President Rodrigo Duterte is never going to face trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC) over his administration's crackdown on illegal drugs which started in 2016.
Duterte, in a pre-recorded speech Monday night, lambasted the ICC after former prosecutor Fatou Bensouda sought authorization to allow the conduct of an investigation into the alleged crime against humanity committed during the administration’s drug war.
“This ICC is b*llsh*t. Why would I defend or face an accusation before white people? You must be crazy. They used to be colonizers. They have not atoned for their sins against the countries that they invaded including the Philippines. And now, they’re trying to set up a court outside our country and making us liable to face them,” he said.
Fatou Bom Bensouda, a Gambian lawyer and international criminal law prosecutor, has been the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor since June 2012, after having served as a Deputy Prosecutor in charge of the Prosecutions Division of the ICC since 2004.
Duterte, a former prosecutor in his hometown of Davao City, said it was impossible to attain justice before the international court.
“Our laws are different. Our criminal procedure is very different. How are you supposed to get justice there?” he said.
He said he would only answer to local courts, adding he is ready to defend himself from a possible investigation into his anti-illegal drugs campaign.
“We face white people? I will readily face a court being accused in a Philippine court before a Filipino judge,” he added.
Duterte again noted the ICC had no jurisdiction over him since the Rome Statute was never published in a newspaper of general circulation or on the Official Gazette in the country.
He also defended his drug war, emphasizing that many local officials continued to be involved in the illegal drug trade because it gave them easy money.
“This is narco-politics. There are mayors, some of them are dead…Now we are not saying we are killing them. We kill them because they fight back,” he said.
The Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute that created the ICC after a preliminary examination into the drug war was initiated by Bensouda in February 2018.
The country’s withdrawal from the ICC became official in March 2019.
Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said there were 81 criminal cases involving deaths arising from illegal drugs operations which are now pending before the courts or are undergoing preliminary investigation before the Department of Justice.
“That number may increase as the review panel (led by DOJ) proceeds with the task before it,” Guevarra said in a text message.
Guevarra stressed that the cooperation of the victims’ families and their witnesses is crucial in the prosecution of the cases in courts and during the preliminary investigation.
“Unless they come forward and testify, it would be extremely difficult for our investigating agencies to build up cases against erring law enforcers,” he said.
Nonetheless, the DOJ chief assured that the DOJ-led panel would continue to review cases concerning deaths that resulted from the drug war operations.
The Philippine National Police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency have turned over to the DOJ the records of about 200 cases where deaths occurred during their illegal drugs operations.
As part of its commitment before the United Nations Human Rights Council, a DOJ-led panel has been reviewing since last year cases involving deaths during anti-illegal drugs operations that have taken place since 2016 under the Duterte administration.