While his family and friends mourn the death of slain Mayor Cesar Perez President Duterte claims that he had nothing to do with the so called “narco-list” which is believed to be responsible for Perez’ death. The “narco-list” is a list containing the names of several politicians allegedly involved in illegal drugs. Human Rights watch harshly criticised Dutertes distancing from this list. It is common knowledge that Duterte made use of lists like these to get into power. Denying this is “the height of hypocrisy” said Phil Robertson from Human Rights Watch.
Perez had been receiving death threats ever since 2019, according to Robert Laviña, municipal administrator of Los Baños. They started right after Duterte named Perez publicly on TV as one of the officials on the “Narco-List”.
Perez was shot not far from the Los Baños municipal hall. His family and close aides are convinced that the narco-list was responsible for his death. Human Rights Watch stressed that International Organisations should look closely into that matter.