FORMER senator Leila de Lima said on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, that justice is finally taking its course following the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte on the orders of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In a statement, De Lima said that while Duterte’s arrest is “deeply personal” for her, she does not take it as vengeance.
De Lima said Duterte should be held accountable for the killings carried out under his drug war.
“I faced my case, knowing I was innocent. I stood before the courts because I had nothing to hide. Duterte now has to answer for his actions, not in the court of public opinion, but before the rule of law. This is how justice should work -- those in power must be held to the same standards as everyone else,” she said.
“To those who have fought this long and difficult fight -- your voices mattered, your courage mattered, and today, the pursuit of justice continues,” she added.
De Lima has been detained from February 2017 to November 2023 due to accusations of her alleged involvement in the illegal drugs trade.
Her third and last drug-related charges were dismissed in June 2024.
In a statement, opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros said she is hoping that Duterte will fulfill his promises that he will face the charges against him before the ICC.
(The day that the families of thousands of Filipinos killed in former President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody “tokhang” have been waiting for has arrived. I hold on to Duterte’s statements, made under oath, that he will face the case before the International Criminal Court. Hopefully, as a lawyer, he will abide by its processes.)
“I also hope that Malacañang will honor its word and accede to all requests of the ICC, through the Interpol, and ensure that justice will run its full course. The thousands of Filipinos killed during tokhang were not murdered by one man alone. Sana ay simula pa lang ito ng paghahabol sa lahat ng mga opisyal at kawani ng gobyerno na responsable sa pagpatay sa inosente o walang kalaban-laban,” she added.
Over 6,000 alleged drug personalities were killed during the implementation of Duterte’s drug war.
Several police personnel were facing charges over abuse in the implementation of the said campaign.
During the House of Representatives’ quad committee investigation on the possible link between the proliferation of illegal operations of Pogos, illegal drug trade, anomalous land acquisitions, and extrajudicial killings (EJKs) during the Duterte administration on October 11, 2024, retired police colonel Royina Garma, who has close ties with the former president, emotionally read out her affidavit directly implicating Duterte in the extrajudicial killings carried out by the Philippine National Police (PNP) during the crackdown against illegal drugs under the Duterte administration.
She bared the alleged reward system for police personnel for the killing of drug personalities under the drug war with incentive ranging from P20,000 to P1 million depending on the level of threat of the neutralized drug personality. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)