(Bloomberg) -- Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte defended his drug war that killed thousands at a congressional inquiry that’s taking place amid a deepening feud between his clan and incumbent leader Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“Do not question my policies because I offer no apologies, no excuses. I did what I had to do and whether you believe it or not, I did it for my country,” Duterte said at the Senate probe on Monday. It was the first time the former leader showed up at an inquiry by lawmakers into his anti-drug campaign since his term ended in 2022.
Duterte said police had the right to protect themselves when their lives were at risk, repeating a justification for his deadly drug war that he’s made during his term. “I and I alone take full legal responsibility in all of the actions committed by the police pursuant to my order,” he said.
He later admitted to having a “death squad” comprised of seven “gangsters” that carried out his orders “to kill” criminals.
Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros said she hoped the nation’s Department of Justice was watching the livestreamed proceedings because of Duterte’s admissions “involving criminal acts.” In response, the former leader said he was wondering why the nation’s justice department hasn’t filed a case against him. “I’ve been killing people for a long time and up to now they haven’t filed a case,” Duterte said.
The justice department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Senate investigation also marked the first time the former leader came face to face with the drug war victims’ families, who maintained the innocence of their kin killed in police operations.
Senator Ronald Dela Rosa, a Duterte ally and former police chief who implemented the drug war, earlier called for the chamber’s own inquiry to counter an ongoing probe at the House of Representatives.
“I am here to tell the truth, and as I do so, witness the web of lies come undone one thread at a time,” Dela Rosa said.
The 79-year old Duterte, who is running for mayor in southern Davao city at the 2025 midterm elections, last week skipped a House hearing where Marcos allies are conducting extensive probes into alleged extrajudicial killings under his administration’s anti-narcotics crackdown. The drug war is also being investigated by the International Criminal Court for possible crimes against humanity.
The Duterte family’s ties with Marcos have frayed over policy differences, with the former president’s daughter Vice President Sara Duterte earlier this month saying Marcos “doesn’t know how to be a president” in her sharpest attack yet on her 2022 campaign partner.
Dela Rosa on Friday described the House probe as a “fishing expedition” meant to crush Duterte’s allies ahead of the 2025 and the 2028 presidential elections. In one of the House committee hearings this month, a retired police officer confirmed the implementation of an alleged cash reward system for police who carried out extrajudicial killings under Duterte’s drug war. The ex-leader denied the allegations.
More than 6,000 were killed during the Duterte administration’s anti-narcotics campaign, based on government data, but human rights groups estimate a higher death toll, mostly among the poor.
--With assistance from Andreo Calonzo.
(Updates with comments from Duterte and Senator Hontiveros from fourth paragraph.)
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