The Philippines has no intention of returning or rejoining the International Criminal Court in the Hague which is looking into the war against humanity angle of the war on drugs of former President Duterte.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. today said the Philippines has no intention of rejoining the Hague-based International Criminal Court, which could reopen its investigations into Duterte’s deadly war on drugs. This after he met with legal officials to discuss the bid of ICC prosecutor to resume the drug war inquiry after finding that the Philippines has not investigated alleged crimes within the court’s jurisdiction.
"The Philippines has no intention of rejoining the ICC," Marcos told reporters.
“We met about reports that the investigation will be resumed. What we are saying is there is an investigation here, it continues, so why there should be another probe,” Marcos said.
Marcos said the ICC "is a very different kind of a court" and he told officials to study the procedure thoroughly, ABSCBN reported.
Our actions could be misinterpreted, so let us clarify what should be done, who should write to who, what should be written.
In March 2018, then President Rodrigo Duterte canceled the Philippines' membership in the ICC's founding treaty. But under the ICC's statute, it has jurisdiction for crimes committed between 2016 and 2019.
Duterte told officers to fatally shoot narcotics suspects if their lives were at risk. He defended the crackdown, saying it had saved families and prevented the Philippines from turning into a "narco-politics state."
Government data show more than 6,200 people have died in police anti-drug operations since Duterte was swept to power in 2016.
Rights groups say Duterte created a climate of impunity and estimate that tens of thousands have been killed by police, hitmen and vigilantes, even without proof they were involved in drugs.
Only three policemen have been convicted for slaying a drug suspect.
Under pressure from the UN Human Rights Council and the ICC, the government has examined around 300 cases of drug operations that led to deaths.
Then Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra told AFP in October that a review of 52 cases had cast doubt on the officers' common claim of self-defense.
Marcos Jr. had a meeting with Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, and Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez. Atty. Harry Roque, Duterte’s spokesman.
According to Marcos Jr., the meeting was about reopening the ICC’s drug war investigation.
“The meeting that we had with the SolGen, the Secretary of the DOJ, kasama na rin diyan si Senator Enrile who has become my legal adviser, also si Atty Harry Roque because he’s involved and recognized by the ICC,” he also said.
In a Facebook post, Roque said he attended the meeting as a “private counsel.”
“Ang mi-neeting namin ay dahil sinasabi ngayon ay itutuloy ang imbestigasyon. Ang sinasabi namin, may imbestigasyon naman dito at patuloy rin naman ang imbestigasyon, bakit magkakaroon ng ganun?” Marcos Jr. continued.
(Our meeting was held because the investigation will continue now that it has been announced. Basically, we are saying an investigation is underway, why would they do such a thing?)
“Para alam natin ang gagawin natin (To have a clear idea), if we will respond, if we will not respond – kung sakali man sasagot tayo ano isasagot natin, or possible din hindi natin papansinin dahil hindi naman tayo sumasailalim sa kanila (What will we answer if we answer? It may be that we ignore it since we are not subject to it.),” he added.
Marcos Jr. said he asked his Cabinet to study the procedure first so that the government’s approach would be appropriate and avoid misinterpretation of the government’s actions.
The Philippines withdrew from the Court in March 2018, which then took effect on Mach 2019. While Manila is no longer a part of the ICC, the international body is still allowed to conduct investigations in the Philippines.
However, Philippine officials have maintained that the country has its own functioning justice system. The country promised to conduct its own investigation, however, the ICC was left unsatisfied and is eager to conduct its own investigation.
The country has until September 8 to provide the ICC a response to ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan’s request to pursue the investigation.
Meanwhile, Marcos maintains that his administration would have to look into the case first, without giving other details of his meeting with other officials last week.
Fight for justice continues
Marcos' statement is a big blow to families of "War on Drugs" victims who are calling for justice for their slain loved ones, despite the president's initial statement when he was elected on putting "importance of ensuring high-level of accountability in terms of human rights [violations]."
Meanwhile, the In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity Movement (iDEFEND) said that while it is “not surprising” that Marcos Jr. “will protect” both the former president and retired police officer Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa from getting prosecuted with charges of Crimes Against Humanity before the Court, relatives of their bloody “drug war” victims will continue to seek justice.
“Relatives’ support groups continue to engage the Court towards pursuing the investigation of willful killings under the war on drugs,” iDEFEND said in a statement.
The victims and their legal representatives have until September 22 to submit to the ICC additional reports.
Under the treaty that created the ICC, known as the Rome Statute, the court can only intervene if states are unwilling or unable to prosecute crimes themselves, and part of the ICC OTP’s collecting of information and the steps undertaken by the domestic judiciary is to determine if this is so. If the OTP concludes that Philippine authorities are not doing enough, it can request permission from the ICC judges to open a full investigation.
Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has stressed that a preliminary examination is not an investigation. President Duterte, however, has said he feels unfairly targeted. Duterte pointed out that the ICC’s activities were premature and “effectively created the impression that I am to be charged.”
In practical terms, when a country withdraws from the Rome Statute, the ICC loses jurisdiction over that country. The prosecutor is only permitted to begin a preliminary examination or an investigation into crimes committed by nationals or on the territory of states parties.
Countries that are not members of the ICC are outside its reach unless the UN Security Council specifically refers the situation to the court. This was the mechanism employed only twice so far, in the cases of Sudan and Libya, which led to the indictments of President al-Bashir and former Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi.
Should the ICC’s jurisdiction and legitimacy become further eroded and more countries withdraw, the international community would have to rely on the Security Council to refer cases to the court. The complexities of the inner workings of the Council aside, their involvement in cases before the court is highly controversial because it could politicize the court proceedings themselves, as some experts have argued, according to Benjamin Duerr, an international criminal law analyst based in the Hague.
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