De Lima: Cayetano should have been arrested by ICC, too

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano is the “last person on earth” who should give a lecture on human rights since he should have been “arrested” along with former President Rodrigo Duterte.

This was how former Sen. Leila de Lima heaped scorn on Cayetano in reaction to his video posted on social media questioning the Marcos administration’s decision to help carry out the arrest of Duterte on orders from the International Criminal Court (ICC).

READ: Rodrigo Duterte accepts responsibility for drug war as ICC detains him

It was a rare show of spite directed by De Lima at a fellow lawmaker.

The opposition figure was jailed for almost seven years on drug trafficking charges filed during Duterte’s term, an ordeal seen by observers, among them the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union, as a political vendetta for her sustained criticism of his drug war and human rights record.

Reminders

“Alan Peter is the last person who should tell human rights defenders what to do regarding Duterte’s arrest,” De Lima said. “He has no right to lecture those of us who stood up and fought for Filipinos under his and Duterte’s regime.”

She reminded Cayetano, who was Duterte’s running mate in 2016 and later served as his foreign secretary, that he was among those who “enabled, encouraged, and goaded the deadly criminal enterprise,” referring to the war on drugs.

“Alan Peter’s defense of EJKs and the drug war is well-known. In fact, he should be one of those accused and arrested by the ICC together with Duterte,” said De Lima, who is seeking a House party list seat in May as the first nominee of Mamamayang Liberal.

“Weren’t you also the first one to criticize me when I was the lone senator standing up against the drug war?” she said.

“Didn’t you tell me that we should actually thank Duterte because he made the Philippines like Singapore by killing all the criminals and addicts? Didn’t you once say that kulang pa nga ang mga pinapatay sa ilalim ni Duterte (the killings were not enough) and that the death toll under his regime was far fewer than other presidents?”

‘Rejoicing’

In a Facebook video posted earlier on Thursday, Cayetano said, “The enemies of President Duterte—from legitimate human rights lawyers, former Senator De Lima, those from the Philippine Left groups, they are a lot—[are] basically rejoicing.’’

“And I respect their rights; they fought for their human rights,” Cayetano said. “But aren’t human rights [a matter of] due process?”

He echoed the arguments raised by Duterte’s allies in questioning the legality of the arrest since the Philippines was no longer an ICC member since 2019.

“What happened to human rights advocates? No wonder Kitty (Duterte’s youngest child) said this is the plane that ‘abducted my father, ’” he added, referring to the chartered jet that eventually brought Duterte to The Hague.

READ: EXPLAINER: Brutal attacks on civilians hauled Rodrigo Duterte to The Hague

Speaking before the UN General Assembly in 2017, Cayetano called the drug war a “necessary instrument to preserve and protect the human rights of all Filipinos and was never an instrument to violate human rights.”

‘Where were you?’

In her statement on Thursday, De Lima minced no words: “Don’t be such a liar, Alan Peter. In truth, you don’t give a damn about due process and human rights unless it’s you and Duterte who are at the receiving end of it.’’

“The true test of standing up for due process and human rights is when the poorest and [lowestliest] of Filipinos have been oppressed and you fought for them,” she said.

“Where were you during that time? Of course, you were on the other side—the side of those oppressing and violating people’s human rights. Don’t dress up as a human rights defender. You are nothing but an opportunistic politico.”