‘Height of hypocrisy,’ HRW says after Duterte disowns narco lists

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday called President Rodrigo Duterte a hypocrite and a coward for disowning the narco lists which supposedly bear the names of drug personalities in the country.

"For Duterte to now claim that he had no hand in these lists is the height of hypocrisy. For him to disavow how these lists were used by law enforcers to violate the civil liberties and human rights of those listed is not only disingenuous – it is cowardly," HRW deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said in a statement.

He said Duterte used narco lists to "shore up his popularity" even during his tenure as Davao City Mayor, and as a springboard to presidency.

"President Duterte has used his target lists as a political tool to intimidate people, including politicians opposing him. During his Davao years, he would read out on TV the names of people he accused of involvement in illegal drugs," Robertson said, adding that many of those listed were later killed by the Davao Death Squad (DDS).

"He cannot now deny involvement in the violence perpetrated against those on his lists when he has used such lists as a public, political prop for years to shore up his popularity and fuel his political rise to the presidency," he added.

Prior to the 2016 elections, Duterte denied any links to the DDS. He said what he oversaw in Davao City was only police work.

On Monday night, following the killing of Los Banos, Laguna Mayor Caesar Perez, Duterte denied personal involvement in the creation of narco lists.

“Hindi sa akin ‘yan. Ibinigay lang sa akin, hindi ako gumagawa ng listahan, hindi ako pulis, hindi ako sa intelligence,” he said.

"You will just have to look for the killers. Hindi dito sa opisina ko ‘yan," he added.

Perez was shot dead by still unidentified suspects inside the municipal hall on December 3. He was among the 46 “narco politicians” named by Duterte in 2019 but he denied the allegation.

Last week, Laguna Governor Ramil Hernandez said Perez had sought his help regarding his inclusion on Duterte's list. Hernandez said he could not say if Perez's inclusion on the list had something to do with his killing, but noted that so far there is no evidence linking the slain mayor to the illegal trade.

The HRW believes that the International Criminal Court and the UN Human Rights Council should step in and investigate Duterte's lists and the alleged violence caused by these. — RSJ, GMA News