MANILA, Philippines – Iginiit ni dating Senator Leila de Lima na si dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte ang mastermind sa extrajudicial killings (EJKs).
Ang pahayag ay ginawa ni de Lima sa isinasagawang imbestigasyon ng House Committee on Human Rights kaugnay sa drug-related EJK noong nakaraang administrasyon.
“There is no doubt in my mind that former President Rodrigo Duterte is the mastermind, as he was the instigator and inducer of the drug war killings. The drug war was implemented as an official Duterte program of government when he assumed office as President,” pahayag ni De Lima.
Si de Lima na, kritiko ni Duterte ay matatandaang nakulong ng ilang taon bago napawalang sala dahil sa bintang na sangkot sa illegal drugs.
Sa kanyang opening statement sa nasabing pagdinig sinabi ni de Lima na ang drug war ng Duterte administration ay ipinatupad sa ilalim ng Oplan Double Barrel ng Philippine National Police (PNP).
“These killings were intentionally and deliberately carried out as part and parcel of Oplan Double Barrel upon Duterte’s orders as President and Chief Executive from 2016 to 2022″ ani de Lima.
Ani de Lima ang drug war ni Duterte ay nagsimula pa noong ito ay alkalde ng Davao City sa ilalim naman ng binuong Davao Death Squad (DDS).
“The 2016 to 2022 drug war is a mere offshoot of the DDS experience in Davao. What happened was that the systematic [EJKs] perpetrated by then-Mayor Duterte and the PNP of Davao were replicated at the national level when Duterte assumed the presidency.” ani de Lima.
Ang gumagawa umano ng pagpatay ay mga assassination squads na binubuo ng mga aktibong pulis at civilian hitmen.
“These squads were responsible for the systematic identification and execution of targets, often under the guise of police operations or by so-called “riding-in-tandem” vigilantes” paliwanag ni de Lima.
Ipinaliwanag ni de Lima na mahalaga ang testimonya ng dalawang DDS member na sina Edgar Matobato at Arturo Lascañas, aniya, noong 2016 ay nais nyang maiprisinta si Matobato sa Senado at ito ang dahilan kung bakit sya natanggal bilang Chairman ng Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights.
Si Lascañas ay testigo na ng International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation kaugnay sa EJK.
Iginiit ni de Lima ang kahalagahanng ICC investigation partikular ang Office of the Prosecutor (OTP).
“We fervently await the application by the OTP and the issuance by the ICC pretrial chamber of warrants of arrest, hopefully within the year,” pagtatapos pa ni de Lima. Gail Mendoza
