New face

The Philippine government “is done talking” with the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to President Marcos.

This statement can use some parsing. Definitely, it means the government will not cooperate with the ICC in its investigation of possible crimes against humanity committed in the brutal campaign against illegal drugs, waged when Rodrigo Duterte was president and, years earlier, in Davao City when he was mayor / vice mayor.

Whether the government will physically prevent ICC prosecutors from entering the country, however, is unclear.

Justice Senior Undersecretary Raul Vasquez says such official visits are usually coordinated through the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Vasquez says that if the ICC gives the government a heads-up for a visit, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is considering several options, which will depend on what the ICC intends to do in the Philippines.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has said the government is open to a dialogue with the ICC. One thing is sure though: conducting an ICC investigation on Philippine soil is out of the question for the DOJ, which says the probe is an insult and would constitute usurpation of authority in a sovereign state where the pillars of the justice system are functioning.

Vasquez, however, acknowledges that the government can’t stop Filipinos from exercising the prerogative to provide testimony or evidence to the ICC, whether in person or through digital communication.

Still, Vasquez is hoping that Filipinos won’t do this, and will instead cooperate in the Philippine government’s own probe.

Facing “The Chiefs” last Thursday on Cignal TV’s One News, Vasquez appealed to Filipinos to trust their government. He assured witnesses and relatives of drug war victims that the government is “ready, willing and able to extend help to the victims’ families, relatives and any witnesses.”

“We are ready, we are able to get information from anyone, and extend help, assistance and even protection to any of the victims’ families and relatives,” he said at the conclusion of our interview.

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The difficulty of finding witnesses, including relatives of those killed, has been cited by Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra as a major reason for the slow progress in the government’s ongoing probe of over 6,200 deaths in the course of police anti-drug operations during the Duterte administration.

That slow progress has been cited by the ICC as one of the reasons for its argument that the Philippine government is unable or unwilling to conduct a probe for possible murders as a crime against humanity, with Duterte and his tokhang architect and chief enforcer Ronald dela Rosa as the ones believed responsible.

On The Chiefs in August last year, Remulla had urged cops with knowledge of police abuses in the drug war to “come out and speak” with the DOJ, promising them protection. As far as we know, no one has come out.

Surely the reason, for police and civilian witnesses alike as well as complainants, is fear of retaliation, arising from the tokhang forces’ track record for lethal violence, combined with skepticism about the promised government protection. Such people may feel safer cooperating instead with the ICC.

As Vasquez has acknowledged, public distrust is a major hurdle for the government in its probe.

The distrust is not just in the ability of the government to protect witnesses and their families, but in the sincerity of the commitment to unearth the truth, no matter who gets hurt.

Doubts about the sincerity have deepened with the reported inclusion of Marcos’ avowed BFF, Vice President Sara Duterte, among those who may be covered by the ICC probe, for the drug deaths in Davao when she was the city mayor and her father was vice mayor. These killings are not covered by the investigation of the DOJ and solicitor general.

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Remulla and Guevarra have publicly reassured the world that the Marcos 2.0 administration is committed to upholding human rights. BBM, in his second State of the Nation Address, promised a “new face” in the continuing campaign against illegal drugs, with emphasis on rehabilitation.

Some quarters are speculating (or hallucinating) that if the ICC issue belies this commitment and mars the Marcos rebranding, BBM might just let the ICC do its work on Duterte.

But will BBM do the same to Daughterte, completing the breakup of the UniTeam? Why, VP Sara has now even made a show of reconciliation with the ambitious tambaloslos in the House of Representatives.

Under the principle of complementarity, the ICC can step in and exercise jurisdiction only in states where the institutions of justice are unable or unwilling to do the job. There is also the government’s argument that the ICC initiated its probe when the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute was already in effect.

On the other hand, ICC prosecutors believe the Philippine government’s inability and unwillingness are there when it comes to investigating Duterte himself and Bato dela Rosa.

Guevarra had previously told The Chiefs, in so many words, that a case for crimes against humanity in the drug war has not been completely ruled out. But he said this would depend on the outcome of the probe on the 6,200-plus drug killings.

The probe is crawling like a snail through the justice system, thanks in large part to the lack of witnesses and material evidence to bolster accusations that drug suspects were exterminated like vermin by state forces, on the pretext of nanlaban or resisting arrest.

Without witnesses and solid evidence, the probe is stalled. And with the probe stalled, the ICC thinks it can do a better job and should step in.

Speculation now swirls around how this will affect the “new face” of the campaign against illegal drugs, and the Marcos rebranding in general.