DUTERTE WILL HAVE TO PAY WAGES OF HIS SIN OF EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS
*Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros on President Duterte saying that his "only sin" was EJKs

President Rodrigo Duterte's public admission of having sinned over rampant extrajudicial killings (EJKs) points to three important things:

1. it confirms the existence of Duterte's EJKs

2. It establishes the President's accountability for the killing

3. it serves as evidence in the pursuit of justice.

First, President Duterte, through a public statement, officially and publicly confirms the existence of EJKs under his watch. It ends once and for all the pseudo debate pushed by the President's fake news peddlers and data fudgers on whether or not EJKs under his regime exist. EJKs under President Duterte are real. And the President acknowledged them as his sin.

Second, President Duterte's admission undeniably establishes his clear and direct accountability for the killings. It is a public admission of guilt. It completely demolishes the argument peddled by his apologists that while there are EJK cases under his term, they were carried out by rogue police personnel without the President's express orders and approval. Now the whole world knows that the killings are not only real, they were not only committed by corrupt police elements, but more importantly, they were sanctioned by the state, no less than by President Duterte himself.

Third, President Duterte's verbal admission will serve as solid evidence in the people's quest for justice. It will serve to contribute in moving forward national and international effforts to exact accountability from the President and his cohorts. I am confident that the different human rights and democracy watchdogs, including the International Criminal Court (ICC), have documented the President's latest statement.

Truly, a fish is caught by its mouth and a foul man by his deeds. Si Pangulong Duterte ang pinakamabisang testigo laban sa kanyang sarili. Sa pag-amin niya sa sala ng EJKs, inako niya ng buo ang responsibilidad at pananagutan sa hindi na mabilang na kaso ng patayan sa ating bayan. Sooner or later, President Duterte will have to pay the wages of his sin of extrajudicial killings.