People will say all sorts of things about this development and we sure hope the Palace doesn’t get mad at them for it.
Malacañang is reported to have “indirectly expressed its support” to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) which plans to investigate reports of human rights violations committed by Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.
When asked about the CHR’s planned probe on Duterte’s so-called “kill claims,” Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma Jr. said, “(The CHR) is doing its duty to determine the truth behind any alleged human right violation.”
Coloma added, “We recognize that every citizen has a constitutionally and legally protected right. This includes the right to live and to be given due process in any legal action.”
“Malacañang has always distanced itself from cases handled by co-equal branches of government such as the judiciary and legislature, or independent constitutional bodies like the Office of the Ombudsman and the Commission on Elections,” reports Delon Porcalla in The Philippine Star.
The report pointed out, though, that “Jose Luis Gascon, an LP director general prior to his appointment as CHR chairman, is identified with standard-bearer Manuel Roxas II who is trailing behind his other rivals in surveys for the May 2016 presidential elections, including the pace-setting Duterte.”
