‘We won’t be cowed, disheartened’

MANILA, Philippines - Under fire from human rights groups and the international community, President Duterte vowed to continue his “unrelenting and unremitting” campaign against illegal drugs as he renewed his call for Congress to revive the death penalty for heinous crimes.

“I have resolved that no matter how long it takes, the fight against illegal drugs will continue because that is the root cause of so much evil and so much suffering that weakens the social fabric and deters foreign investments from pouring in. The fight will be unremitting as it will be unrelenting,” the President said in his second State of the Nation Address yesterday before a joint session of Congress.

In the two-hour-long speech, the President also vowed not to give in to pressure from local and international human rights groups, which have criticized the vicious conduct of his war on drugs.

“Despite international and local pressures, the fight will not stop until those who deal in it understand that they have to cease, they have to stop because the alternatives are either jail or hell,” he said.

“And I will make sure, very sure, that they will not have the luxury of enjoying the benefits of their greed and madness,” he added.

He stressed that he has no intention of slowing down in his campaign to go after or eliminate those engaged in the illegal drug trade.

“I do not intend to loosen the leash in the campaign or lose the fight against illegal drugs. Neither do I intend to preside over the destruction of the Filipino youth by being timid and tentative in my decisions and actions,” he stressed.

He called on critics – especially human rights advocates – to shift their efforts to educating the youth about the evils of illegal drugs.

“To the critics against this fight, your efforts will be better spent if you use the influence, moral authority and ascendancy of your organizations over your respective sectors to educate the people on the evils of illegal drugs instead of condemning the authorities and unjustly blaming them for every killing that bloodies this country,” the President said.

But he emphasized he values human life. “Don’t get me wrong. I value human life the way I value mine. Each life that is snuffed out translates into future generations lost. It is like cracking the acorn from which an oak tree grows – which, in turn, produces the seeds to complete the cycle of life in perpetuity,” he said.

He likened criminals to beasts and vultures roaming the wilderness in search of prey.

“There is a jungle out there. There are beasts and vultures preying on the helpless, the innocent, the unsuspecting,” Duterte said.

“I will not allow the ruin of the youth, the disintegration of families and the retrogression of communities, forced by criminals whose greed for money is as insatiable as it is devoid of moral purpose,” he pointed out.

Duterte declared nothing and no one could drive him into inaction, even the prospect of greater public condemnation or even legal prosecution.

“You harm the children in whose hands the future of this Republic is entrusted, and I will hound you to the very gates of hell. That is why I ask you to join me in this fight against illegal drugs and all forms of criminality,” he said.

He also said he was carrying out his campaign against drugs alongside efforts to forge a lasting peace with Muslim rebels in Mindanao. He said his declaration of martial law was meant to help his administration speed up peace and recovery in Mindanao.

“I have learned that economy surges only when there is peace and order prevailing in places where investors can pour their capital and expertise. I have learned from my experience in Davao City that investor confidence [is] bolstered and fortified only if a potent force and mechanism for protection of local and foreign investments are in place,” he said.

Duterte, who got flak from the United States government under the Obama administration as well from the United Nations and the European Union, said there is no stopping him from doing what it takes to stop the drug menace.

Duterte said the government with its legal authority, and critics with their moral ascendancy over the sector they represent, can work together to eradicate the scourge of drugs.

“Look beyond your biases, your prejudices, your ambition and your political agenda. The search for change will begin and end only when we look into ourselves and find it within,” he said.

The President explained that the country is beset with a “multitude of problems” that can be best addressed through cooperation between the government and the private sector.

“No sooner is one problem solved when another surges forth in its place. But we will not be disheartened, we will not be cowed, we will not be overwhelmed,” he said.

“It is during trying times and troubled events that the resilience, perseverance and determination of the people are tested. The Filipino is no stranger or neophyte to situations like the one we face today,” he said.

“We can, and we will, overcome as we did countless times in the past, [but] only if we work together towards a common goal,” he added.

Death penalty

In pushing for the reimposition of the death penalty, Duterte said the measure was about “retribution” as much as deterrence.

“I ask Congress to act on legislation to reimpose the death penalty on heinous crimes, especially illegal drug trafficking,” he said.

“In the Philippines, it is really an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. You took a life, you must pay it to die. That is the only way to get even,” he said.

The House of Representatives this year passed a bill to bring back the death penalty, but the Senate has yet to approve it.

Duterte swept to victory in last year’s presidential elections after promising an unprecedented crackdown on drugs in which tens of thousands of people would die.

Since he took office on June 30 last year, police have reported killing nearly 3,200 people in the drug war.

More than 2,000 other people have been killed in drug-related crimes, according to police data. Rights groups say many of those victims have been killed by vigilante death squads linked to the government.

Facing the media after his SONA, President Duterte said he would seek the abolition of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), especially if it continues conducting probes on military and police personnel involved in the killing of drug offenders.

The President lamented the CHR’s refusal to investigate human rights abuses committed by criminals. The CHR’s mandate is to investigate abuses of civilians committed by government personnel, especially policemen and soldiers.

“And CHR when the time comes, you better abolish. I will not allow my men to go there and be investigated,” he declared.

The President said that should the CHR want to conduct any probe on the military or the police, it should be coursed through him.

“CHR, if you investigate them, course it through me. Course everything to me. Pass everything to me and address to me, attention through the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government),” he said.

The same procedure should be followed by the Office of the Ombudsman. “Babanggain ko kayo,” the President said.

Duterte said the CHR should investigate the ambush of the Presidential Security Group and the attack on six policemen in Negros Oriental.

“CHR, you investigate first the ambush of the PSG and the police. What is sauce for the gander is sauce for the goose. You have not investigated yet,” the President added.

“If you can’t investigate those killed by the terrorists including those who ambushed my PSG then you have no right to investigate my soldiers and cops,” Duterte told reporters.

He even threatened to slap CHR chairman Chito Gascon and tie him to a post to serve as target for shooting practice by soldiers. – Ben Serrano, AFP