Duterte vows to pardon mayor’s killers

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines suggested on Friday that 19 police officers accused of killing a politician should spare themselves a lengthy trial and plead guilty because he planned to pardon them anyway.

“I can’t leave these officers behind. If they are convicted? No problem,” Duterte said. “They can call me and say they have been convicted, and I’ll tell the judge to pardon them all.”

He said the officers would be not only be reinstated, but also promoted.

Duterte’s comments were criticised by opposition leaders and human rights groups, who have accused him of abusing his powers in a monthslong crackdown on drug dealers and users that has left thousands of people dead.

The 19 officers were arrested after the November shooting death of Rolando Espinosa Sr, the mayor of Albuera, a town in the central Visayas region. Espinosa was killed in his jail cell after being arrested on a drug charge in October. Duterte had accused him of being one of 150 local officials involved in the drug trade.

The officers, led by Marvin Marcos, a police superintendent, have claimed that a gunfight broke out in the provincial jail after the mayor pulled a gun, which he had concealed in his cell, on the men, who were there to serve a warrant.

A Senate investigation into Espinosa’s death said he had been killed under “suspicious circumstances”.The Senate report said 19 officers were guilty of a “grave abuse of authority”, adding Espinosa’s death appeared to be premeditated.

Duterte said it was within his powers to grant absolute pardons with agreement from Congress, which is controlled by his allies.