UN urges Philippines to probe Duterte’s claim of being killer
The United Nations rights chief has called on judicial authorities in the Philippines to examine the claims of extra-judicial killings by President Rodrigo Duterte when he was a mayor in the city of Davao.
"It should be unthinkable for any functioning judicial system not to launch investigative and judicial proceedings when someone has openly admitted being a killer," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Zeid al-Hussein said in a statement Tuesday, adding, "The killings committed by Mr. Duterte, by his own admission, at a time when he was a mayor, clearly constitute murder.”
The call comes days after Duterte said in a speech that when he was mayor of the southern city of Davao in various terms between 1988 and 2016, he personally killed people to set an example for police.
“Maybe my bullets killed them, maybe not, but after the (firefight) they were all dead,” Duterte said while addressing businessmen as he discussed his campaign to eradicate illegal drugs.
Thousands have been killed by police and unknown assailants in the Philippines since Duterte took power in June to begin his nationwide campaign against illegal drugs. The deaths have been met with huge criticism in the West and Duterte seems to have added to the controversy by admitting that he personally killed the suspects. Duterte said in an interview on Friday that “about three people” were killed by him during his term as mayor in Davao.
Zeid said the claimed Davao killings violated the international law, “including the right to life ... and innocence until proven guilty,” adding that Duterte also trampled on the rights of citizens as reiterated by Philippines’ constitution.
"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," Zeid said, calling for "credible and independent investigations" to be immediately reopened into the claimed Davao killings.
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