MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa’s comment dismissing the death of a toddler in a police drug bust with an expletive and as collateral damage proves that the nation’s former top cop does not care about the thousands—including children—killed in the government’s war on drugs, a human rights watchdog said.
“It is unfortunate that Bato Dela Rosa, the first chief enforcer of Duterte’s ‘drug war’ that has killed thousands, would display such uncaring, even contemptuous, attitude to Myca Ulpina and, by extension, the dozens of other children killed in the brutal campaign,” Carlos Conde, Human Rights Watch Philippine researcher, said.
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Conde added: “Dela Rosa should be reminded that he, too, will answer for his complicity in the slaughter of thousands.”
Dela Rosa on Thursday said there should be no collateral damage but stressed, “We live in an imperfect world.”
“If everything is perfect, no one would do wrong, but there are a lot of imperfections that is why that happened,” the former chief implementer of the anti-narcotics campaign.
He added: “But shit happens. During operations, shit happens.”
Dela Rosa is poised to chair the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs.
“His contempt for the victims of the 'drug war' makes his reported wish to be the chairman of the Senate committee on public order and illegal drugs a travesty. It also suggests that he cannot be expected to independently investigate the conduct of law enforcers, let alone the killings themselves,” Conde said.
Figures from the PNP released earlier this month put the number of "drug personalities" killed in law enforcement operations at 6,600. But some rights groups have estimates of as many as 27,000 killed.
‘Higher threshold in protecting right to life’
The Commission on Human Rights said deaths categorized as “collateral damages” cannot simply be dismissed as there should always be a higher threshold in protecting the right to life.
“Collateral damages during police operations may be unavoidable. But there is always the need to investigate to ensure that everything was done to avoid such mishaps and that accountabilities can equally be determined, should there be any lapses or violations,” CHR said.
Police claimed the girl was used as a human shield by his father—the subject of the drug bust operation—but her mother refuted this and said they were sleeping when the cops arrived.
CHR reiterated that the 1987 Constitution states no person shall be deprived of life.
“We remind the government, especially our law enforcers in this case, that it is their mandate to ensure that these guarantees are carried out, and not merely dismiss possible human rights violations nonchalantly, as part of their sworn duty to serve and protect the people,” CHR said.