A solon called out Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano over his recent statement that the drug war of former President Rodrigo Duterte was a “pro-life campaign,” noting that the belief went against the principles of the Bible that he often referenced.
In his statement on the matter, Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido “Benny” Abante stated that Cayetano’s view on the actions of the previous administration contradicted his publicly professed faith in the scripture that protects lives of every individual first and foremost.
“The irresponsible statement of the SP runs counter even to the Bible that he professes to believe and quote often. This only tells us that if ever Sara becomes president, she will follow in the footsteps of her father,” he said.
Abante urged the Senate President to review the “real definition” of human rights as prescribed under the Constitution which provides that each person deserved the right to due process and protection from violence without proper legal grounds.
The solon explained that the existence of extrajudicial killings under Duterte’s rule went against sections of the bible, which claims that innocence must be respected and be safeguarded.
“One of the sins God hates according to Proverbs 6:17 is ‘hands that shed innocent blood,’” he noted.
Based on the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), from the period of July 1, 2016 to September 30, 2018 a total of 4,948 alleged drug users and pushers were slain through police operations around the country.
However, it was later unveiled by the Philippine National Police (PNP) that it actively investigated 22,983 deaths linked to the “war on drugs” in 2019, noting that such cases were tagged as “homicides under investigation” based on the nature of the killings.
Reflecting on the campaign, Cayetano bluntly stated that the drug war was a “human rights campaign” because of the fact that drugs led to destroyed families and communities, and led to several heinous crimes to be committed.
He, however, did not deny that there were in fact extrajudicial killings that occurred at the time but that it was not the intent of the order as a whole.
“Kung nandun ka sa drug war, sasabihin mo, God is on our side kasi ayaw ni Lord ng drugs. Kung nandun ka naman sa side na extrajudicial killing yan, of course, God will be for the right of life,” he said.
“Ngayon, ang question kasi, was it a policy na magkaroon ng extrajudicial killing or not? So, I won’t go into the merits or demerits of those arguments,” he added.
For Abante, who also serves as a Bible-Baptist pastor, Cayetano’s stance on the matter severely undermined the mechanisms that empowered the crimes to exist in the first place.
The solon reiterated that in the consideration of human rights, there must also be a sense of maintaining accountability on the part of officials that utilize force to enforce the laws that they swore to uphold in their line of duty.
“I agree with SP Cayetano that those involved in the drug trade are human rights violators and a human rights concern but also those who kill without a legal basis and due process. Human rights is very much concerned about the use of killing machines in the war on drugs during Duterte’s time,” he explained.
“Both who are killed because of drugs and the guns whether they’re vigilantes or police are human rights violations. What we are after is accountability and due process,” he further said.
