Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Thursday pushed back against former Senator Leila de Lima’s remarks linking him to alleged human rights violations, asserting that due process must apply to all regardless of political affiliation.
“There are also accusations that are very unfounded, and I would dare say are lies, and there are also pangpalito sa issue,” Cayetano said in a Facebook Live session on March 13, 2025, responding to de Lima’s criticism of his stance on the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) over former President Rodrigo Duterte.
This came after de Lima, in a video statement earlier on Thursday, questioned Cayetano’s credibility in discussing human rights and due process, claiming he had enabled extrajudicial killings during the Duterte administration.
Cayetano refuted the accusations, stressing that human rights should not be used as a political weapon. He pointed to the Philippine Constitution which guarantees due process for all individuals – including Duterte.
“‘Di ba nakalagay na ‘No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law’? Si President Duterte po ay isang tao. Sabi po ng Constitution, ‘No person.’ Ako po, person din po ako. So paano mo sasabihin na ‘You’re the last person who should be talking about it?’ Wala pong ‘last person’ sa Pilipinas na pwedeng pag-usapan ang human rights kasi para sa lahat ‘yan,” he said.
Cayetano also took issue with de Lima’s narrative on extrajudicial killings, clarifying that he never condoned any form of abuse.
“Kailan ko sinabing kulang pa y’ung patay? I always said that every life is valuable,” he said, challenging fact-checkers to scrutinize de Lima’s claims.
He warned that the push to arrest Duterte without going through the proper legal process sets a dangerous precedent that could be weaponized against political opponents.
“Kaya pala sinasabi mo na isama na ako [sa ICC]. In the next few days, hindi lang si Senator Bato [dela Rosa] ‘yan. Ang gusto ni Senator de Lima at ng iba nilang mga kaanib ay ubusin ang mga kalaban nila sa politika,” he said.
“Hindi po ito human rights agenda para kay Senator de Lima, ito ay isang political agenda,” he added.
