Government officials should speak about and implement the rule of law, not undermine it

Amnesty International Philippines Section Director, Dr. Aurora Parong’s statement regarding Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s stern warning to rice smugglers:

“Human rights principles must be our guide in looking at Mayor Duterte’s statements — that he will personally kill rice smugglers. Government officials must ensure that their governance, including actions and programs for peace and order to protect its citizens are done with human rights as a guiding principle.

The right to life is an inherent human right of every person and this right is protected by law. In the Philippines, killing of a person, including suspected criminals, is a crime punishable by law. Threats to life is also wrong.

Every person has the right to due process – to be charged in a legitimate court of law, to be informed of what he or she is charged for, to have a lawyer and to have an impartial and fair hearing before judgments are made. We have repealed the death penalty and thus there is no legal basis to kill even a convicted criminal, including rice smugglers.

Peace and order cannot be achieved by killing people, including suspected criminals or even convicted criminals. It has been shown through ious studies in different countries of the world that the death penalty is not a deterrent to crime.

Government officials have the obligation to ensure the rule of law in our country. Allegations of crimes and human rights violations must be comprehensively investigated and there must be effective prosecution towards punishment of perpetrators of abuses without discrimination and favoritism.

Government officials should speak about and implement the rule of law, not undermine it. If government officials undermine human rights and the rule of law, then we will have an anarchic society and fail to achieve genuine peace and order where citizens are safer and protected.

Let us not forget that many families of victims of killings by the death squads in Davao continue to wait for justice. The death squads in Davao City must not be allowed to further commit human rights abuses.”

Source: amnesty.org.ph

Amnesty International Philippines
Press Statement
4 February 2013

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