Palace on ICC request for probe: No big deal

MANILA, Philippines — The request of the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for an authority to probe the killings in the Philippines’ drug war is “no big deal,” as her use of media reports as basis for an investigation won’t stand in court, Malacañang said yesterday.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said President Duterte’s immediate reaction to the 52-page opinion of ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda was to ask why she used as basis media reports, which he dismissed as “hearsay.”

“You know, he (Duterte) shrugged (it) off... Media sources, all lawyers know... will not stand in court. And since you need the judicial authorization to proceed (with) an investigation, lawyers know that you cannot start any proceedings on the basis of hearsay evidence,” Roque said at a press briefing.

“So, we are confident. Even if an investigation pushes through, what I am saying is if all of the sources to be used come from the media or left-leaning groups, that won’t stand because there is a stage in the ICC called confirmation of charges,” he added.

Roque said the confirmation of charges by a pre-trial chamber is what makes the ICC different from domestic courts.

“After we saw the 52-page decision, knowing that they were citing Rappler and ABS-CBN and Inquirer, e medyo napayapa na po kami (we were somehow relieved) because in law, all these newspaper accounts are mere hearsay,” the Palace spokesman said.

A day before she retired from the ICC, Bensouda sought an authorization to investigate the thousands of deaths in the Duterte administration’s controversial war on drugs but Malacañang insists that the court has no jurisdiction over the matter because the Philippines is no longer a member of the court.

Bensouda, whom Duterte had threatened to slap if she comes to the Philippines, said there is “reasonable basis” to believe that the crime against humanity of murder has been committed between July 1, 2016 and March 16, 2019 in connection with the drug war.

“Following a thorough preliminary examination process, the available information indicates that members of the Philippine National Police, and others acting in concert with them, have unlawfully killed between several thousand and tens of thousands of civilians during that time,” Bensouda said in a statement issued last June 14.

“My Office has also reviewed information related to allegations of torture and other inhumane acts, and related events as early as 1 November 2011, the beginning of the Court’s jurisdiction in the Philippines, all of which we believe require investigation,” she added.

Politically motivated

At a briefing with police officials last Tuesday, Roque called the release of the ICC prosecutor’s report politically motivated.

“But at the time I had that press briefing, I had not yet seen the 52-page opinion. So it’s no big deal, and we will allow and let the DOJ (Department of Justice) do its job, because that is really the obligation of the Philippine state to investigate, prosecute and punish if need be,” the Palace spokesman said.

“The DOJ and an Inter-Agency body created by EO (Executive Order) 35 are now investigating and we will file charges and punish those who are guilty of murder. And the President has also repeated that he would support policemen whose actions are legal. If it is against the law, he won’t support it,” he added.

In 2018, Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the Rome Statute, the treaty that formed the ICC, after the latter announced that it would conduct a preliminary examination on his bloody crackdown on suspected drug offenders.

Bensouda has maintained that while the Philippines’ withdrawal from the statute took effect on March 17, 2019, the ICC retains jurisdiction over the alleged crimes as they were alleged to have occurred when the country was still part of the ICC.

In Davao City, Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said the city government is willing to extend help to ICC in its possible investigation of human rights abuses under her father’s administration.

“If they (ICC) need anything from the city government of Davao, we are willing to help, subject to the permission of the national government,” Duterte-Carpio said in an interview with broadcast journalist RG Cruz over Twitter.

“So if the national government tells us, if the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) tells us to open whatever documents that they need, we will do whatever the DILG tells us,” she said.

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said President Duterte’s legal advisers are at a crossroads as they try to figure whether to present evidence before the ICC or just ignore it.

In an interview on “The Chiefs” over One News-TV5, Drilon said the issue on ICC is a major topic but whether or not it will influence the election is another issue.

“You know, I do not want to be in the shoes of the legal advisers to the President. Why is that? Because they are at a crossroads. The President said, and this was confirmed by Secretary Harry Roque, that he does not recognize the ICC proceedings,” Drilon said. Roque had said the Philippines would not cooperate with any ICC investigation.

“The problem is the ICC will continue. Even if there is no cooperation from the Palace, the ICC has taken the view that it has acquired jurisdiction over the President, because the withdrawal came after the charges have been filed,” Drilon added.

“If you will be the counsel for the President, you have to decide, do I participate and present and examine the witnesses of the prosecution, and show that there is no basis or though I’ve maintained a position that the ICC proceedings are not valid. So it’s really a different dilemma,” Drilon said. – Cecille Suerte Felipe, Edith Regalado