Philippine lawmakers urged to push for ICC probe into drug war

Philippine lawmakers urged to push for ICC probe into drug war

Rights organizations have called on Philippine lawmakers to support pending resolutions in Congress that urge President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) probe into killings linked to former president Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug war.

The investigation by the court’s prosecutor also includes Duterte’s time as mayor of Davao City on the southern island of Mindanao.

“The government’s re-commitment to the Rome statute and the ICC is long overdue. This should happen now,” said Cristina Palabay, the secretary general of the Philippine-based human rights alliance, Karapatan.

“At the same time, accountability should be sought not only for the crimes against humanity of Duterte and others. There needs to be accountability for the past and present administration,” Palabay told UCA News on Nov. 24.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) deputy Asia director Bryony Lau lauded the Filipino lawmakers urging the Marcos administration to cooperate with the ICC for “taking a firm and principled stand for accountability.”

“More lawmakers should support the House resolution. The Marcos government should do right by the victims of the ‘war on drugs’ and the ‘Davao Death Squad’ and assist the ICC investigation into alleged crimes against humanity,” Lau said in a statement sent to UCA News on Nov. 24.

Congressional Human Rights Committee chairman Bienvenido Abante also filed Resolution No. 1477 for a similar purpose.

“Given the failure of domestic redress mechanisms, the ongoing ICC investigation provides a glimpse of hope to victims of the anti-drug war and their families in their quest for justice and accountability,” she added.

Redemptorist priest Amado Picardal, a vocal critic against Duterte’s violent crackdown on drugs, maintained that the lawmakers’ move “is a welcome development and in line with the 2021 Supreme Court Ruling that the Philippines is under obligation to cooperate in the ICC investigation.”

“If this resolution passes and if President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. allows the ICC to come in, this will be a good sign that the government is serious in holding accountable those responsible for mass murder and crimes against humanity,” added Picardal, who also helped in documenting the anti-drug war killings in Davao.

Marcos told reporters in a press briefing in Manila on Nov. 24 that there are serious issues to be considered before the resolution can debated for further deliberations.

“Because if you’re talking about the sovereign — jurisdiction of the ICC, especially since we have withdrawn from the Rome statute a few years back, that brings into question, whether or not this is actually possible.

“There is also a question: Should we return under the fold of the ICC? So, that’s again under study. So, we’ll just keep looking at it and see what our options are,” the president added.

Vice President Sara Duterte, the daughter of the former president, said allowing an ICC probe into alleged crimes that are under the legal process of the country “is not only patently unconstitutional but effectively belittles and degrades our legal institutions.”

The Philippines withdrew from the ICC’s Rome statute in March 2019, which effectively bars the international court from having any jurisdiction over the country.

However, the ICC investigators said that since the crimes were committed when the country was still a member, the court can exercise its jurisdiction and prosecute Duterte.  

Human rights groups claimed that over 20,000 people have been killed during Duterte’s “drug war” that started in 2016.