THE Philippines’ commitment to fight impunity for atrocity crimes remain “solid and unwavering” even if the country has withdrawn from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has opened an investigation into the alleged extrajudicial killings related to the violent drug war of the previous Duterte administration.
This was the statement of President Marcos Jr. in a video message that was played during the second session of the Summit for Democracy.
In the same video, the President reiterated that the country has a fully operational criminal justice system where the rule of law prevails.
“Let me emphasize that the rule of law prevails in the country — our criminal justice system is fully functioning. We continue to improve mechanisms such as the AO35 (Administrative Order 35) (creating an) inter-agency committee to enhance accountability,” he said.
The President’s message came at the heels of the rejection of the ICC Appeals Chamber of the Philippines’ request to suspend any and all activities related to its probe into the drug campaign while the country’s main appeal questioning the jurisdiction of the international court to proceed with the investigation has yet to be resolved by the body.
Marcos, during the Summit, also said the Philippines will continue to be an active player, bilaterally and globally, on dialogues concerning democracy, human rights, and good governance, “as long as these engagements are constructive, based on facts, and respectful of Philippine sovereignty” and contributes to “reinforcing the sinews of democracy and of freedom.”
AO 35, series of 2012, was issued during the Aquino administration. It created a task force to investigate extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture and other grave abuse of the right of life, liberty and security of the people.
The task force is composed of the Department of Justice (DOJ) as the lead agency, with the departments of Interior and Local Government and National Defense, Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, the National Bureau of Investigation, Office of Political Affairs, and the Presidential Human Rights Committee as members.
Marcos said the Philippines has existing laws punishing heinous crimes and has vigorously exercised its jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute crimes, including those allegedly committed in the context of the anti-illegal drugs campaign of the Duterte government.
He also enumerated some of the measures that the country has been doing to continuously strengthen and reform the judicial system, among them improving the campaign against illegal drugs by focusing on the strengthening of programs on rehabilitation, prevention, education and assistance to drug victims and their families; and ensuring transparency and accountability in law enforcement operations.
“Recognizing that economic recovery and progress can only take place in a responsive environment with transparent, effective, and responsible institutions, this government has rolled out measures to achieve our objectives for people-centered growth and for their prosperity, by consolidating reforms in our judicial system,” he said.
“We are investing more to enhance the administration of justice through the various institutions and mechanisms already in place to protect the right to life, liberty, and security of Filipino people,” he added.
“Our justice reform agenda acknowledges that real justice means the humane treatment of persons deprived of liberty and efficient prosecution of cases. In this light, we are pouring resources and energy into improving the processes in the investigation of cases and the witness protection program,” he also said.
The President said the country ‘s Joint Program on Human Rights with the United Nations, or UNJP, that was launched in 2021, has also shown significant progress in fostering consensus building and collaborative partnership in a broad range of target areas.
Marcos said the UNJP’s capacity building and technical cooperation framework complements the country’s efforts with respect to investigative and accountability mechanisms, improved data gathering on alleged police violations, civil society engagement, and strengthened national mechanisms to support the Philippines’ commitment in various human rights agreements and human rights-based approach to drug control and counter-terrorism.
HUMANE TREATMENT
The President said apart from strengthening and instituting reforms in the illegal drugs campaign, the government has also prioritized the establishment of the Department of Migrant Workers which has the primary mandate to protect and to promote the rights of more than 10 million Filipinos who live and work abroad, and strengthened accountability mechanisms and policies to protect women and children.
Marcos likewise vowed the Philippines will sustain its tradition of open, constructive, and active engagement on human rights on matters that will meaningfully contribute towards reinforcing the sinews of democracy and of freedom.
“Thus, we enable our people to flourish and meet our national aspirations to be a modern prosperous middle-income society by 2040,” he said.
During the event, the President thanked United States President Joe Biden and the American government for convening the Summit and co-hosting it with Costa Rica, South Korea, The Netherlands, and Zambia.
Marcos said the Summit affirmed the solidarity of nations that are bound by values of democracy and sends a powerful message of the collective will to bring about the best of peoples and societies empowered by freedom.
The US in December 2021 hosted the first Summit for Democracy.
In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs said the Philippines joins the US and other nations in supporting and endorsing the Declaration of the Summit for Democracy.
Although leaders of 120 nations were invited, the declaration — which included backing basic tenets of democracy like free and fair elections and calling out Russia for its February 24, 2022 invasion of Ukraine – was initially endorsed by only 73 countries.
ICC
The Philippines, India, Israel and nine others opted out of the part acknowledging the importance of the ICC.
But the DFA said disassociating with the reference to the ICC does not mean that the Philippines is backsliding from its commitment to democracy and its ideals.
This as it said can be shown by its support to the declaration, adding it is a “testament to our unwavering commitment to upholding our democratic values and principles and to strengthening our democratic institutions for the benefit of the Filipino people.”
As to the declaration’s commitment to the ICC, the DFA explained that “while the current language provides a qualifier that the ICC’s role may be acknowledged provided it abides by the principle of complementarity, the Philippines’ earlier decision to withdraw from the ICC was precisely because the Court failed the test of complementarity.”
The Philippines has maintained that the ICC has no jurisdiction to probe the alleged extrajudicial killing related to the war on drugs under the former Duterte administration as it already pulled out of the Rome Statute that created the ICC in 2019.
Then president Rodrigo Duterte withdrew the country from the ICC in 2019 after ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda opened a preliminary probe into abuses and deaths related to his drug crackdown.
“The Philippine government does not recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction and affirms that the Philippines has the jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute crimes, including those allegedly committed in the context of the country’s anti-illegal drugs campaign,” the DFA added.
“The Philippines upholds its commitment to fight impunity for atrocity crimes, notwithstanding the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute, especially since the Philippines has a national legislation punishing atrocity crimes,” the DFA also said.
A recent report by the US State Department has noted there were only three convictions for drug war-related deaths in the Philippines since 2016, the year when bloody crackdown on the illegal drugs trade was launched.
It said impunity was a significant problem in security forces, particularly in the PNP, and the latter were recorded to commit “arbitrary or unlawful killings” related to the anti-drug operations.
Government data showed there were more than 6,200 drug war-related deaths as of April 2022 but local and international human rights groups cited a much higher number of over 20, 000.
The resulting crackdown and the alleged abuses put Duterte and former PNP chief, now Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa under the scrutiny of the ICC despite Duterte’s move in 2019 withdrawing the country from the international court. — With Ashzel Hachero
