Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 5) — President Rodrigo Duterte took full responsibility for the drug lords and mayors killed in Oplan Tokhang, the anti-drug operation of the Philippine National Police.
Duterte said the PNP should not be blamed for the killings as they were just acting upon his orders.
“‘Yung mga drug lords na ni-raid tapos pinatay at ‘yung mga mayors, akin ‘yan. Iyong mga lahat na raid na namatay na mayor, akin ‘yan. I assume full responsibility,” the President said in a speech during an inauguration in Palawan on Thursday.
[Translation: The drug lords and mayors killed in raids, those are mine.]
“If there’s anybody who should go to prison, it should not be the police nor the PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency), it should be me,” he added.
Duterte also admitted that he committed wrongdoings, which he said were unintentional.
In September, the International Criminal Court’s pre-trial chamber authorized the full investigation into the Duterte administration’s drug war, including the extrajudicial killings allegedly committed by the Davao Death Squad when Duterte was the mayor of the city.
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On Thursday, Duterte reiterated that he would not cooperate with the proceedings, arguing that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the Philippines following the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the court.
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The ICC maintains it retains jurisdiction over the crimes committed while the Philippines was still a member.
Duterte also said he wants to deliver a speech before The Hague without necessarily submitting himself to prosecution. He added that if “worse comes to worst”, he wants Senator Leila de Lima, one of his staunchest critics, to be the first witness if he would be put into trial.
