International Criminal Court

Proposed House resolution defending Duterte vs ICC ‘grave insult’ to drug war victims

Jodesz Gavilan

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Proposed House resolution defending Duterte vs ICC ‘grave insult’ to drug war victims

MEETING. President Rodrigo Duterte presides over a Cabinet meeting at the Malacañang Palace on May 30, 2022. Malacañang photo

Malacanang

(2nd UPDATE) 'This further shows why the ICC investigation is imperative, as domestic government mechanisms and bodies including the legislative branch are working overtime in shielding Duterte from accountability,' Karapatan secretary-general Cristina Palabay says

MANILA, Philippines – Human rights groups on Thursday, February 16, slammed the latest move by several lawmakers to shield former president Rodrigo Duterte from accountability over killings of thousands of Filipinos under his violent war on drugs.

The proposed resolution was filed by 19 legislators, led by former president and now House senior deputy speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. It urged the House of Representatives to declare “unequivocal defense” of Duterte as his flagship anti-illegal drug campaign faces scrutiny at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In a statement, Karapatan tagged the House resolution is a “grave insult” to drug war victims who “suffered inhuman treatment from a murderous regime,” adding that blood are on the hands of the lawmakers who cheered on Duterte during the height of the killings.

“This further shows why the ICC investigation is imperative, as domestic government mechanisms and bodies including the legislative branch are working overtime in shielding Duterte from accountability,” Karapatan secretary-general Cristina Palabay said.

“Shame on them, it shows how one fascist president supports another and how we should always stand our ground with the victims, survivors and their families in pursuing justice wherever and whenever needed,” she added.

This move by lawmakers came after the ICC’s pre-trial chamber recently authorized the resumption of an investigation into the killings under Duterte’s drug war since it’s “not satisfied that the Philippines is undertaking relevant investigations that would warrant a deferral of the Court’s investigations on the basis of the complementarity principle.”

The Philippine government on February 3 appealed the ICC’s decision while Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said that they will submit the appeal brief by end of February.

ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan is expected to gather more evidence that could potentially lead to a request for the issuance of summons or warrants, the target of which at this point is still unclear but the court is usually interested in high-ranking officials.

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Government data shows that at least 6,252 individuals were killed in police operations alone by May 2022, a month before Duterte’s term ended. This number does not include those killed vigilante-style which human rights groups estimate to be between 27,000 to 30,000. 

There is no significant development in the quest for justice for victims. Families continue to face challenges in dealing with authorities for investigations, while there are those who already decided not to act fearing retribution from the killers of their loved ones.

Many families see the ICC as the only viable path to justice, especially at a time where domestic mechanisms are failing to hold Duterte – the person who ordered the killings – accountable.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the proposed resolution defending Duterte does not have bearing on the proceedings at the ICC and at this point, it shows that allies are just consolidating.

“It’s clearly a political move to protect Duterte,” HRW senior Asia researcher Carlos Conde said.

“The government was given the opportunity to show that its justice system was working enough to make the ICC superfluous, the pre-trial chamber came to the conclusion that it failed,” he added.

In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity (iDEFEND) called on the ICC to take the resolution as a sign to dismiss the government’s appeal.

“The move defines the real response of the government to the international community’s inquiries, and explains why no complementarity can be expected from the justice system in the country,” iDEFEND international advocacy officer Rose Trajano said.

Human rights lawyer Maria Kristina Conti of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) said that while the latest move was “mere posturing,” it still harked back to Arroyo’s time as president when abuses were also rampant.

Conti serves as assisting counsel from NUPL for RISE UP, a group composed of families of drug war victims. Its members have filed communications before the ICC over the years.

Politicians ignoring the violations, she pointed out, equate to enabling perpetrators and the culture of impunity in the Philippines.

“Providing a blanket of protection only points that there can be no fair, comprehensive, and objective inquiry into the thousands of deaths [in the drug war],” Conti said.

She added, “It reminds us that there is no domestic investigation into acts and omissions of key officials, underway today, at all.” – Rappler.com

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Jodesz Gavilan

Jodesz Gavilan is a writer and researcher for Rappler and its investigative arm, Newsbreak. She covers human rights and impunity beats, producing in-depth and investigative reports particularly on the quest for justice of victims of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs and war on dissent.