Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan criticized Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano for describing former President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody drug war as a “human rights” and “pro-life” effort.
The Kalookan bishop warned that language defending extrajudicial killings risks normalizing violence and deepening what he called a “culture of death” in Philippine society.
In a strongly worded statement, he questioned how officials could justify the deaths of thousands of suspected drug offenders without due process or legal protection.
“I wonder if he can say this straight to the faces of the thousands of women widowed and children orphaned,” David said.
The former president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said many victims were killed merely on suspicion of drug involvement.
He described cases in which victims were allegedly abducted, tortured and abandoned in public places, their heads wrapped in plastic bags before dying from suffocation.
The cardinal also warned that public statements appearing to justify the killings could carry consequences under international law and accountability mechanisms.
“Words have consequences. Words have victims. And in international criminal law, words have accountability,” David said.
Cayetano earlier defended the anti-drug campaign while discussing criticisms surrounding extrajudicial killings during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.
The senator argued illegal drugs destroyed families and communities, leading to violent crimes, rape, theft and social breakdown across many communities nationwide.
He said supporters of the campaign viewed it as protecting life and public safety, while insisting extrajudicial killings should not be tolerated or justified.
“So, the campaign against drugs is a human rights campaign, a pro-life campaign, because drugs kill,” Cayetano said.
He also maintained the government expanded rehabilitation centers and jailed more suspects instead of killing them during the anti-drug operations.
Human rights groups and Church leaders have long criticized Duterte’s drug war, which left thousands dead and drew investigations from international bodies, including the International Criminal Court.
