Press Release
January 6, 2022

Duterte's refusal to apologize to drug war victims will never erase his crimes - De Lima

Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima maintained that Mr. Duterte's refusal to apologize for drug war deaths will never erase his crimes against humanity which he will pay for in due time.

De Lima, the staunchest critic of the Duterte regime's "War on Drugs", said that she does not expect Duterte to ask forgiveness from his victims considering that history's tyrants and mass murderers never apologized for their crimes.

In a tweet, the Senator quipped that "The devil does not apologize. If he ever does, it is never sincere and never without an ulterior motive."

In a separate message, Dispatch from Crame # 1200, the Senator added, "Since Duterte's days are numbered in Malacañang and as we ache for better days, it cannot be simply 'let bygones be bygones' for the people to whom he owes apology:

"To the EJK victims of his bloody drug war who never had their day in court; To the journalists and other media practitioners shot dead as a result of his threats; To the Local Chief Executives murdered with Duterte's empty allegations and accusations as narco-politicians capitalized on by their opponents;

"To all the lawyers and judges slayed in front of their homes or offices and in broad daylight for upholding their mandate as vanguards of justice; To all women scourging the consequences of Duterte's blatant misogyny;

"To all the human rights defenders we lost because he vilified their noble cause and love for every life; To every life and livelihood lost because of his administration's botched pandemic response; And to the future generation of Filipinos who might have missed a better future because of Duterte's six dark years of Presidency," she said.

In his recent "Talk to the People", Duterte said he will never apologize for the deaths of suspected drug offenders killed in police operations under his drug war.

"Pero 'yan ang sabi ko: I will never, never apologize for the death of those bastards. Patayin mo ako, kulungin mo ako, p***** i**, I will never apologize," he said.

The lady Senator from Bicol said justice will soon catch up with Duterte and his cohorts in the State-sponsored killings.

"The gavel shall fall, and not even his refusal to own up to his atrocities can cushion the blow of the ramifications of his cruelty. Evil does not reign forever. Soon, justice catches up," she said.

Ultimately, De Lima noted that history will judge Duterte.

"History's most notorious tyrants and mass murderers never apologized for their crimes either. Not Hitler. Not Stalin. Not Saddam. Not one of them ever did. Truth requires no apology. Their crimes were never erased and neither will yours," she said.

This 18th Congress, De Lima reintroduced a measure, logged as Senate Bill (SB) No. 371, seeking to define and criminalize acts that constitute extrajudicial killings and ensure accountability for said crimes.

Last September, the International Criminal Court (ICC) approved a formal investigation into the crimes against humanity under Duterte's drug war but suspended the probe in November following a request by the Philippines, which cited its own investigations.

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