EDITORIAL — Duterte faces justice

Former president Rodrigo Duterte may finally be made to face the International Criminal Court for the thousands of people who were killed in his brutal crackdown on illegal drugs.

His arrest at the NAIA was based on a warrant or diffusion request issued by the ICC to the International Criminal Police Organization. The Interpol relayed this to the Philippine government, which implemented the arrest, citing the country’s commitments as a member of the Interpol.

The arrest was quickly challenged yesterday before the Supreme Court. Whether the challenge can bring Duterte back to the country, however, is uncertain.

The message in his unprecedented arrest by virtue of a warrant issued by a foreign tribunal is that there’s a price to pay for disregarding due process and the rule of law in fighting criminality.

Duterte’s camp is criticizing the government for allowing a foreign court to try a Filipino, despite the existence of a local law governing crimes against humanity, and especially after the country’s withdrawal from ICC membership. His daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, slammed his arrest as a “blatant affront to our sovereignty.”

The arrest must be complemented by genuine and sustained efforts to eliminate the factors that allowed Duterte and his aides to carry out one of the world’s bloodiest government campaigns against the drug menace.

Duterte has been unapologetic about his brutal crackdown, vowing to do it again if given the chance. He had previously cited laws that allowed even notorious drug dealers to be cleared or to flee after being granted bail. He cited the glacial pace of justice – also a reason why his anti-crime campaign enjoyed a measure of public support.

He pointed to corruption in the Philippine National Police, with rotten members among the biggest coddlers of drug dealers, or who are engaged themselves in trafficking. A police officer, Col. Jovie Espenido, described the PNP as the “largest organized crime group in the country,” although he later apologized for it.

The PNP, even under Marcos 2.0, has not moved a muscle to find one of its own, dismissed superintendent Rafael Dumlao of the Drug Enforcement Group. Dumlao remains free even after his conviction as the mastermind of the ransom kidnapping – in the guise of a drug bust – and gruesome execution of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo in his own car inside Camp Crame. Dumlao’s wife is herself a law enforcement officer in the active service.

Such systemic weaknesses must be addressed decisively if the nation does not want a repeat of Duterte’s war on drugs.