BAYAN is one with the just call to bring former President Rodrigo Duterte to justice for his crimes against the Filipino people, amounting to crimes against humanity. This is a necessary step to push back against the culture of impunity running rampant in Philippine society and institute democratic norms within the broken judicial and political system.
Today, BAYAN stands with the families of the victims of Duterte’s fake war on drugs and firmly supports their brave efforts to bring one of the world’s most corrupt and hated tyrants to the bar of justice.
Duterte’s so-called “war on drugs” has led to the extrajudicial killings of over 30,000 individuals, overwhelmingly from poor communities. It has also apparently led to his political clique‘s monopoly of the local illegal drugs market. The accumulation of profit from the fake war on drugs takes place in the maintenance of systemic social inequality through state terrorism and bureaucrat capitalism, which scapegoat the poor.
This brutal government campaign that continues under the Marcos Jr. regime is characterized by police gross misconduct, and its subsequent cover-up, highlighting a systematic disregard for human rights. The implications and consequences of these actions extend beyond immediate violence; they entrench the workings of a police state and undermine constitutionally guaranteed civil and political rights.
BAYAN asserts that accountability is crucial not only for the victims and their families but also for empowering the people against fascistic leaders and for the defense of human rights and democracy as a whole.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration must answer for obstructing efforts to hold Rodrigo Duterte and his hatchet men accountable for crimes against the people and against humanity. By blocking the investigation of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Marcos is complicit in these crimes. It is therefore vital that human rights defenders and advocates, both here and abroad, strongly call for upholding truth and justice, in particular for the Philippine government to cooperate with the ICC investigation of Duterte. No leader, past or present, should be above the law. As we demand justice and accountability from these corrupt and fascistic bureaucrats, we also assert that justice serves as both a remedy for past wrongs and a foundation upon which genuine democracy can be built. #
