MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte's outrage over her chief of staff's detention shows how the Duterte family continues to behave as if they are above the law, civil society groups said Mondaypinaswin88, November 25.
Noting Duterte's reactions over her aide's fate, such as breach of House rules, profanity-laced statements and death threats against the president, human rights advocates said her actions mirror the behavior of her father, Rodrigo Duterte, while president. The elder Duterte's administration was characterized by his late-night tirades and contempt for legal processes.
"It's all about impunity. It's all about hubris. Dahil masyado silang sanay na sila ay nag-hahari-harian (Because they are too used to acting like our overlords)," former Senator Leila de Lima said at the launch of the Duterte Panagutin Network on Monday.
The coalition, made up of lawyers, rights advocates, religious leaders, and families of drug war victims, seeks to extract accountability not just for the drug war killings under Duterte. They also want to root out what they describe as the Dutertes' brand of leadership in Philippine politics.
The timing of the coalition's launch coincides with what its organizers see as "signs of continued impunity from the vice president," who recently defied authorities by interfering with the House's detainment of her chief-of-staff, Zuleika Lopez.
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"I call that pure drama. [Lopez] was just detained for a few days, and [Duterte] is already complaining excessively, making all sorts of scenes," De Lima said in mixed English and Filipino.
"They jailed me for nearly seven years, did you see me throw a fit?" De Lima said.
Teddy Casiño, former congressman and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) chairperson, drew a direct connection between the elder Duterte's profanity-laced remarks and his daughter's public meltdown.
"The events of the past week reveal how Sara Duterte acts not just as an entitled brat or a squid but as a carbon copy of her father," the former lawmaker said.
Both De Lima and Casiño called for an end to the Dutertes' use of public platforms to wreak havoc in government.
"What will happen next year if they and their cohorts are still there, especially in 2028? I think we should not allow that," De Lima said.
Casiño warned that failing to hold Rodrigo Duterte accountable only emboldens successors to replicate his abuses. "Failing to hold him accountable paves the way for others — especially his daughter Sara — to repeat his actions," he said.
"The continued violations of the law by Duterte and his daughter Sara show the complete failure of government agencies to hold the highest officials of the land accountable," he added.
What went before. Duterte over the weekend threatened to have Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez assassinated if she herself is killed.
The vice president's incendiary remarks against her political opponents were delivered during a late-night press conference where she vented over the House's continued detainment of Lopez.
Lopez was ordered detained last week after she was cited for contempt during the House good government panel's inquiry into the Office of the Vice President's use of confidential funds. She drew the ire of lawmakers for her attempt to ask the Commission on Audit to withhold key documents from the committee related to the OVP's confidential expenses.
The vice president has since walked back on her threat and said it was a hypothetical statement due to security concerns.
Duterte's remarks are now being probed by the Department of Justice, which said through the Presidential Communications Office that it could lead to the filing of charges against her.
Meanwhile, National Bureau of Investigation Director Jaime Santiago said in a radio interview on Monday that while they are probing Duterte's remarks, they have not arrested her "out of respect" and will issue a subpoena if needed.
Rights advocates on Monday said this shows the Marcos administration's selective application of the law.
Karapatan Secretary-General Cristina Palabay highlighted this double standard by citing the case of teacher Ronnel Mas, who was arrested without a warrant in 2020 after tweeting about a cash reward for killing then-President Duterte. The case against Mas has since been dismissed.
"Compared to the person who threatened President Marcos' life last Saturday, Ronnel Mas was suddenly rushed by the police to his house, arrested, and detained for a long time for exercising his freedom of expression," Palabay said.
Lawyer Dino de Leon of the Free Legal Assistance Group lawyer warned that failing to prosecute the Dutertes would lead to more "permutations" of their brand of leadership.
"Our institutions will again be weak and cannot withstand another populist president," he said, adding that weak institutions make the public vulnerable to strongman figures.
Krissy Conti of the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers said this pattern of selective justice has deep roots in the country. Quoting a mother of a drug war victim, Conti said: "The problem is that the law is not ours."
"The lawyers and victims joining the [Duterte Panagutin Network] are here to show that the law should be neutral," Conti said.
"At kahit hindi man atin ang batas, sa kahuli hulihan, dapat saatin ang hustisya (And even if the law may not be ours, in the end, justice should be on our side)," Conti added.
The network announced plans to reconvene on December 7, ahead of International Human Rights Day.
The Dutertes' drug warDuring his presidency, the elder Duterte had repeatedly admitted to ordering killings in his hometown, at one point saying that killings during his term as mayor were an "investment" to make the city peaceful.
RELATED: Duterte: 'You have to kill to make your city peaceful'
Rodrigo Duterte also said in a radio interview in 2015 that he had personally killed at least three individuals suspected of kidnapping and rape in Davao City, as reported by international news outlets BBC, Al Jazeera and local news outlet ABS-CBN News.
The former president recently admitted to running a death squad in Davao City. He also admitted to encouraging police personnel to egg on drug suspects so they would fight back and given cops an excuse to shoot them dead.
Meanwhile, Sara Duterte is also a respondent in the ICC case concerning her alleged approval of drug war killings during her term as Davao City mayor. She has denied these accusations.
At least 6,252 were killed in anti-drug operations under the Duterte administrationpinaswin88, according to data released by the government. But rights groups say that up to 30,000 may have been killed, including innocent victims.