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In June 2019, the Philippine police conducted an undercover operation against two suspected drug dealers in the suburbs of Manila.
During the operation, the authorities claimed that the suspect had a gun battle with them, shot a police officer in the neck and killed him. Two suspects were also shot dead.
The daughter of a suspect, a three-year-old child was involved in the crossfire. She was shot in the head and later died in the hospital. The police said she was used as a “human shield” by her father. But the child’s mother disputed the report, saying that when the police started shooting, her family was asleep and her husband was unarmed. She later filed a murder charge with the police.
When the incident happened, Ronald dela Rosa had just taken up the Senate seat.He had previously served as the chief of police of President Rodrigo Duterte and the supreme executor of the anti-drug war. Has caused at least 6,600 deaths.
When asked about the rules of conduct in the drug war and the death of an innocent child, the senator joked for the first time in a mixture of Tagalog and English: “This is an imperfect world… What happened.
“If you are a police officer, do you really want a child involved in the crossfire? No. Honestly, there is indeed collateral damage.”
On Friday, the senator unexpectedly submitted his 2022 presidential candidate for the Philippines less than 30 minutes before the deadline, and human rights organizations issued a warning about his human rights record and the perception of impunity he represented.
Carlos Conde of Human Rights Watch told Al Jazeera that De La Rosa’s candidacy shows that the “brutal policies” of the deadly war within the “Duterte Group” are “doubled”.
“This is a matter of refusing to recognize the war on drugs,” he said, adding that if he wins the election, the candidacy of the senator ensures that “they protect themselves from responsibility.”
“They want to have some kind of insurance to protect themselves after 2022.”
Kant also stated that the drug war policy gave Dela Rosa “important political capital” as a candidate for the ruling party.
“Besides, not promising to continue the drug war would be a denial of Duterte’s policy. So, they will stick to it.”
The senator has long caused controversy.
In the earlier incident, when the police were Accused of killing an unarmed teenagerDe La Rosa also defended his men, saying that although the incident was “overcorrected”, the authorities did not deliberately kill the high school student. Three police officers were later convicted of murder in the death of the teenager in 2017.
The police chief at the time also rejected the Supreme Court’s 2018 order to release data on the drug war and other police operations details, citing the safety of the persons involved.
Dela Rosa, who served briefly as the country’s warden, once told prison guards that they should be “ready to kill” and not to be intimidated by prisoners, adding that “I hate cowards,” which drew criticism.
In 2016, his police officers were accused of killing a mayor who was detained on drug-related charges. Dela Rosa also issued a police memo in 2016, ordering to “neutralize” drug suspects, related to the agency’s “dual control” campaign against drug suspects.
Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal (Romulo Macalintal) said that Senator Bato dela Rosa’s own words, that is, if Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte (Sara Duterte) Duterte) running for the president, his willingness to give way to her may be evidence that he did not intend to run for the election, which is the reason for him to declare annoying candidates.#ANCRundown https://t.co/oCzbUVDGbS
-Mike Navallo (@mikenavallo) October 11, 2021
“Indiscreet attitude towards human rights”
Duterte’s war on drugs is now Survey object In the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In addition to Duterte, the other high-ranking official specifically mentioned in the Pre-trial Chamber investigation is Dela Rosa.
The latest government data released in June showed that as of the end of April 2021, the police and other security forces had killed at least 6,117 suspected drug dealers in their operations. But government data cited by the United Nations in June 2020 has shown that at least 8,600 people have died.
Human rights organizations say the death toll may be between 27,000 and 30,000. They accused the authorities of carrying out summary executions, killing innocent suspects, including children.
Before the 2019 senator election, Ronald de la Rosa served as Duterte’s national police chief, and Davao police chief who was still the mayor of the southern city when the president was still the mayor of the southern city [File: Ezra Acayan/Reuters]Duterte rejected the investigation by the International Criminal Court and promised to prevent any prosecutor from coming to the country.
Another subject of the investigation was the summary execution in the southern city of Davao, where Duterte served as mayor for several years. De La Rosa served as Davao Police Chief under Duterte from 2012 to 2013. Prior to this, he held various police positions in Davao.
Duterte’s daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio now manages the city. Some analysts suspect that dela Rosa may be just a To warm up her candidacyAccording to the country’s election rules, if an announced candidate withdraws and gives way to a replacement candidate, it is allowed to arrive as late as November 15.
When the International Criminal Court announced its investigation in September, de la Rosa responded at the Senate committee hearing: “As a Filipino, I would rather be tried, convicted and hanged in a Philippine court than tried in a court. , Convicted and hanged. Foreign courts.”
He did not mention that the International Criminal Court in The Hague prohibits the death penalty, which the Philippines has abolished.
Edre Olalia is the chairman of the National People’s Lawyers Union (NUPL), which often represents victims of human rights. He told Al Jazeera that De La Rosa’s candidacy “obviously heralds the respect, promotion and protection of human rights in the Philippines.”
“His record and his attitude towards serious allegations [of human rights violations], His reaction to these allegations before the International Criminal Court was indifferent or even rash-this reflects his political position,” Olalia said.
He added that dela Rosa’s candidacy “played a role in the script, and even at the level of the International Criminal Court, he wanted to transfer any responsibility”.
“Even if he is not a placeholder [candidate]If he becomes president, he will still benefit, even though it is far away now. But you will never really know. “
‘A mockery of the process’
De La Rosa did not explicitly rule out that he could give way to Duterte Carpio, but insisted that he is eligible to become the country’s next president.
Shortly after submitting his candidacy on Friday, the senator told reporters in Manila that he only learned that he was selected as the ruling PDP two hours before the 5 pm deadline (09:00 GMT) -Laban Party’s presidential candidate.
“This is the strategy. Because when you announce it early, you will also be an early target. This is why we keep it secret,” he explained.
But when asked if he would give way to Duterte-Carpio, he replied: “That would be better. This is the party’s decision. This is not my personal decision.”
In another interview on Monday, De La Rosa stated that because of Duterte Carpio’s “very high winning percentage”, “if people don’t want to accept me as a serious candidate, he is willing to make way for her.”
In response to Dela Rosa’s statement, the rights group Karapatan said that the senator’s decision was a “mouse” on the election process.
In a statement to Al Jazeera, Karapatan referred to this statement as Duterte’s “shameless strategy when he was running for president in 2016. We know it too well to tear it directly from the script.”
“In the next few days and months, there will definitely be more sinister plots. We cannot underestimate that Sara Duterte will eventually replace [dela Rosa], Or as Vice President of Little Marcos,” the organization added, referring to the son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who was also running for president.
NUPL chairman Olalia added that if it can be shown that de la Rosa is defending another candidate, it would show “a shameless contempt for the solemn rights that our previous generations fought for.”
“They think this is a game, not a serious political exercise. They play us as fools.”
In addition to de la Rosa, those who announced their intention to run for president include opposition party leaders, Vice President Lenny Robredo, International boxing champion Senator Manny Pacquiao, Manila Mayor Isco Moreno and former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Another little-known ally of Duterte, Deputy Foreign Minister Ernesto Abella, also announced that he will run for president. Abella served as Duterte’s spokesperson before being appointed foreign minister.
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