MANILA: Vice President Sara Duterte asserted that the deaths linked to her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte's anti-drug campaign, were driven by the country's rampant gun violence, claiming that hiring a gunman could cost as little as P5,000 (US$80) per hit.
Sara made the remarks during a rally on Wednesday (July 29) in front of the International Criminal Court (ICC) detention centre in The Hague, the Netherlands.
In her speech, she argued that the deaths caused by her father's anti-drug campaign did not amount to crimes against humanity, as it remained unclear whether all those killed were victims of the drug war, citing the prevalence of gun violence in the Philippines.
"I have a husband. My husband has a mistress. I can hire a gunman for 5,000 pesos to kill the mistress … that is how bad gun violence in the Philippines is. And that is, again, yes, EJK (extrajudicial killing)," Sara said.
"So how can you say that all your listed victims, all your listed complainants are supposed victims of the drug war? … How can they say now that all the victims there are victims of the drug war? That is supposed to be a crime against humanity?" she added.
It should be noted, however, that official government records showed that at least 6,000 people were killed during the bloody anti-drug campaign under Rodrigo Duterte's administration.
Human rights groups' records further showed that at least 30,000 people were killed, including children as young as three years old.
Meanwhile, in the same speech, Sara also accused the ICC of being President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and former senator Antonio Trillanes IV's "tuta", or puppy.
Her source was the 18 alleged Marines, known as the "maleta boys", who accused Trillanes of receiving US$2 million from resigned Ako Bicol party-list congressman Zaldy Co to facilitate the entry of ICC investigators into the country and allegedly bribe the international tribunal.
"And so, how do we characterise Trillanes and Marcos in relation to ICC? Yes, they are traitors to the Filipino and to the country," Sara Duterte said.
"Because the ICC has no other case except for the case of [former] President Rodrigo Duterte. And they found what? And they found Marcos, Trillanes, and money in the Philippine case. We're talking about suitcases here," she added.
Rodrigo Duterte, who is facing three counts of crimes against humanity, is set to face trial before the ICC on Nov. 30.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
