‘Listen to conscience, tell UN the truth’

Listen to your conscience. A Catholic bishop made this appeal yesterday to police officers as representatives of the United Nations are set to arrive in the country to investigate killings under the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.

Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes urged law enforcers who could be interviewed by UN special rapporteurs on alleged human rights violations in the implementation of the drug war to tell the truth.

“Who knows, some policemen stricken by their conscience (might) tell the truth and reveal real crimes of killing innocent people without respect for the judicial process,” he stressed in an interview.

The prelate asked the Philippine National Police (PNP) to defy President Duterte’s order for them not to answer questions from the UN probers.

“This is what Duterte is afraid of – that the policemen might tell the truth (about extrajudicial killings) and will therefore ‘betray’ the President,” Bastes said.

Bastes lamented that the President’s “bad conscience” is preventing the truth on the killings and violations of human rights in the drug war to come out.

“Duterte is simply afraid to face the truth that through his authority the PNP has committed crimes against humanity,” Bastes said.

The bishop made the com- ment in reaction to Duterte’s reported order to police officers during a speech in Davao last Thursday.

“When the human rights or whoever rapporteur come here, my order to you: do not answer. Do not bother,” the President was quoted in reports.