ICC lawyer: Davao police chief part of drug war

MANILA, Philippines — His latest appointment as Davao City’s police chief is a homecoming of sorts for Police Col. Lito Patay.

And for victims of the previous administration’s so-called war against illegal drugs, this is a cause for concern, especially as they expect the issuance of arrest warrants against former president Rodrigo Duterte and others who are behind the deadly killings.

“The development that Lito Patay – one of the implementers, one of the worst recorded violators during the war on drugs – is now Davao City police chief… is concerning to us,” ICC Assistant to Counsel Kristina Conti told “Storycon” on One News yesterday.

“I don’t know how it would work in the context of a possible warrant of arrest against his former principal, Rodrigo Duterte, and even Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa,” she added, referring to the incumbent senator who was Duterte’s first police chief and implementer of his anti-illegal drug campaign.

Patay is a member of the so-called “Davao Boys,” a group of policemen from the former president’s hometown who were brought to Metro Manila to supposedly take part in the implementation of the drug war.

A Reuters report earlier found that the Batasan Station of the Quezon City Police District led by Patay recorded the highest number of killings during anti-drug operations conducted in the first year of Duterte.

In May 2022, a little over a month before the end of Duterte’s term, Malacañang cleared Patay of an administrative charge filed in relation to the death of a minor during a police operation in Payatas, Quezon City in 2016.

Patay was appointed Davao city police chief earlier this week following the removal of several officers.

Conti, who represents victims and families in the ICC case, said they will study their next steps with regard to Patay’s appointment.

“The problem is that this is an assignment, not a promotion. He was not given a higher rank where it is possible to file a complaint,” she said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Still, she raised a question as to why he was appointed in Davao.

While Patay was not included in public documents released by the ICC, Conti said they have repeatedly mentioned his name in several of their