File raps, Sara dares foes

Vice President Sara Duterte on Thursday dared her critics and those implicating her in the drug war killings to file the proper charges in court.

“To the one testifying and all the people around him, file a murder case against me here in the Philippines,” said Duterte in a statement following the allegation of former Davao policeman Arturo Lascañas that she was behind the Davao Death Squad and “Oplan Tokhang,” the extrajudicial killings in Davao City when she was mayor.

“This is a new script. In all the years that I served as vice mayor and mayor of Davao City, my name was never linked to this issue,” she said.

Duterte has been included as an accused in the International Criminal Court’s investigation into the war on drugs waged under the administration of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte.

She questioned the timing, saying it was clear that her name was deliberately attached to the issue so that she would become an accused before the ICC.

“All of a sudden, there was a witness when I became Vice President. And I am now one of the accused before the International Criminal Court,” she said.

“The insistence of the ICC to interfere in our judiciary is an interference in our sovereignty. This is an insult to the dignity of the Filipinos and the honor of our country,” she added.

Bato dares Lascañas 

Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa on Thursday said Lascañas should file cases in court if he has evidence supporting his claim of the Dutertes’ involvement in “Oplan Tokhang” in Davao City.

“Let him file cases in court if he has evidence, now that (Rodrigo) Duterte is no longer president,” Dela Rosa told reporters in a text message. 

In a media interview on Wednesday, Lascañas claimed that Vice President Sara Duterte, during her term as Davao City mayor in 2012, “instigated” the anti-illegal drugs operation and appointed Dela Rosa as the city’s chief of police to implement “Oplan Tokhang.”

“Bato Dela Rosa told me they crafted a new extrajudicial killing campaign against illegal drugs, which was ‘Toktok Hangnyo,’ meaning ‘Tokhang,’” Lascañas said. 

He said the campaign targeted persons involved in illegal drugs, “mostly those who were using and selling shabu. He told us to kidnap or eliminate them, to make it appear they were only missing,” he said in English and Filipino.

Lascañas said he had submitted a 186-page affidavit to the International Criminal Court containing information on the killings instigated by former president Duterte with the involvement of the incumbent vice president, Sara Duterte.

He said he also submitted a notebook to the ICC containing evidence and all the information he had about the killings, which he claimed were ordered by the former president. 

He said he also divulged other allegations about Sara and her brother, Davao Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte, and the Davao Death Squad and the anti-crime task forces in the city.

In a chance interview on Wednesday, Dela Rosa maintained his innocence. 

“Sure, go ahead, let him make more and more allegations. My conscience is clear,” he said.

Pure lies, fabrications

Senator Christopher “Bong” Go also slammed Lascañas for claiming that he made lists of targets for the so-called Davao Death Squad.

“Pure lies and fabrications — plain and simple,” said Go when asked to comment on the retired cop’s allegations that the senator was involved in the alleged crimes against humanity in Davao City. 

Go said former President Rodrigo Duterte never ordered him to make a list of targets. 

“Since he was mayor of Davao City, he never ordered me to do anything illegal,” he said in English and Filipino.

The senator denied having a so-called DDS list in his possession.

“I never made or saw such a list in my life. I do not do anything illegal,” he said. “I don’t follow illegal orders from anyone, whoever they may be.”

Go branded Lascañas allegations as a “rehashed issue” repeatedly thrown against the Dutertes and their closest allies.

“These are repeatedly reported, but no proof has been show. Nothing was proven because this is not true,” he said, adding that they should have been criminally charged “if there was any truth to such claims.”

“That’s an old tune, that’s their rotten style to cover others with mud and make themselves look clean,” he added. 

He said he would instead focus his energies on the Senate and “help those in need” rather than delve into a “fabricated issue.”

“Let’s prioritize the interests and welfare of our countrymen over politicking and harming others,” Go said.