ASEANEWS HEADLINE: DU30-ICC COURT TRIAL | PNP ready to arrest Duterte drug war ‘co-perpetrators’

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) is ready to assist the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) again in case arrest warrants will be issued for former president Rodrigo Duterte’s alleged “co-perpetrators.”

While no such warrants have been issued, the police force has a “template” for handling the process if the need arises, PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said in a dzBB radio interview yesterday.

“We don’t want to preempt the process, but apart from the former president, there are others facing charges,” Fajardo said in Filipino.

“Since Duterte’s arrest has already been carried out, we now have a template to follow,” she added.

Fajardo also reported that protests related to Duterte’s arrest last week remained “generally peaceful” and were concluded without major incidents.

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.She said authorities anticipate more demonstrations in the coming days and have coordinated with organizers to ensure security.

The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) briefly returned to heightened alert status due to monitored rallies, but has since reverted to normal alert levels.

Meanwhile, Fajardo denied reports that police officers have resigned in protest of Duterte’s arrest.

“The female officer supposedly resigning in protest had already left the service and moved abroad with her spouse,” she said.

“Another person claiming to be a member of the Presidential Security Group, now the Presidential Security Command, had long been discharged and may face charges for unauthorized use of the PSC uniform,” Fajardo clarified.

She dismissed the reports as “fake news” and urged the public to verify information before believing or sharing it.

Victims’ relatives maintain hope

In Caloocan, relatives of extrajudicial killing victims renewed their call for justice as they laid their loved ones to rest at the Dambana ng Paghilom in La Loma Cemetery.

The inurnment ceremony turned emotional as families mourned the deaths of 18 victims of the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.

The event also marked a renewed sense of hope for the victims’ families, following Duterte’s arrest and impending trial.

“My child will finally get justice – not just my child, but all the others he (Duterte) killed,” said Crispin Cena, whose son was killed in the drug war.

Others shared similar sentiments, expressing both grief and anger.

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“I want him to experience what he did to my child. He killed so many people,” said Gloria de Jesus.

“Even his life wouldn’t be enough to make up for what he did, because there are so many of us. My husband wasn’t even an addict. Not everyone they killed was an addict,” said Maria Tion.

Despite acknowledging that the legal process may take time, the families see Duterte’s arrest as a critical first step toward accountability. They also expressed hope that other officials involved in the anti-drug campaign would face charges.

Archbishop Soc calls for sobriety

Meanwhile, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, in a pastoral letter, urged Filipinos to practice sobriety and unity in the face of deepening political and social division throughout the nation.

“It is not the will of God for us to be divided. The devil wants us disunited and splintered. The mission of Satan is to crush unity and fracture our wholeness. We have lost the ability to love as we argue. We have even given up reason and intelligence as we argue. We have shaken away our responsibility for the truth as we disagree with one another. This is tragic for us. It leads to hell on earth, not redemption,” he said.

The message was read in the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan during anticipated Masses on March 15, then on March 16.

“We have been drinking water from many polluted wells of fake news, blind sentimentalism, vulgarity, violence, and mob rule,” Villegas said.

“Lastly, I appeal for the widening of space for sobriety by choosing abstinence from desiring to destroy one another. It does not help to gloat and rejoice in the sufferings of others. Let us lower down our bows and arrows of legalese; lay down the guns of our tongues and see that, before these divisions of politics and opinions, we were one in humanity, one in nationhood, and one lupang hinirang, one bayang magiliw (beloved country),” the archbishop added. — Daphne Galvez