“Progress in Duterte’s case has yet to be formally announced by the ICC itself, although there had been earlier pronouncements from various parties that made filings before the Hague-based tribunal”
What’s the latest on the ongoing investigation by the International Criminal Court of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs?
Former Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares has been closely monitoring developments on this case. He believes the ICC may have finally wrapped up its probe into the alleged crimes against humanity case against Duterte and is now preparing for trial.
Colmenares, one of the lawyers of the families of extrajudicial killing victims and accredited counsel of the ICC, recently said the court was now encouraging the police and other possible insiders to testify as witnesses, even as the original set of witnesses would already suffice.
This process alone, he added, is a “new phase in the process of holding Duterte accountable for his crimes against humanity,” and “a welcome development that brings us closer to achieving justice for the victims and their families.”
The next ICC move, after it has determined the evidence is already strong and probably preparing for trial, should be the issuance of an arrest warrant to ensure Duterte’s presence at the proceedings, according to the lawyer.
Another development in this case is the launching by the ICC of a witness appeal microsite to collect “credible information” about the drug war that left thousands dead during Duterte’s time from 2016 to 2022.
This new platform would help in facilitating a new set of evidence against the other respondents in the case aside from Duterte.
Progress in Duterte’s case has yet to be formally announced by the ICC itself, although there had been earlier pronouncements from various parties that made filings before the Hague-based tribunal.
In January, former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said a warrant was underway against Duterte, predicting it would come in the middle of 2024. But so far, there’s been no indication that an arrest warrant for Duterte et. al. is forthcoming.
The House of Representatives, meanwhile, has been conducting congressional hearings about the drug war killings during the Duterte administration.
The evidence unearthed here by legislators could prove vital in proving the former president’s culpability for crimes against humanity.
The quad committee investigating the drug war crimes, however, said it would not voluntarily give the transcripts to ICC investigators, but conceded these could be accessed through their website and other official social media pages.
While President Marcos Jr. has maintained his position of non-cooperation with the ICC, the Department of Justice has said it is willing to let our courts handle cases on their own. But this could be problematic since our courts have not been known to deliver swift justice.
When he was still the president, Rodrigo Duterte rejected the ICC investigation, calling the tribunal “useless” and made good on his threat to withdraw the Philippines from the Rome Statute, the treaty that created the ICC.
Although the Philippines ceased to be a member of the court on March 17, 2019, the ICC last year cleared the way for an investigation into the drug war deaths and other suspected rights abuses, and said their prosecutors still had jurisdiction over the alleged crimes because they occurred when the Philippines was still an ICC member.
When Duterte finally appeared last month before the House quad committee, he not only reiterated that he would assume full responsibility for all the killings tied to his brutal war on drugs but also dared the ICC to “come here and start the investigation tomorrow.”
He even urged the ICC to “hurry up and to come here and start the investigation tomorrow,” a line he would repeat throughout the hearing.
“This issue has been left hanging for so many years. It’s been so long… I might die soon, and they might never get to investigate me,” he said. “Let them come here, and if I am found guilty, I will rot in prison.”
Will the ICC accept the Duterte challenge? We really hope so.
President Marcos Jr. had initially said the government would not cooperate with the ICC, but he has since backtracked from this position and later said he would not prevent the international tribunal from conducting any investigation.
According to police data, more than 6,200 people died in antidrug operations under Duterte’s presidency, during which police insisted they were forced to kill suspects in self-defense.
Human rights groups believe the real toll in Duterte’s war on drugs to be far greater than the official count of more than 6,000, with between 20,000 to 30,000 drug users and small-time peddlers killed in mysterious circumstances by unidentified gunmen, thereby making it truly a crime against humanity and clearly falling under the jurisdiction of the ICC.
(Email: ernhil@yahoo.com)
