A Philippine lawmaker yesterday filed an impeachment complaint against Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte because of the thousands of deaths that have happened in his anti-drug crackdown and for alleged corruption, although the bid faces an uphill battle with Duterte’s allies holding an overwhelming majority in the Philippine Congress.
Philippine Representative Gary Alejano said the complaint he filed at the House of Representatives alleges that Duterte violated the constitution and betrayed the public trust with his actions, including the crackdown that has sparked extrajudicial killings of drug suspects and because of a failure to declare huge bank deposits as required by law.
“We are of the firm belief that President Duterte is unfit to hold the highest office of the land and that impeachment is the legal and constitutional remedy to this situation,” said Alejano, who was accused of involvement in a failed coup attempt several years ago.
Photo: EPA
Although opposition lawmakers lack the numbers to impeach Duterte, Alejano said there was a need to stop his “excesses and crimes.”
“Our goal with this complaint is to be a vehicle for Filipinos to have a voice to oppose and fight against the abuses and crimes of President Duterte,” he told a televised news conference. “We know it’s an uphill battle ... but we believe that many will support this.”
More than 260 of the 292 House members belong to a pro-Duterte bloc.
“Around 8,000 have been killed already,” Alejano said, referring to the estimated number of mostly drug suspects killed in the crackdown Duterte launched after taking office in June last year.
House of Representatives Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, a Duterte ally, said Alejano would fail, but should still be allowed to exercise his rights.
“We are all entitled to our own stupidity,” Alvarez said.
Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella suggested the impeachment bid and opposition criticism were possible efforts to destabilize the Duterte administration.
Alejano’s complaint cited Duterte’s speeches, where he threatened drug lords with death and encouraged law enforcers and civilians to shoot drug suspects if they fight back, and recent Senate testimony by retired police officer Arturo Lascanas and a former militiaman Edgar Motabato, who said they were members of a death squad under Duterte when he was mayor of Davao city.
Lascanas and Matobato separately testified they were involved in hundreds of killings of drug suspects and political opponents of Duterte in Davao.
Duterte has denied he condoned extrajudicial killings.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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