Duterte slams ICC’s continued drug war probe

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte came out swinging anew against the International Criminal Court on Wednesday, a day before the ICC announced that it will continue to assess his alleged crimes against humanity despite the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute.

“Wala, basta sinabi lang patay. Tapos you want me to go to that idiotic court. Nabuang,” Duterte said during the awarding of child-friendly cities and municipalities at Malacañang.

“And what is that court, by the way? Who created it? Did we participate in the selection of the judges? Sino ‘yang mga p***** i***** taga-Europe diyan na mas marunong pa sa atin? Who are the prosecutors?” he added.

In the same speech, Duterte washed his hands of the thousands of extrajudicial killings attributed to his administration’s drug war.

 “Nakita mo naman ang sitwasyon. But what really pains me is this. I know some of you will be cynical. ‘Ah da-drama lang ‘yan si Presidente, make it more melodramatic… Well, for whatever it – however it arrives to you, hindi ko talaga matiis iyang…,” he said, referring to the ill-effects of drugs the users.

Duterte, known for his sarcasm, said he is not in the business of killing people – but is into “embalming” them.

Despite its position that the Philippines has never been part of the ICC, the Duterte administration still sent a delegation to attend the conference of parties in The Hague, Netherlands this week.

Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chairman Chito Gascon said the Philippines is scheduled to deliver a statement during the conference, which would be the last before the withdrawal of the country to the international body takes effect in March next year.

As this developed, ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda on Wednesday released a report saying it is continuing with the assessment of the situation in the Philippines to reach a determination on whether there is reasonable basis to conduct a preliminary investigation on the alleged crimes.

“This assessment is strictly guided by the requirements of the Statute and being conducted with a view to reaching conclusions within a reasonable timeframe. The office will also continue to engage with a variety of reliable sources and relevant stakeholders on all matters relevant to the preliminary examination of the situation in the Philippines,” the report read.

“Any alleged crimes occurring in the future in the context of the same situation could also be included in the Office’s analysis. Accordingly, the Office will also continue to record allegations of crimes committed in the Philippines to the extent that they may fall within the jurisdiction of the court,” it added.

Gascon stressed that the ICC will still have jurisdiction over the alleged crimes it is currently examining as it supposedly happened before the Philippines notified the court of its withdrawal. – With Christina Mendez