Marcos won’t comment on Duterte’s drug war ‘admissions’

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos yesterday refused to comment on a question about former president Rodrigo Duterte, citing the need to focus on rebuilding areas devastated by Severe Tropical Storm Kristine.

A reporter asked Marcos in Laurel, Batangas about Duterte’s “admissions” during a Senate investigation on the latter’s controversial drug war during his administration.

“I’m not going... I don’t want to talk about... I need to talk about what’s happened here,” Marcos said in a chance interview after visiting and distributing aid to storm victims in the province.

“And you’ve seen how badly the infrastructure has been damaged. And that’s what we should pay attention to. Then, there’s the livelihood,” he added.

During a hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee on Oct. 28, Duterte admitted having organized a death squad against criminals, but claimed it was composed not of police officers, but of “gangsters” and wealthy persons who liked killing.

He also admitted “full, moral and legal responsibility” for the killings in his brutal crackdown on the drug scourge.

“Thousands were killed when I was mayor, but they are criminals. I can make a confession now, if you want. I have a death squad. But they are not composed of police. They are gangsters,” the 79-year-old Duterte said.

In April, Marcos said his government would not hand over Duterte should the International Criminal Court (ICC) issue an arrest warrant against him in relation to his deadly war on drugs.

Malacañang had also turned down the proposal of the National Union of People’s Lawyers for Marcos to submit the House of Representatives quad committee report to the ICC.

“The Philippines will not return to ICC. Based on this, the President is not expected to change his mind and not refer the quad comm matter to the ICC,” Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said in a statement last month.

Marcos also remained mum on the tirades by Duterte’s daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte.

“I’d rather not,” Marcos said when asked to respond to the Vice President’s attacks after visiting the grave of his father, the late former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City on All Saints’ Day.

At a press conference on Oct. 18, the younger Duterte recalled that she warned Marcos’ sister, Sen. Imee Marcos, that she would dig up the elder Marcos’ remains and throw them to the sea if political attacks from the current administration continue.

The Vice President also accused Marcos of incompetence and a lack of leadership that showed the deepening rift between the two powerful families ahead of the May 2025 midterm elections.

‘On the right side of history’

As the House continues its probe on alleged abuses in the previous administration, Speaker Martin Romualdez has expressed belief that they are “on the right side of history” despite criticisms from Duterte’s camp.

“The House of the People is on the right side of history. And make no mistake – no matter the challenges, no matter the opposition, we will stand our ground,” Romualdez reiterated in a speech during yesterday’s resumption of session in Congress.

“We will not yield to intimidation or pressure. We will not be swayed by the attacks hurled against us. Instead, we will press on with even greater resolve, knowing that the people are behind us, that history will remember our courage, and that our efforts are guided by the principles of justice and integrity,” he added, defending the House quad comm investigating Duterte’s war on drugs, as well as the good government panel probing Vice President Duterte’s alleged fund misuse. — Jose Rodel Clapano, Diana Lhyd Suelto