Makabayan senatorial bet and ACT Teachers Party-list Representative France Castro, is calling for the filing of charges against former President Rodrigo Duterte. This demand comes in the wake of retired Police Colonel Royina Garma’s explosive testimony, revealing Duterte’s alleged use of the ‘Davao template’ nationwide, which incentivized the extrajudicial killings of drug suspects.
Rep. France Castro stated, “The harrowing revelations by Col. Garma underscore a systematic approach to incentivizing killings, a move that led to the deaths of thousands of Filipinos under the guise of the war on drugs. This ‘reward system’ is a blatant disregard for human rights and the rule of law.”
Garma’s testimony at the House quad committee hearings confirmed that Duterte offered cash rewards for each drug suspect killed, a strategy she says was a continuation of the practices from his time as Davao City mayor. This method, described as the ‘Davao model,’ allegedly involved payments for killed suspects, operational funding, and reimbursement of expenses.
“Such operations, which essentially turned human lives into mere statistics for rewards, highlight the urgent need for accountability,” Castro continued. “We call on the authorities to pursue charges against Duterte and all those implicated in these state-sanctioned atrocities.”
The Makabayan Bloc supports the calls for the International Criminal Court to issue warrants of arrest against Duterte and his cohorts, as echoed by rights groups like Karapatan. “Justice must be served for the victims and their families who continue to suffer in silence,” Castro asserted.
Rep. Castro further emphasized, “We must ensure that such dark chapters in our history never repeat themselves. The culture of impunity must end, and it starts with holding those in power accountable for their actions.”#
