FACT CHECK: Duterte changes tune on ‘taking full legal responsibility’ over extrajudicial killings in drug war

Former president Rodrigo Duterte has repeatedly said he is “taking full legal responsibility” for the extrajudicial killings committed under his war against illegal drugs. But when told he should be liable for inducing these crimes under the legal theory of conspiracy, the 79-year-old Duterte disagreed and contradicted himself.

STATEMENT

During the 11th hearing of the House quad committee on Nov. 13, Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro asked Duterte if his statement about taking full responsibility for the drug war killings is an extrajudicial confession of guilt, the former president said:

“In essence, yes. Wala na akong magawa, eh… Yes, because I ordered the campaign against the drug syndicates. At kung ano’ng ginawa [ng pulis], whether illegal or not, it was… ako ang nag-utos. In that sense, I take responsibility for their actions. Wala akong magawa, eh. Commander ako, nag-utos ako: ‘Puntahan ninyo ‘yan.’ Just like a [military or police] commander, utusan mo. ‘Pag may nangyari diyan [at] magkabulilyaso, whether right or wrong, iyo ‘yan. Iyo talaga ‘yan. Kung hindi ka ba naman b*bo na mayor, hindi mo iiwanan ‘yung tao na inutusan mo.”

(In essence, yes. I can’t do anything else. Yes, because I ordered the campaign against the drug syndicates. And whatever the police did, whether illegal or not, I ordered it. In that sense, I take responsibility for their actions. I can’t do anything. I’m the commander and ordered them: ‘Go to them.’ Just like a military or police commander, you order them. If anything happens there and something goes awry, whether right or wrong, the responsibility is yours. It really is yours. If you’re not an idiot mayor, you won’t leave behind those you gave orders to.)

Source: House of Representatives | ELEVENTH PUBLIC HEARING OF THE HOUSE QUAD-COMMITTEE, Nov. 13, 2024, watch from 5:51:15 to 5:52:15

At the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing two weeks prior, Duterte said in his opening statement:

“My job as president was never easy and it was not meant to be. I have tried to do the best I can to address the problem of illegal drugs firmly and without compromise. For all of its successes and shortcomings, I, and I alone, take full legal responsibility. Sa lahat na nagawa ng mga pulis pursuant to my order, ako ang managot, at ako ang makulong.”

(All of what the police did pursuant to my order, I will take responsibility and go to jail for it.)

Source: Senate of the Philippines | Blue Ribbon Committee (Subcommittee on the Philippine War on Illegal Drugs) (October 28, 2024), Oct. 28, 2024, watch from 1:31:20 to 1:32:08

FLIP-FLOP

When asked about specific “high-value” victims of extrajudicial killings attributed to the drug war, Duterte gave various reasons distancing himself from the cases.

He reversed his earlier statements and disagreed with Luistro that he can be considered a “principal by inducement” in the drug-related killings. He also refused to sign a document admitting this.

Read FACT CHECK: Duterte waltzes on bank secrecy waivers

In Duterte’s last year as president, the Dahas Project of the University of the Philippines’ Third World Studies Center recorded 302 drug-related killings nationwide.

See FACT SHEET: Duterte’s ‘never-ending’ fight against drugs and corruption in his own words

The official government data show at least 6,252 persons died during anti-drug operations from July 2016 to May 2022.

When Luistro asked if he understood the consequences of his “confession,” Duterte said:

“Hindi naman ito korte (This is not a court)… It is not a confession. It is a statement coming from the mouth of a mayor or a president at that time. It is not a confession.”

Source: watch from 5:54:00 to 5:54:19

Under the Revised Penal Code, a conspiracy exists “when two or more persons come to an agreement concerning the commission of a felony and decide to commit it.” According to Luistro, a principal in a crime has three levels: by inducement, by indispensable cooperation and by direct participation.

The Supreme Court said a person may be convicted as a principal by inducement if he “directly forces” or “directly induces” another to commit the crime.

Luistro asserted that had Duterte not ordered nor offered a reward system for the drug war killings, police operations “should not have resulted [in] killing a huge number of victims of [the] war on drugs,” thus, making him liable.

Editor’s note: This fact check was produced with the help of a student from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines as part of their internship.