Victims’ families want ICC case vs. Duterte drug war to proceed

The families of those who died in the bloody campaign against illegal drugs during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration want to push their case before the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to Tina Panganiban Perez’s report in “24 Oras” on Wednesday. 

Llore Pasco, a mother of two victims of extrajudicial killing, wants Duterte to be held responsible for her sons’ death, but said that would only be possible if an international court handles the case. 

“Siyempre po dito sa atin, hindi talaga siya masasampahan ng kaso dahil marami po siyang kakampi, marami po siyang dahilan,” she said.

(Of course, he won’t be charged here because he has many allies and excuses.) 

“Kaya nga po talagang sinusulong namin na talagang ang ICC ay papasukin na at para magkaroon din ng imbestigasyon sa mga biktima,” she added. 

(That’s why we want the ICC to enter the country so they can also investigate the victims.) 

The National Union of People’s Lawyers, which is assisting the families, also agreed that the ICC would handle the case well. 

“Paano pa magiging effective yung investigation kung sa ordinaryong policeman who pulled the trigger ay hindi na nagpo-prosper yung cases [dito],” said lawyer Rey Cortez. 

(How can you expect an effective investigation if even cases against ordinary policemen who pulled the trigger are not prospering here?) 

“I don't think magkakaroon ng [there will be] accountability in so far as the domestic processes are concerned.” 

But Duterte’s successor President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. earlier said that the Philippine government won’t help the ICC in its investigation, saying that the Philippines does not recognize ICC’s jurisdiction.

Duterte ordered the Philippines' withdrawal from the Rome Statute after the international tribunal announced it would begin a preliminary investigation.

“We have repeatedly said ICC has no jurisdiction,” said Salvador Panelo, who was Duterte’s chief presidential legal counsel.

“Whether sila ay may magamit or hindi, wala nga sila jurisdiction. ICC is a nonsense, useless entity,” he added. 

Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV submitted transcripts from the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s hearing on the drug war to the ICC. 

Meanwhile, Representative Robert Ace Barbers, who leads the Quad Committee at the House of Representatives, said that the panel will not give any certification on any transcripts from its own hearings as it is not directly involved with ICC’s probe. 

The ICC, on the other hand, said that it is closely monitoring the developments in the country related to the drug war. 

“The Office’s investigations are built from a wide range of sources. They can encompass article 15 communications, information from States, international partners and civil society, open-source information, and the direct collection of evidence by the Office, including interviews with witnesses,” the ICC told GMA Integrated News. 

“In this light, the Office follows developments in the Philippines closely, as to their relevance for its ongoing investigation.” — Vince Angelo Ferreras/BM, GMA Integrated News