Drug war probe shows Marcos is committed to justice, says Bersamin

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s government appears to welcome the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) probe into the previous administration’s war on drugs. 

Asked about the PNP’s plan to reinvestigate high profile drug war killings, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said that Marcos remained committed to serving justice to possible victims. 

“The reopening of the investigations of the high killings related to the war on drugs should indicate that the Marcos administration places the highest importance on the fair dispensation of justice and on the universal observance of the rule of law in the country,” Bersamin said 

The president has previously distanced himself from the brutal strongman reputation of his predecessor former president Rodrigo Duterte, opting for a more humane drug war. 

While Marcos has admitted there were abuses during Duterte’s drug war in 2023, there appeared to be no indication that an active investigation on his predecessor would be pursued by his administration. 

Marcos has actively shut down the idea of the International Criminal Court being allowed to probe Duterte’s crackdown on illegal drugs, even ordering his government not to collaborate with the court. 

However, in August, the Department of Justice stated that it was willing to do a proper investigation with the right evidence. 

A series of bombshell revelations in the House of Representatives’ has directly tagged Duterte as the one who gave the order for a nationwide, execution style implementation of the war on drugs. 

Marcos’ leaning towards a full investigation on the war on drugs also coincided with the widening rift with Vice President Sara Duterte, the daughter of Rodrigo Duterte. 

The vice president broke away from the Marcos administration in June.  

Duterte’s drug war left upwards of 6,000 dead, but the numbers could go as high as 30,000, according to some human rights groups.