As the International Criminal Court (ICC) denied that it issued an arrest warrant, and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) issued a subpoena, for Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, a labor NGO called on the former drug war chief implementor to surrender and face accountability.

At the same time, the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) said that efforts to hold Bato accountable, as well as the ongoing ICC trial of former President Rodrigo Duterte, for the thousands of drug war killings are opportunities to further educate Filipinos about human rights and democracy.

“No efforts to attain justice and accountability for the drug war killings would be complete and credible without the arrest and prosecution of Bato. Everyone knows his culpability for this crime against humanity, so he should surrender and face the consequences of his actions,” said Kamz Deligente, CTUHR executive director.

The labor NGO said that when Duterte was arrested for his ICC trial, the main narrative peddled by the Duterte camp was President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s supposed treachery against the Dutertes. It said that the narrative also suited Marcos Jr who wanted to distance himself from the bloody record of his predecessor and his father.

“The truth is that what we are seeing are international mechanisms for accountability for grave human rights violations at work against the perpetrators of the drug war in the country. Wanting to rebrand his authoritarian and blood-soaked surname, Marcos Jr became powerless against these mechanisms,” Deligente added.

CTUHR also reiterated its call to the Marcos Jr government to release the 20 political prisoners from the labor movement and all political prisoners in the country. It said that political prisoners, unlike Dela Rosa, are not criminals and in fact fought to empower the marginalized to claim their human rights and realize democracy.

“If the government is sincere and consistent in upholding human rights, then it should release the country’s political prisoners and hold Bato accountable. These prisoners are not criminals and are detained only because of trumped-up charges and planted evidence – unlike Bato whose crimes are as clear as day to everyone,” Deligente stated.

CTUHR said that what is happening to Duterte and Bato shows that human rights and human lives matter, and that grave rights violations will not be tolerated. Attacks on human rights weaken democracy, the rule of the people, and strengthen elites’ hold on power.

“The truth is that Duterte made the drug and criminality problem in the country look infinitely bigger than what they were in order to justify his drug war. He used the drug war to galvanize his base and to intimidate any opposition to his authoritarian and neoliberal rule that gave advantage to his elite and superpower allies,” Deligente said.

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