Hontiveros to Bato : ICC reso not about senators but drug war victims

The Senate resolution urging the Marcos administration to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) is not about any senator but about the victims of the Duterte administration's drug war.

Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros thus said when asked about the statement of her colleague Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa who admitted that he was hurt by the resolution filed by his “very close” friend.

“Bagamat siyempre nakakalungkot din pero this is really bigger than anyone of us in the Senate. Hindi po ito tungkol sa kanya lamang o sa akin lamang o sa kahit sino sa amin,” Hontiveros said in an ANC interview.

“Higit sa lahat, this is really about the thousands of widows and orphans of the extrajudicial killings during the war on drugs,” he added.

(Although it is saddening that we’ve come to this situation, we should take note that this is really bigger than any of us in the Senate. This is not about him alone or about me or anyone else in the Senate. Above all, this is really about the thousands of widows and orphans of the extrajudicial killings during the war on drugs.)

Hontiveros pointed out that this is about the “accountability of the government” to the thousands of victims of alleged extrajudicial killings who were seeking justice for about seven years.

Dela Rosa and Hontiveros’ late husband, Francisco Baraquel Jr., were mistahs, or batch mates, at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1986.

During the plenary session on the day Hontiveros filed her resolution, the opposition lawmaker was spotted approaching Dela Rosa.

Dela Rosa, who was the Philippine National Police chief when Duterte launched his drug war, said he has no plans to talk to Hontiveros on the ICC resolution.

He said this will not gain traction in the Senate and dismissed it by tagging it as a mere propaganda.

At a press conference last Tuesday, Hontiveros said she filed proposed Senate Resolution 867 following the developments in the House of Representatives and the latest ICC pronouncement of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

‘Under study’

Last week, Marcos said that returning under the fold of the ICC is “under study.” He earlier said he would not cooperate with the international court’s inquiry into the drug war implemented by his predecessor.

While he made a softer stance on the issue, Marcos pointed out that there are problems with regards to the international tribunal’s jurisdiction over the Philippines.

The ICC Appeals Chamber had denied the Philippine government’s appeal to stop the ICC probe on the drug war  because the Philippines failed to prove to the ICC that a legitimate investigation on the drug war killings and the prosecution of the perpetrators were being undertaken by Philippine authorities.

The ICC Prosecutor Pre-Trial chamber earlier observed, as regards to the drug war, that “the available material indicates, to the required standard, that a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population took place pursuant to or in furtherance of a State policy, within the meaning of Article 7(1) and (2)(a) of the Statute.”

Statistics vary depending on sources but according to Human Rights Watch, Duterte’s “war on drugs” resulted in the deaths of more than 12,000 Filipinos, mostly from the urban poor. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News