Int’l court to decide on PH appeal to stop probe
THE Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is expected to decide next week on Manila’s appeal on the ground of lack of jurisdiction to stop the Pre-Trial Chamber’s investigation into alleged extrajudicial killings related to the bloody drug crackdown of the former Duterte administration.
A three-page scheduling order signed and issued on July 12 by Presiding Judge Marc Perrin de Brichambaut stated: “On Tuesday, July 18, 2023, at 10:00 (Hague local time), the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court will deliver, in open Court, its judgment on the appeal of the Philippine government against the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber’s authorization to resume the investigation of the Prosecutor.”
The ICC appeals chamber will rule on whether Special Prosecutor Karim Khan and his office are validly investigating the Philippine drug war deaths.
The Philippine government, through Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, has sought to stop the ICC investigation on March 27, 2023 as it questioned Khan’s authority to conduct the probe, arguing that the ICC no longer has jurisdiction over the Philippines after its withdrawal in 2019 from the Rome Statute, which created the international body.
If the appeals chamber validates Khan’s investigation, his team can then proceed to the next step, which would include the gathering of additional evidence and filing of a request for the issuance of a summons or a warrant of arrest against Duterte and the implementors of the violent drug campaign, which could include Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, who was the PNP chief when the crackdown was implemented and the supposed killings happened.
Khan has earlier asked the ICC to restart the probe, arguing that the Philippine government has failed to provide enough evidence to show that it is thoroughly investigating the supposed drug war deaths and the existence of alleged death squads.
Khan said that out of the 266 cases submitted to the pre-trial chamber for review or investigation, only four appeared to have “resulted in some form of investigation or prosecution before having been dismissed by Philippine domestic institutions.”
He also insisted that the ICC has jurisdiction to investigate the alleged human rights violations despite Manila’s pull out of the Rome Statute since it was still a signatory when the supposed abuses and extrajudicial killings happened. The scope of the alleged crimes, Khan said, was from November 1, 2011 to March 16, 2019, while Manila’s withdrawal took effect on March 17, 2019.
Principal counsel for the victims Paolina Massidda echoed Khan’s position that the Philippine government has failed to demonstrate or show evidence that the pre-trial chamber committed any error of fact or law in the assailed decision.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has repeatedly said there is no need for the ICC to step in and probe the alleged extrajudicial killings as domestic institutions are fully capable of investigating the crimes and the country’s justice system is fully functioning.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has also said the country is disengaging from the ICC after its March decision.
Government records showed that more than 6,000 drug suspects have been killed in police operations from June 2016 until November 2021, though the numbers have been contradicted by local and international human rights groups who alleged the actual death toll stands at around 12,000 to 30,000.
