Sara and Rodrigo Duterte skipping House hearings intended to elude accountability

Is it now a family tradition for the Dutertes to skip House committee hearings?

Vice President Sara Duterte ignored committee and plenary budget deliberations, Davao Congressman Polong Duterte is conspicuously absent in Congress sessions, and now former President Rodrigo Duterte is a no-show at the quad committee hearing despite his public pronouncements that he has many things to divulge in public.

We warn the Dutertes that the family that skips House hearings stays together in jail or the ICC.

May be an image of 5 people and text

Sara Duterte’s absence was meant to evade answering questions related to her misuse of confidential funds as vice president and education secretary. In the case of Rodrigo Duterte, his absence today reflected his continuing willful disregard of the call to make him accountable for the drug-related and political killings during his presidency.

May be an image of 6 people and text that says "আয়ল E ARRES DUTER RTE NO PARA LGU NG BIKTI FCRIME LABA alasa TE. TIN HAN! TISYAPTE DUT OS DUTERTE MARCOS, BIKTIMAG KRI 幼 N! HUSTISYA IN! IKUL TE TE KHANG TIN PARA SA MGA UTIN. •BAY BISIMA NG MUNA MUNA. MGAD DRUGS/ DUTERTE IKULON HUST IKULSA SA MGA -PAYAN"

If the Dutertes have nothing to hide, they should have attended the Committee hearings to answer queries from legislators and respond to the testimonies of witnesses and resource persons.

If the elder Duterte is sick and needs to rest because of his advanced age as claimed by his lawyer in a letter addressed to the Congress leadership, then why is he running for an elective post in 2025? He should withdraw his candidacy and cooperate instead with ICC prosecutors. He should be ready to face prosecution for his various crimes against humanity.

Duterte’s non-appearance at the hearing today shows his desperation and fear of being held liable for the gruesome killings that he systematically enabled during his term. There will be no quiet retirement for a tyrant like him even if he builds a fortress in Davao City. His victims will continue to fight for justice as shown by their consistent presence in protest actions and quad committee hearings.

Duterte’s arrogance should be kept in check by expanding the scope of the quad committee hearings by including his role in masterminding the political killings that targeted activists, human rights defenders, and revolutionaries. At the minimum, the Marcos government should support the work of the ICC, and use the evidence presented in Congress to probe and charge all officials involved in extrajudicial killings.

Categories: Statements

0 Comments

Leave a Reply

Avatar placeholder

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *