The International Criminal Court (ICC) has dismissed the request of the Philippine government for the tribunal to suspend the investigation into the killings linked to the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
The five-man Appeals Chamber made the decision on Monday, March 27, pending the resolution of the Philippines’ plea to reverse the January 26, 2023 ruling that allowed the ICC prosecutor to resume its probe into the drug war.
It said the Philippines did not include any reasons or arguments in support of the request for suspension.
“The Appeals Chamber notes that it would have been preferable for the Philippines to have included its supporting arguments for the Request in the Notice of Appeal,” it said.
The Marcos administration has repeatedly said it does not recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction since the country had already pulled out of the Rome Statute—the treaty that created the Hague-based court—in 2019.
However, the Appeals Chamber said the Philippines failed to explain “how the alleged absence of jurisdictional or legal basis for the resumption of the prosecutor’s activities pending the resolution of the appeal would ‘defeat its very purpose and create an irreversible situation that could not be corrected.’”
“Lastly, the Appeals Chamber notes that as far as national investigations are concerned, the Philippines is in a position to continue its investigations irrespective of the ongoing proceedings before the Court,” it said.
“In the absence of persuasive reasons in support of ordering suspensive effect, the Appeals Chamber rejects the request. This is without prejudice to its eventual decision on the merits of the Philippines’ appeal against the impugned decision.”
Reacting to the development, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla reiterated that the ICC cannot conduct an investigation in the Philippines.
“If they insist on doing it, well, good luck to them, because they cannot enter our country to impose a rule of law different from ours. And our rule of law here is run by Filipinos,” Remulla said in an interview with ANC on Tuesday, March 28.
Rise Up for Life and for Rights, a group that submitted communications to the ICC about alleged extrajudicial killings in the anti-drug campaign, urged the tribunal to investigate “with vigor.”
“As victims of abuse and families of those killed, we want—in fact, we are on the edge of our seats in anticipation—for the investigation phase of the ICC to immediately and vigorously proceed,” the group said in a statement.
“It is our prayer that the ICC investigation will ferret out truth and evidence that can bring justice and accountability for the killings of our loved ones.”
