ON SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, Fil-Am group U.S. Pinoys for Real Change (USPRC) held a prayer vigil in front of the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. to declare its support for Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s all out war against the drug pandemic in the Philippines, while making sure the Duterte administration follows the rule of law, due process and accountability.
In my interview on The Filipino Channel’s daily newscast “Balitang America” with Atty. Arnedo Valera, acting chairman of USPRC, I asked him if he believes the rule of law and due process was followed in the more than 2,400 drug-related fatalities since Duterte took office.
Valera explained:
“The president/PNP and the military were ordered to use force only in self-defense and shoot in self-defense. Generals and other police scalawags are being investigated and cases will be filed; Non-state actors referring to drug lords, pushers and vigilantes who are now engaged in summary executions among and between them to cover their bases are being arrested and prosecuted.”
Valera asserted that the USPRC will also act as a watchdog, saying “to make sure that while we support the drug war to save our nation, especially women and children, we will continue to demand accounting of both undetermined deaths and deaths in the encounter and self-defense. Calling for the full support of the drug war is consistent [with our stand] that it should be done under the rule of law.”
Valera is also a human rights advocate with strong ties with the United Nations. He affirmed, “As a human rights advocate, I will demand transparency and respect for these principles. Unlike extrajudicial killings during the Marcos dictatorship to stifle legitimate dissent, killings today are perpetrated by drug lords, pushers and addicts, and of course deaths in self-defense . If there are evidence to the contrary, then the citizenry should be encouraged to come out and cooperate with the government.”
He went on to urge kababayans to not presume that the PNP and the military are killers entirely. “If there are excesses, yes we should condemn them. The Rule of law and due process are non-negotiable and we gave specific demands on this, aside from supporting the peace talks, programs for food, jobs and justice etc.”
Will you heed this call for unity and support for Duterte’s all-out war vs drugs?
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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos
