THE International Criminal Court cannot expect any cooperation from former President Rodrigo Duterte when it resumes its investigation into the killings in his war on drugs, according to lawyer Harry Roque.
Duterte maintains his stand that he will only face local courts, said Roque.
“Former President Duterte reiterates his position that he would never allow foreigners to sit in judgment of him as long as Philippine courts are willing and able to do so,” Roque, Duterte’s spokesperson when he was in Malacañang, said in a statement.
Roque said Duterte would comply with legal processes in the Philippines in connection with any case filed against him for the drug war killings. The former President was “ready to face any of his accusers,” he said.
“But the former chief executive would never subject himself under the legal jurisdiction of any foreign body because it is an insult to the competence and impartiality of our functioning criminal justice system,” he said.
Revived drug war probe
The ICC pre-trial chamber recently granted its prosecutor’s request to resume the probe into the killings in the Philippines because it was not satisfied with the country’s own investigations.
Families and loved ones of those slain in the drug war had run to the Hague-based tribunal for help. They sought justice for the killings that they contended were state-sanctioned and constituted “crimes against humanity.”
After the ICC launched its preliminary examination of the complaint in 2018, Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the tribunal.
But the investigation continued because the court has jurisdiction over matters that took place when the Philippines was still a member of the ICC.
Waste of time?
Roque contended that the ICC would be wasting its time and resources by resuming its investigation.
“I support former President Duterte’s firm stand. Our domestic courts are willing and able to carry out fair proceedings vis-à-vis cases related to the war on drugs campaign,” he said.
PH gov’t resistance
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the government would oppose any attempt from the ICC to summon or to serve an arrest warrant against Duterte or anybody tagged as the mastermind in the killings.
Remulla said ICC was “insulting” the Philippines with its decision to resume the probe on the drug war.
The ICC will have “no compulsory process” in the Philippines and will not be empowered to issue subpoenas, he added.
The Philippine government will appeal the ICC’s decision to resume the investigation, according to Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra.
Shot at justice
Human rights advocates had hailed the decision of the ICC to resume the investigation.
The ICC will be an impartial body and will provide a credible avenue for an investigation, and would give the victims a shot at justice, they said.
Banner photo credit: Malacañang
