Duterte defends drug war: I did what I had to do to protect the people

Former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte is set to attend the Senate probe on his drug war. FILE PHOTO FROM BONG GO FACEBOOK PAGE

MANILA, Philippines — “I did what I had to do.”

This was what former President Rodrigo Duterte had to say when asked on Monday what he could tell the public about his administration’s brutal anti-drug campaign.

In an ambush interview at the Senate, Duterte said he had to implement the drug war “to protect the people” and his country.

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“I am here to make an accounting of what I did as President,” he told reporters.

Asked if he has any regrets about leading such a controversial anti-drug campaign, the former president simply said: “[The] drug war, it is for the Filipino to make a judgment.”

Duterte’s attendance before the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee marks his first appearance in a congressional inquiry into his administration’s bloody drug war dubbed as Oplan Tokhang.

The anti-drug campaign made the former president a central figure in the International Criminal Court’s investigation into crimes against humanity complaints filed by families of drug war victims.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency listed 6,252 dead in anti-drug police operations from July 1, 2016, to May 31, 2022.

However, a 2017 year-end report attributed to the Office of the President listed more than 20,000 dead in the first 17 months of the Duterte administration.