human rights violations. Isn’t this clear?”
De Castro said Marcos’ protection of Duterte would not only extend to his drug war campaign but shield him from any pending liability.
“The Duterte-Marcos tandem in the last election should tell us a lot. It was more than for election purposes. It is to protect two political clans from any accountability while they were in public office,” De Castro added.
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On August 2, Marcos Jr. drew world criticism when he announced that the Philippines “has no intention of rejoining the ICC [International Criminal Court]. We’re saying that there is already an investigation going on here and it’s continuing, so why would there be one like that in the ICC?”
He said, “We have a functioning judiciary, and that’s why I don’t see the need for a foreigner to come and do the job for us. Our judicial system is perfectly capable of doing that.”
Human rights advocate Father Flavie Villanueva, said that Marcos’ statement showed he was afraid that the ICC would not only uncover Duterte’s human rights violations but also those of his family.
“Why is he afraid of the ICC investigation if he has nothing to hide? He thinks that Philippine courts are competent but we all know how the president could exert influence in our justice system,” Father Villanueva said.
