Former President Rodrigo Duterte (Santi San Juan/MANILA BULLETIN)

Former President Rodrigo Duterte admitted on Wednesday, Nov. 13, that he was not aware of the several police officers who were dismissed or charged while enforcing his controversial war on drugs.

Duterte, who earlier vowed to take “full responsibility” for the actions of policemen, said he was not informed of their situation.

“I was not asked even for a minute,” he said during the House quad-committee (quad-comm) hearing.

This prompted Duterte to make a new commitment: to establish a special fund for the legal defense of the law enforcers entangled in cases.

The former president said he will start the fund with P1 million of his own money.

“I’ll start raising fund para tulungan ang mga pulis (to help the police) and I will personally appear in court ako mismo ang mag-defend sa kanila (to defend them myself),” he said.

The offer of financial assistance shocked Santa Rosa City lone district Rep. Dan Fernandez, particularly since Duterte earlier claimed that he couldn’t afford transportation to attend the quad-comm hearings.

“Two days ago you have mentioned that wala po kayong pamasahe dito (you have no fare to go here) and I’m pretty shocked na meron po kayong (that you have) P1 million in your account to help our policemen,” Fernandez said.

Fernandez, during his interpellation, lamented the plight of cops facing criminal and administrative cases.

“One-hundred-ninety-five officers na po yung na-dismissed. Nasira po ang kanilang buhay, nawalan po sila ng trabaho, they were humiliated, their dignity was lost,” he stressed.

(195 officers have already been dismissed. Their lives were ruined, they lost their jobs, they were humiliated, their dignity was lost.)

The lawmaker was referring to a prior statement from Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil, who bared that 398 policemen are facing dismissal, with more than 20 cops currently in detention.

According to Marbil, many officers continue to “face consequences largely on their own”.

Fernandez, a co-chairman of the quad-comm, pointed out that the plight of law enforcers was left unaddressed despite Duterte’s assurance that he would take “take care” of them.

Duterte, however, claimed that he was unaware of their situation since he doesn’t “have the record”.

“If you’re citing the records, then I would admit it totoo yan (it’s true). Walang problema, sinabi mo eh (No problem, you said it),” he told Fernandez.

This prompted the congressman to question Duterte for his seeming neglect of the police officers.

“But my question is bakit po natin sila napabayaan sabi niyo po sagot nyo sila? (why did you neglect them when you said you are responsible for them?)” asked Fernandez.

“If you work for the government, there are rules to be followed. It is not just because you are a policeman that you are always correct,” the former president answered.

Duterte, who served from June 2016 to June 2022, asserted that while he may not have helped law enforcers in their legal challenges, he had helped in other ways.

“Walang rekord na bigas pati pera na binigay ko sa pamilya nila,” he noted.

(There is no record of rice or money that I gave to their family.)

A case of hyperbole

Also during the hearing on Wednesday, Duterte admitted that a 2016 statement wherein he claimed to have thrown an alleged kidnapper off a helicopter was just a mere threat to corrupt public officials.

Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido “Benny” Abante  the former leader to explain this remark.

“You said publicly and I quote: ‘If you are corrupt, I will fetch you using a helicopter to Manila, and I will throw you out. I have done this before, why would I not do it again?’” said Abante.

In response, Duterte downplayed his remarks as mere exaggeration, noting that he never carried out such an act.

“Hindi sir, hyperbole lang ‘yan sir. Hindi papayag ang piloto n’yan sir,” the former president quipped.

(No sir, that's just hyperbole sir. That pilot won't agree, sir.)

Duterte insisted that his words were only a fictional story meant to intimidate criminals.

“Well sir sabi ko, storya lang. Para sa kriminal. Pero paano ko itapon ‘yan, buksan mo pa ‘yong [helicopter]… hyperbole nga,” he underscored.

(Well sir I said, just a story. For the criminal. But how can I throw them away, open the helicopter up... it's hyperbole.)

Duterte’s helicopter story was part of a pattern of provocative statements that became a signature of his presidency, wherein he often urged police and even vigilantes to target suspected criminals and drug users.

Human rights advocates argue that his extreme rhetoric has ignited a culture of impunity and violence in the country, which supposedly led to the rise of extrajudicial killings.