De Lima: Duterte answers ‘to a world that refuses to forget’

THAT LOOK She was jailed for nearly seven years because of him. Hence that look when former Sen. Leila de Lima and former President Rodrigo Duterte became seatmates at the Nov. 13 House committee hearing on his brutal, six-year war on drugs. —Niño Jesus Orbeta

MANILA, Philippines — “This is not about vengeance. This is about justice finally taking its course.”

This was how former Sen. Leila de Lima, who was detained for almost seven years on drug trafficking charges filed during the previous administration, greeted the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday.

“Today, Duterte is being made to answer—not to me, but to the victims, to their families, to a world that refuses to forget,” said De Lima, who had earned Duterte’s ire for being critical of his human rights record since his days as Davao City mayor.

The ex-senator, who is now running for a party list seat in the House of Representatives, may be considered the most prominent detainee of the Duterte drug war.

The Department of Justice under Duterte caused her arrest in 2017 while she was an incumbent senator, as it pursued three drug trafficking charges against her, largely using convicted drug lords as witnesses.

READ: Plane carrying Rodrigo Duterte leaves PH for The Hague

The key witnesses eventually recanted, and De Lima was granted bail and eventually cleared of all charges under the Marcos administration.

Not just about one man

“Duterte now has to answer for his actions, not in the court of public opinion, but before the rule of law. This is how justice should work—those in power must be held to the same standards as everyone else,” she said in a statement on Tuesday.

“To those who have fought this long and difficult fight—your voices mattered, your courage mattered, and today, the pursuit of justice continues,” she added.

Another lawmaker, one who recently led a House inquiry that dug up police abuses committed during the drug war, said Duterte’s arrest was a critical step in obtaining justice for the families of those killed.

“Instead of promoting justice, [the drug war] opened the door to the culture of impunity among our law enforcers, who set aside the rule of law to go after people who were still mere suspects, with the violence claiming the lives even of the innocent,’’ said Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers.

“This arrest is not just about the case of one man,’’ Barbers said. “It is about restoring public trust in our justice system and making sure that abuses, past or present, will never happen again.”

Marcos urged: Rejoin ICC

Also at the House, Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman said Tuesday’s developments should finally convince President Marcos “to go back into the fold of the ICC.”

“About time that the Philippines showed the world that we respect international law,” Roman said.

Reviving Manila’s membership in the ICC would be consistent with the aspiration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. to uphold the rule of law, especially since “he has nothing to hide,” she added. —with reports from Dexter Cabalza and Krixia Subingsubing