2 minority bloc senators urge cooperation with ICC on 'drug war' deaths
MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers in the Senate minority on Tuesday welcomed a potential International Criminal Court investigation into killings in the "drug war", saying it will help bring victims of alleged extrajudicial killings justice.
Fatou Bensouda, the chief prosecutor of the international court, announced on Monday that she has sought permission for a full-blown investigation to follow her office's preliminary examination into the allegations against President Rodrigo Duterte and others involved in the "drug war."
In a statement, Sen. Risa Hontiveros called on "the entire state bureaucracy, especially our law enforcement units, to cooperate during the investigation stage."
"The application to open a full investigation on this gruesome campaign brings us one step closer towards justice for Kian delos Santos, Carl Arnaiz, Reynaldo de Guzman, as well as victims filed under 'collateral damage' and those specifically targeted by agents of the state. These are severe crimes and must not go unpunished," Hontiveros said.
"The whole world is watching. We reiterate our calls: stop the killings. End impunity. Pursue a public health approach to problematic drug use."
Sen. Leila de Lima, a former chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights and who held hearing at the Senate into alleged extrajudicial killins, also "most gladly" welcomed the calls for a full investigation.
"The days of Rodrigo Roa Duterte are coming to an end," De Lima, who has since been arrested and is being tried on drug-related cases that she said were politically motivated, wrote in a dispatch from Camp Crame.
"Let us all pray for Duterte’s long life and good health, so that he may go through the ICC trial that would follow his arrest after the start of the investigation of the Office of the Prosecutor," she also said.
"All power, no matter how absolute, is always fleeting. Only justice is permanent. Let it be done though the heavens fall."
The sentiment is by no means representative of the Senate, which is dominated by a "supermajority" of the president's allies and supporters. Senate President Vicente Sotto III, in an Inquirer.net article, played down the Bensouda's decision, saying the ICC should also investigate "drug groups killings" in Mexico and in South America.
He also questioned the basis of Bensouda's decision to seek a formal investigation, pointing out that she has not been to the Philippines to investigate the allegations.
Rights groups: Further int'l action needed to quell abuse
Human rights monitors both here and abroad called the move a blow against the impunity surrounding the "war on drugs."
In a statement sent to reporters, the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines also lauded what it said was a "landmark" announcement but highlighted the need for further support from the international community.
"Instead of taking positive action when informed of these systemic and widespread human rights violations, and recognizing the complicity of the Philippine Government, the UN Human Rights Council voted to provide technical cooperation and capacity-building to the same government that has publicly endorsed the policy of killings, avoided independent investigations, and continued its crackdown on civil society," the group said.
The technical cooperation has yet to be finalized, with Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra saying in a video statement posted on the Facebook page of the Department of Foreign Affairs on Sunday that it will be signed soon.
But the Duterte administration cited the Joint Program on Human Rights with the UN in arguing that the country had a "long track record of constructive engagement."
"Further action from the international community is urgently needed,” said ICHRP spokesperson Peter Murphy, calling on the UN council "to send a strong message that it too will no longer allow the Philippine government to continue its campaign of human rights violations with impunity."
“The United Nations Human Rights Council must now initiate a long-overdue independent investigation into the Philippines to examine crimes under international law and other serious violations of human rights committed over the full duration of the Duterte administration, including its so-called war on drugs. The perpetrators and architects of these crimes must be held to account." — Franco Luna with reports from Bella Perez-Rubio
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