MANILA, Philippines — The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) agreed to file a series of cases against President Rodrigo Duterte once his term ends in 2022. Among the cases to be filed will be crimes against humanity, NUPL national chairperson Neri Colmenares said in a statement on Saturday. Such charges are “preparations” for more cases to be filed domestically once the President’sterm ends in 2022, Colmenares added. “President Duterte cannot even promise members of the police and military that they will not go to prison because even President Duterte himself cannot escape criminal accountability once he steps down from office,” Colmenares said. “Should we find that prosecutors purposely and maliciously filed cases against activists without undertaking due diligence in ensuring that the accused are given the chance to counter these complaints, we will not hesitate to also file administrative cases against them,” he added.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer October 19, 2019 17:26 UTC