Enrile questions legitimacy of Duterte’s drug war

Former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile has raised concerns about the legitimacy of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug campaign, suggesting it may not align with standard law enforcement practices.

Enrile, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., emphasized that the campaign’s approach could be seen as a deviation from established legal procedures.

“They think that the PRRD drug war was a legitimate law enforcement policy. It was not. The anti-drug law did not, to my recollection, authorize killing suspected people with impunity,” Enrile said in a Facebook post on Saturday.

“No Congress, under our constitutional law, ever authorized summary killings of suspected people,” Enrile added, saying that the 1987 Constitution “abhors the death penalty.”

He further noted that the associated killings should not be viewed as legitimate actions or mere excesses in an otherwise lawful operation.

“Even criminals caught red-handed are not authorized by law to be killed summarily, unless they resisted with violence. Police power in this country is not licensed to kill suspected people with impunity. Police power is generally controlled by LAW and DUE PROCESS,” Enrile said.

These remarks come in the wake of findings from the House of Representatives’ Quad Committee, which has been investigating the conduct and implications of Duterte’s drug war., uncovering significant concerns regarding the methods employed during the campaign.

In December 2024, the Quad Committee recommended filing crimes against humanity charges against former President Duterte and two other officials.

The committee’s report highlighted numerous instances of extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations linked to the anti-drug operations.

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) acknowledged the Quad Committee’s findings, emphasizing that “no one is above the law.”

The CHR reiterated the importance of accountability and the need for thorough investigations into the alleged abuses.

Former President Duterte has faced increasing scrutiny over his anti-drug campaign.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has also been investigating allegations of extrajudicial killings related to Duterte’s anti-drug efforts.

The ICC has expressed concerns that the campaign “cannot be seen as a legitimate law enforcement operation, and the killings neither as legitimate nor as mere excesses in an otherwise legitimate operation.”

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has indicated that it will carefully evaluate the Quad Committee’s recommendations.