(Eagle News) — Lawmakers said it was ignorant and not prudent for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to label President Rodrigo Duterte as a murderer, including his call for the Philippine government to probe its own president.
Senator Panfilo Lacson and Kabayan Rep. Harry Roque, in separate statements, criticized the UN High Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein saying he does not seem to know the Philippine Constitution because of his conclusion.
Both Lacson and Roque also cited the fundamental principles of criminal law on the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty.
“The violence plaguing our nation is deplorable and needs to be addressed immediately. However, it is one thing to promote the rule of law, and another to label leaders as criminals,” Roque said.
He also said that with the UN High Commissioner’s statement appeared to be a prejudgment of the situation in the Philippines.
“Does the UN still expect to be welcomed to investigate the facts on the ground when the High Commissioner has made statements that appear to prejudge the scenario?” said Roque.
“We are currently facing a deadlock that can only be resolved through greater prudence and diligence. However, being vigilant should not make us overly eager,” Roque added.
Senator Lacson, in a statement, said that UN High Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein does not seem to be familiar with the Philippine Constitution which not only assures immunity from suit for an incumbent President, but also places high regard on the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
“First, our president enjoys immunity from suit during his term,” the senator said.
“Second, no matter how many times a person in our country admits having committed murder, as long as there is no other evidence to corroborate his extra judicial confession, the case cannot stand in any court of law,” he added.
Lacson said the UN High Commissioner can “shout to high heavens to investigate the president but unfortunately for him, he can’t get past that call.”
Roque, meanwhile, said Zeid and other members of the international community, and the Filipinos as well should be assured that the Philippine government is working “tirelessly to improve the state of the nation.”
In his statement on Tuesday, Zeid said the killings committed by Duterte when he was still Davao City mayor, “clearly constitute murder.”
“The Philippines judicial authorities must demonstrate their commitment to upholding the rule of law and their independence from the executive by launching a murder investigation,” he said in a statement.
“It should be unthinkable for any functioning judicial system not to launch investigative and judicial proceedings when someone has openly admitted being a killer,” Zeid added.
-Legitimate police operations-
Malacanang has said that these killings occurred during “legitimate police operations.”
The President has said that when he was still a mayor of Davao City he would join police operations against criminals.
“Again, let me just remind one and all, that the incident referred to by the president was actually covered by media and it was (a) legitimate police action,” presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said Wednesday.
Duterte recounted how in 1988, early in the first of his several terms as mayor of the southern city of Davao, he and local police ambushed and killed three suspected kidnappers.
-Shootout with hostage taker-
He said that this was during the shoot-outs against hostage-takers in various occasions in the 1980s.
“It was actually an event that was covered by the TV and all. It was about the hostage-taking. One day, I decided to return to the victim. I was already there waiting for them and it was covered by all the television networks in Davao,” Duterte said previously during an interview with reporters on December 16 in Singapore.
He said that this was a hostage-taking incident where he organized a police operation to rescue a woman who was kidnapped and taken to Cotabato as a hostage.
He explained that as the kidnappers were passing through an area where he had positioned shooters, he saw a gun pointed at their direction, and after making sure the hostage was safe, ordered government forces to shoot the criminals.
He said he joined in the shooting, but he isn’t even sure if his bullets hit anyone.
