THE International Criminal Court (ICC) said there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that former president Rodrigo Duterte is “individually responsible” for the crime against humanity for which he is charged in connection with his administration’s bloody campaign against illegal drugs.
This was contained in the 15-page warrant of arrest issued by the ICC on March 7 a copy of which was received by the Manila office of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) early morning of Tuesday.
The document was marked “secret.”
Anthony Alcantara, special envoy on Transnational Crimes under the Office of the President, and Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon served the arrest warrant on Duterte when he and his family arrived from Hong Kong.
“Taking into account the totality of the information before it, the Chamber finds that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Duterte is individually responsible for the crime against humanity for murder (Article 7) (1) (a) of the Statute as an indirect co-conspirator within the meaning of Article 25 (3) (a) of the Statute, committed within the Relevant Period,” the ICC warrant said.
It noted how Duterte formed the “Lambada Boys” when he first become mayor of Davao City in 1989, which it said acted as a “death squad” composed of police officers and hitmen with a mission to kill criminals.
The Lambada Boys, it said, was later renamed as the “Davao Death Squad.”
“As the founder and head of the Davao Death Squad, and, later, the head of the State of the Philippines, Mr. Duterte, jointly with high-ranking government officials and members of the police force (the co-perpetrators) and through other persons, agreed to “neutralise” individuals they identified as alleged criminals or individuals with criminal propensities, including but not limited to drug offenders, initially in Davao, and subsequently, throughout the country,” the ICC said.
It said those who were involved in the operation understood the word “neutralise” to mean as “to kill.”
It also said there is “reasonable grounds to believe that, in his role as head of the DDS, and subsequently, the president of the Philippines, Mr. Duterte used the direct perpetrators of the crimes as tools to commit the crimes.”
The ICC document also said Duterte made “essential contributions” to the commission of the alleged crimes against humanity by “designing and disseminating” the “Oplan Double Barrel” project, which targeted alleged criminals; by “establishing and overseeing the DDS and providing it with firearms, communication equipment, vehicles, safehouses and communication equipment to perpetrate the killings;” by “instructing and authorizing violent acts to be committed against suspected criminals, including drug dealers and users;” and by “appointing key personnel to positions that were crucial in executing the crimes.”
The international tribunal also noted that the former president offered “financial incentives and promotion to police officers and hitmen to kill the suspects, promising immunity and shielding them from investigation and prosecution.”
It also said Duterte made “public statements authorising, condoning and promoting killings and dehumanising alleged criminals as the mayor of Davao City and the President of the Philippines, including publicly naming suspects, some of whom were subsequently killed in police operations.”
It added that Duterte also “(authorized) state actors to take part in the anti-drugs campaign and revoking such authorizations.”
“Based on the material before it and the aforementioned findings, the Chamber further finds reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Duterte acted with intent and knowledge in relation to the crime found to have been committed,” the ICC said.
ICC JURISDICTION
The ICC said that despite the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute which took effect on March 17, 2019, it retains jurisdiction over the Duterte’s crimes which occurred while the Philippines was still a state party to the Statute.
The crimes covered by the arrest warrant took place between November 1, 2011 and March 16, 2019, according to the Chamber.
“As the alleged conduct has taken place between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019 on the territory of the Philippines, it falls within the Court’s jurisdiction,” it said.
ICC APPEARANCE
The ICC said the arrest of Duterte, who remains popular in the country, especially in Davao City, is needed to ensure his appearance before the international court.
“After evaluating the information submitted by the Prosecution, the Chamber accepts that there is no reasonable expectation that he would cooperate with a summons to appear issued by the Court,” it said.
“The Chamber observes that Mr. Duterte, even though no longer the president of the Philippines, appears to continue to wield considerable power. Mindful of the resultant risk of interference with the investigation and the security of witnesses and victims, the Chamber is satisfied that the arrest of Mr. Duterte is necessary within the meaning of article 58(1)(b)(i) of the Statute to ensure his appearance before the Court,” it added.
The arrest warrant against Duterte is in connection with the killing of 19 alleged drug pushers or thieves by the DDS in various locations in Davao City during Duterte’s term as mayor of the province.
It also covers the killing of 24 persons believed to be drug pushers and thieves or drug users during the term of Duterte as president.
The judges who composed the ICC Pretrial Chamber 1 that issued the warrant against Duterte are Presiding Judge Iula Antoanella Motoc (Romanian), Reine Alipini Gansuo (Benin), and Socorro Flores Liera (Mexico).
Police authorities have said that more than 6,200 were killed at the height of the Duterte administration’s drug war. But local and international human rights organizations cited a much higher figure of more than 20,000, including 16,355 killed in vigilante-style killings.
WHAT’S THE NEXT STEP?
In its website and under the ICC procedures for the transfer of persons arrested on its orders, the arrested person shall be presented before a competent judicial authority in the custodial State, which shall then determine whether the arrest warrant is indeed for the arrested person, that the person was arrested in accordance with applicable procedures, and that the person’s rights were respected during the service of the warrant.
Once an order for surrender is issued by a competent judicial authority, the arrested person will be presented to the ICC and held at the Detention Centre in The Hague in the Netherlands.
The ICC requires state authorities to inform its Registry when they are ready to commence the surrender process for the individual, which may take place in the state or country of arrest or in the Netherlands, where the ICC detention center is located.
But ICC Assistant to Counsel lawyer Kristina Conti said that when a person is arrested under a warrant of arrest issued by the ICC, he or she “should be turned over to a law enforcement officer of a member state, and is to be flown to the Hague in the Netherlands as soon as possible.”
Former Presidential Commission on Good Government Commissioner Ruben Carranza cited Article 59 of the ICC Rules on arrest proceedings in the Custodial State as the next step after Duterte’s arrest.
The said article states that an arrested person shall be brought promptly before a competent judicial authority in the custodial State, which shall determine, in accordance with the law of the state that that person has been accorded due process and his rights respected.
The same article, Carranza said, also states that the arrested person has the right to apply for interim release pending surrender, and that the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber should be apprised of any request for interim release so it can make the proper recommendations to authorities of the said custodial State.
“Once ordered to be surrendered by the Custodial State, the person shall be delivered to the Court as soon as possible,” it added.
Human rights lawyer and former Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. can authorize the execution of the warrant of arrest issued by the ICC.
“It is possible that he (Duterte) will be spirited out of the country,” Colmenares told ABS CBN News Channel.
“Under the rules of the ICC, once an arrest order is issued, it is up to the ICC saan dadalhin ang akusado (where the accused will be brought),” he added.
He said Duterte can be detained under the custody of the ICC itself, under the custody of a third party, or in the Hague in the Netherlands.
“Either of the three as long as it is under the authority of the ICC. It will be up to ICC where he will be detained,” he said.
