Sara’s comparison of Duterte to Ninoy draws more flak

MANILA, Philippines — Former senator Leila de Lima has condemned Vice President Sara Duterte’s remarks comparing her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, to former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.

Unlike the former president, De Lima said the courage displayed by Aquino was for “the country, democracy and Filipinos,” unlike her father’s actions.

“Ninoy Aquino returned to the Philippines knowing it could cost him his life. His courage was for the country, for democracy and for the Filipino people,” she said in a statement.

De Lima was reacting to the Vice President’s remarks that her father could suffer the same fate as Ninoy if he returned to the country.

“He really wants to come home. I told him, ‘Pa, if you go home, that will be the end of your life. You’ll be like Ninoy Aquino Jr.,’ ” the Vice President told Duterte supporters in The Hague.

De Lima called this statement a “desperate attempt to escape accountability” and stressed that “justice isn’t swayed by melodrama, only by truth. And history will always know the difference.”

Her remarks add to the growing backlash from various lawmakers and advocates, including ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro and nominee Antonio Tinio, who called the comparison a “grave insult” to the memory of Aquino and all victims of martial law.

“Ninoy fought against the Marcos dictatorship that killed thousands of Filipinos, while Duterte himself has the blood of thousands on his hands through his brutal drug war. Have some shame!” she said.

“To compare Duterte to Sen. Ninoy Aquino is insulting to the families of the victims of martial law and the drug war… This is a desperate attempt of the Dutertes to change the narrative of history and fool the Filipino people,” Tinio added.

Meanwhile, Gabriela Women’s Party national vice chairperson and former representative Sarah Elago denounced the Vice President’s remarks, asserting that the former president is no hero and must be held accountable for his crimes against humanity.

“We cannot call former president Duterte a martyr because the case that he is facing is a crime against humanity. His case in the ICC is not a badge of honor, but proof of the brutal and systematic extrajudicial killings during his administration,” Elago said.

“Instead of acting as spokesperson to former president Duterte, what VP Sara should face are the new pieces of evidence against her for her misuse of confidential funds,” she added.

Insensitive

The Vice President also drew criticism from former Bayan Muna congressman Neri Colmenares over her claim that no case for crimes against humanity has been filed against her father at the ICC.

In a recent statement, the Vice President argued that only “43 cases” were mentioned in the ICC’s warrant of arrest, while crimes against humanity require thousands of deaths.

“VP Sara Duterte’s assertion…is a serious allegation (that) has no basis at all under the Rome Statute of the ICC. It is also painful for the families of EJK victims to be called ‘fake victims’ for merely seeking justice for their slain loved ones,” Colmenares said in a statement.

The lawmaker also pointed out that the Vice President’s argument would not hold in the confirmation of charges hearing, as neither Article 7 of the Rome Statute nor Rules 63 to 75 of the ICC’s procedural guidelines specify a minimum number of deaths required to classify an act as a crime against humanity.

“The evidence that the attacks were committed in various regions and provinces in the Philippines for at least six years, proving widespread attacks, cannot be surmounted by the defense. How many should be killed by the president to make it a crime against humanity? If 43 deaths seem insignificant to the Dutertes, they are not insignificant to the victims’ families or the world,” Colmenares said.

He further clarified that the 43 cases referenced by the ICC prosecutor were merely a representation of the broader pattern of widespread attacks and were cited solely to request a warrant of arrest.

The actual number of cases that will be presented at the confirmation hearing may exceed 43, given that the Philippine National Police (PNP) under Duterte’s administration officially admitted to at least 6,252 killings during the drug war.

While the 43 cases are enough to convict the former president for crimes against humanity, Colmenares urged the current PNP and the Department of Justice to submit additional reports to the ICC, arguing that Duterte would lose in the next hearing if he dismissed the case based on the “small number of deaths.”

Colmenares also criticized the Vice President for calling the victims “fake,” arguing that if she and her father had allowed investigations into extrajudicial killings, they would have recognized the victims as real – unlike the fabricated figures in the Vice President’s confidential fund beneficiaries, such as Mary Grace Piattos and Amuy Liu.