President Rodrigo Duterte reiterated that he was prepared to go to prison for killings in connection with his brutal war on illegal drugs. AP/Bullit Marquez
MANILA, Philippines - President Duterte is unfazed by moves to hale him before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity.
“Don’t scare me on human rights. I know what I’m doing,” Duterte said last night at the PDP-Laban anniversary celebration in Pasay City.
Duterte reiterated that he was prepared to go to prison for killings in connection with his brutal war on illegal drugs.
This developed as the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs is expected not to pin down Duterte on alleged extrajudicial killings when he was still mayor of Davao City and may even compel people to have evidence before they claim to be participants to or witnesses of crimes.
The committee chaired by Sen. Panfilo Lacson may come out this week with its report on the testimony of retired Senior Police Officer 3 Arthur Lascañas, who tagged Duterte as the mastermind in the killing of broadcaster Jun Pala and hundreds of other people using the Davao death squad (DDS).
“I think there’ll be only one recommendation, that is to increase the penalty for perjury to make it commensurate to the punishment that should have been imposed or was imposed on the person you falsely accused,” Lacson said in an interview over dzBB.
Lacson’s committee conducted an inquiry on Lascañas’ claims but held only one hearing after many senators questioned his credibility and motives in accusing Duterte of involvement in extrajudicial killings, with Lascañas as one of the gunmen or DDS conspirators.
The senator indicated the report may be brief and take into account Lascañas’ recantation of his testimony last Oct. 3 before the Senate committee on justice that was investigating extrajudicial killings under the Duterte administration.
Lacson said in his recommendation, if one falsely accuses another of a crime that, for example, is punishable by life imprisonment, that same penalty should be imposed on the perjurer.
He cited Supreme Court rulings on Tamargo vs. Awingan in 2010, and in 2011 on People of the Philippines vs. Felipe Mirandilla Jr. that before a conspirator’s testimony can be considered useful, there should be other evidence to prove it, and that the confession was made when the conspiracy was happening.
“There is nothing to support his (Lascañas) extrajudicial confession independently,” Lacson said.
He said the senators did not find Lascañas credible because there was no apparent pressure on him when he testified last year and denied and dismissed the existence of the DDS as “media hype.”
Lascañas also cleared Duterte of any involvement in extrajudicial killings when he was mayor of Davao City in his first Senate testimony.
Lacson said nothing prevents Lascañas anyway from running to the Commission on Human Rights, the Philippine National Police or even the International Criminal Court and other foreign human rights bodies to press his allegations against Duterte.
He also said senators backing Lascañas should have stopped the adjournment of the hearing if they wanted to continue.
Lacson pointed out Senators Antonio Trillanes IV, Risa Hontiveros, Francis Pangilinan and Paolo Benigno Aquino IV did not object when Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III moved for the adjournment of the hearing.
“I asked whether there were any objections – there was none even if they were all there,” he said.
The senator expressed strong belief that Lascañas was being used to destabilize the administration with his rounds of media interviews.
He said Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, who is Lascañas’ handler, also told the Senate hearing that his target audience for the inquiry was the people and the international community.
“We weren’t born yesterday. This whole thing includes destabilization,” Lacson said.
The senator also dismissed the claims of Lascañas and Trillanes that there are more witnesses willing to testify.
He said the floating of possible new witnesses could just be a “psy-war” to induce people to come forward.
Lacson said the supposed new witnesses should come out and execute affidavits first before the Senate will vote as a body to decide whether or not to hear them.
Lascañas surfaced last Feb. 20 at the Senate for a “public confession,” or a tell-all on the killings he had allegedly witnessed or participated in upon the direct or indirect orders of Duterte, after a “spiritual renewal” around October 2015 when he survived a kidney transplant.
Source: http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/03/13/1680630/dont-scare-me-human-rights