Pacquiao to allow probe of Duterte war on drugs – BusinessWorld Online

BOXING champion and Senator Emmanuel Manny D. Pacquiao on Wednesday said he would allow an international probe of Philippine President Rodrigo Dutertes war on drugs if elected.

The boxing icon also vowed to fight illegal drugs the right way, noting that innocent people had been executed under the tough-talking leaders anti-narcotics campaign.

I believe there are extrajudicial killings based on what I know, he told foreign journalists at a news briefing. I know some people who have been victimized even though it is not true [that they were involved in drugs].

Mr. Pacquiao, once a staunch Duterte ally, also said he would consider rejoining the International Criminal Court (ICC), from which the Philippines under Mr. Duterte withdrew in 2018. He promised justice for victims of the drug war.

Called Pacman by his Filipino fans, the senator is behind Ferdinand Bongbong R. Marcos, Jr. and Vice-President Maria Leonor Leni G. Robredo in presidential opinion polls.

The Hague-based tribunals pre-trial chamber has ordered a probe of Mr. Duterte as it found a reasonable basis that crimes against humanity might have been committed in his war on drugs.

Back in 2016, the boxing champion had defended Mr. Dutertes anti-illegal drug campaign, but now thinks some drug suspects might have been executed.

Mr. Pacquiao also said he would form a peace panel with China to discuss the South China Sea dispute if he becomes president.

What we hope and seek here is to be friends with all countries, he said in Filipino. Its the agreement that will help develop the lives of every Filipino family.

The deal with China should ensure that Filipino rights are not abused, he said, adding that experts and agencies would be allowed to join the discussion. Our first concern here is the benefits to the Filipino people.

The South China Sea, a key shipping route, is subject to overlapping territorial disputes involving China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. China claims more than 80% of the disputed waterway.

The boxing champ said his government would not seek help from other countries in solving the dispute as far as possible.

Several allies have backed the Philippines in the sea dispute with China, whose claim to the sea was rejected by a United Nations-backed tribunal in 2016.

The United States has said it supports the arbitral award and a Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines in case of an armed attack on Philippine Armed Forces, public vessels or aircraft in the sea. Under the treaty, both sides must help each other in case of any external aggression.

NET WORTHMeanwhile, Mr. Marcos, Jr. on Tuesday night said he is OK with divulging his net worth statement if he wins the elections this year. But doing so is still a government officials prerogative, he added.

Its not a problem, he told a presidential debate on Sonshine Media Network International, which is owned by Mr. Dutertes spiritual adviser. There is no need to change the law requiring public officials to disclose their net worth, he added.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) this month rejected lawsuits seeking to disqualify the son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos from the presidential race after a trial court convicted him in the 1990s for tax evasion.

The Comelec First Division said the crime did not involve wicked, deviant behavior. The case is on appeal before the en banc.

Mr. Marcos noted that as a private citizen, he had not filed his net worth statement for the past six years, but he would do so once he becomes president. Last month, he said the document could be used to attack political opponents.

Under a memo issued by the Ombudsman in Sept. 2020, an officials net worth report can only be released to his authorized representative or upon a court order. The Ombudsman order also excluded journalists from obtaining copies of the statements.

Mr. Duterte had not disclosed his net worth despite his vow of transparency, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism reported in 2020.

Since the law requiring public officials to disclose their net worth was enacted in 1989, all five presidents before Mr. Duterte had disclosed their net worth year on year without fail, it said.

At Tuesdays debate, former presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella, labor leader Leodegario Ka Leody de Guzman and former Defense chief Norberto B. Gonzales, who are all running for president, said they would disclose their net worth statement if they are elected.

Also on Wednesday, political analyst Victor C. Manhit said Mr. Marcos has a better chance of winning the presidential race this year after his running mate Davao City Mayor and presidential daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio opted to run for vice-president instead.

Duterte loyalists transferred their support from Ms. Carpio to Mr. Marcos as a result, he told an online news briefing. What we saw is a consolidation of the voices of the Marcoses and Dutertes.

Mr. Marcoss lead in presidential opinion polls has increased in the past months. A Social Weather Stations poll in January found that 50% of Filipinos would vote for him as president, up from 47% a quarter earlier.

A similar poll by Pulse Asia Research Group in January found that six of 10 Filipinos would vote for him, up from 53% a month earlier. Alyssa Nicole O. Tan and KATA

Go here to read the rest:

Pacquiao to allow probe of Duterte war on drugs - BusinessWorld Online