Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s recent publicly expressed views citing “abuses by certain elements in the government” in the previous administration’s anti-drug campaign and “some concerns” on the human rights situation in the Philippines during the Duterte administration betray his doubletalk in addressing persistent questions on justice and accountability of the previous administration.
Out of the thousands of victims in the Duterte administration’s drug war, there have been only three known convictions of police perpetrators. Duterte, along with the main architects and implementers of the bloody anti-drugs campaign have remained scot-free, untouched by the supposed drug war panel review by the current administration.
Policies rolled out by the Duterte administration have not been revoked. The same policies have already resulted in at least 270 deaths under the current administration, as per monitoring by the Third World Studies Center’s research “Violence, Human Rights, and Democracy in the Philippines” (more commonly known as the Dahas Project).
The Marcos Jr. administration obstinately refuses to cooperate with the International Criminal Court’s investigation on allegations of crimes against humanity by the previous administration.
All these indicate not just the empty rhetoric of the Marcos Jr. administration in pursuing justice for the drug war victims, but its complicity in whitewashing the crimes of Duterte and cohorts and its perpetuation of the same draconian policies.
Under Marcos Jr., the deadly results of such policies continue, along with numerous human rights and international humanitarian law violations including extrajudicial killings, torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and detention, forced or fake surrenders, civilian endangerment through bombings and more.
Marcos Jr.’s ventures to cleanse his and his family’s image and record are sorry and despicable attempts of the guilty to worm their way out of accountability.