Describing the Duterte administration’s bloody drug war as a “pro-life” or “human rights” campaign risks distorting the meaning of human rights and weakening the constitutional guarantees of life, due process, and accountability, a House human rights leader warned.
The statement came after Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano defended the former administration’s anti-drug campaign, calling it both a “human rights campaign” and a “pro-life campaign.”
Manila Rep. Bienvenido “Benny” Abante, chairperson of the House Committee on Human Rights, rejected the characterization, saying the government cannot claim to protect life while ignoring killings carried out without trial, lawful judgment, or evidence tested in court.
A proper understanding of human rights, Abante said, must include protection from illegal drugs and protection from unlawful state violence.
“He should study the real definition of human rights as enshrined in the Constitution,” Abante said, adding that concerns over the campaign have also drawn international scrutiny.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war remains one of the country’s most divisive human rights issues, with families of victims continuing to seek justice and accountability. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has also pursued crimes against humanity allegations linked to the anti-drug campaign.
Abante said the illegal drug trade itself destroys lives and violates human dignity, but he stressed that those accused of involvement in drugs are still entitled to due process.
“I agree with SP Cayetano that those involved in the drug trade are human rights violators and a human rights concern but also those who kill without legal basis and due process,” Abante said.
He said the core issue is accountability, especially in cases where deaths were attributed to police operations, vigilante attacks, or other violent actions carried out in the name of the drug war.
“Both who are killed because of drugs and guns, whether they’re vigilantes or police, are human rights violations. What we are after is accountability and due process,” Abante said.
The lawmaker also criticized the use of moral or religious language to justify a campaign marked by bloodshed, saying public officials must uphold the Constitution’s recognition of the sanctity of life.
He cited Proverbs 6:17, which refers to “hands that shed innocent blood,” and said moral principles should also apply to the poor, the accused, and families left behind by the killings.
The senior legislator said the debate over the drug war should not be reduced to a choice between fighting illegal drugs and defending human rights.
For him, the state must confront both: the damage caused by the drug trade and the abuses committed in the campaign against it.
“Human rights is very much concerned about the use of killing machines in the war on drugs during Duterte’s time,” he said.
He warned that constitutional accountability loses meaning when anyone, whether law enforcers or vigilantes, is allowed to decide guilt through force instead of law.