In his opening statement in one of the recent House quad committee (quad comm) hearings on the illegal drug war deaths, Congressman Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr. asked Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, one of the resource persons, if he was conniving with the International Criminal Court (ICC). 

His accusatory tone was a bolt out of the blue. The former senator had been communicating with the ICC, providing its investigators with testimonies and documents on former president Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.

As a result of those testimonies and documents, some quarters believe, a case buildup is proceeding exceedingly well. The former president, along with a number of others, will soon face charges for crimes against humanity before the tribunal, with the corresponding warrants of arrest imminent.

Vantage Point, however, sees former senator Trillanes’ act as cooperation, not connivance. The latter is a loaded word that connotes treason or treachery, a distinction that should not have escaped the congressman if, indeed, he was extremely proficient in the English language, as he claimed to be in his opening statement.

Congressman Abante, who serves as quad comm co-chair, adverted to the fact that Trillanes, as a junior naval officer, had once led an attempt to topple the government, which, he said, was an unpatriotic act. He failed to mention, however, that the mutiny was held to protest the corruption of then-president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

He raised the issue of patriotism, not only to impugn the credibility of the quad comm’s resource person, but also to depict himself as an anti-communist patriot for the benefit of the televised committee hearing’s millions of viewers.

It turned out that Congressman Abante, a Bible Baptist Church pastor who is currently serving as the representative of the 6^th District of Manila, was fighting the New People’s Army (NPA) by quoting Bible verses. He was not interested in addressing the root causes of the rebellion: injustice and poverty. 

In 1775, Samuel Johnson wrote, “Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.”

What the English essayist and lexicographer had in mind was William Pitt, the 1^st Earl of Chatham. But the description equally applies to people across the centuries — to the likes, for instance, of Congressman Abante, an evangelist Christian, who could find it in his conscience to exonerate a self-proclaimed murderer.

The Manila representative disclosed in his statement that he had met President Duterte in the Palace at the height of the war on drugs. For what purpose? When he came face to face with the former president, Abante told him that only Jesus Christ, as God’s only begotten son, could save him from the fires of hell. It seems that he went through all that trouble to preach, not to dissuade, a “killer” from his evil ways. 

The irony is that, former president Duterte may have been issuing one of his kill orders at that time, but the congressman during the quad comm hearing was more intent on accomplishing his proselytizing foray.

Congressman Abante could be forgiven, some say, “for being an old fool who was trying to engage a confirmed atheist in religious polemics.” There is no excuse, however, for helping a murderer from Davao City become president, thereby enabling him to replicate his killing spree on a national scale.

The congressman proudly said he and his fellow ministers campaigned for then-mayor Duterte, not in expectation of a reward, monetary or otherwise, but in the honest belief that he could rid the country of illegal drugs.

Even then, Abante must have known that the object of his anointment was a killer, with then-Human Rights Commission chair Leila de Lima having already launched an investigation into the killings. He could have foreseen the danger, but he persisted nonetheless. He is, therefore, complicit in the greatest existentialist threat the country has ever faced in its long history. 

The congressman is now lamenting the bloodbath. But if he was really concerned about the plight of the victims of Duterte’s war on drugs, which may have included a number of his flock, he should applaud, rather than condemn Trillanes for bringing the killing spree to the attention of the ICC and the whole world.

In an interview with journalist Christian Esguerra following his testimony at the hearing, the former senator pointed out that the number of killings drastically went down when the tribunal took cognizance of the case.

“That stopped Duterte dead in his tracks,” Trillanes said.

Congressman Abante insisted the proponent of the war on drugs meant well, although, he admitted, the policy evolved into something evil.

“It shouldn’t be that way, Mr. President,” the congressman said during their encounter, making it sound like he was lecturing Duterte on matters of leadership. 

In reality, what Abante has done was to give the former president an escape clause by shifting the blame to someone else. – Rappler.com

Val A. Villanueva is a veteran business journalist. He was a former business editor of the Philippine Star and the Gokongwei-owned Manila Times. For comments, suggestions email him at mvala.v@gmail.com.