SOLICITOR General Menardo Guevarra yesterday urged the International Criminal Court to help the Philippine government prosecute those who committed alleged abuses in the drug war under former President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration instead of asking for help from Manila.
He insisted the country’s domestic institutions are fulfilling their mandate to investigate and prosecute those who committed abuses in the anti-drug war.
Local and international human rights groups have said that more than 30,000 suspected drug pushers have been killed in the campaign, while the government has put the number at around 6,000.
Guevarra said no ICC official has been barred by the Bureau of Immigration from entering the country and the government has not stopped the international body from fulfilling its mandate to investigate.
“Ang sinasabi lang ng Philippine government ay huwag nyo na kaming isama diyan at asahan na tutulong because we have our own investigation (What the Philippine government is only saying is do not ask us to assist you because we have our own investigation),” Guevarra told the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon forum.
“Ito nga ang posisyon ko — kung gusto nyo makatulong, kayo ang dapat tumulong sa imbestigasyon ng Philippine government, hindi kami ang tutulong sa inyo (This is my position — if the ICC really wants to help, they should be the one helping the Philippine government, and not us assisting them),” he said, adding the ICC can provide the Philippines whatever evidence it has to aid domestic prosecutors.
Guevarra said President Marcos Jr. had made it very clear that the country’s domestic institutions are doing their job running after those who committed abuses in the name of the drug war.
He also reiterated that the ICC runs under the principle of “complementarity,” meaning it should only conduct an investigation when a country’s domestic institutions fail or refuse to investigate.
Last month, the ICC said it welcomes the openness of Manila to cooperate with its investigation.
“The Office welcomes cooperation from State Parties and looks forward to further exchanges with all relevant stakeholders, including national authorities, civil society, and others,” the ICC said in a brief statement.
The statement was issued in response to the statement of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla indicating that the Philippine government is open to “limited cooperation” with the ICC investigation.
Remulla added that while the Philippines rejoining the ICC is “another question,” the Marcos administration is “starting to explore the limits of non-membership to the ICC and the extent of crimes committed prior to the withdrawal.”
ICC RETAINS JURISDICTION
In 2019, Duterte’s withdrawal of the Philippines from the Rome Statute that created the ICC took effect. However, the international court stressed that its probe also covers extrajudicial killings and other abuses committed before Manila’s withdrawal and that it retains jurisdiction concerning alleged crimes committed while the Philippines was a state party.
Aside from Remulla, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin previously said any cooperation by Manila with the ICC’s drug war probe on the former president would depend on the action by the International Criminal Police Organization or Interpol.
“If the ICC makes a move, and courses the move through the Interpol, and the Interpol makes the request to us for the arrest or delivery of the custody of a person subject to ICC jurisdiction, we will respond favorably or positively to the Interpol request,” Bersamin said then.
Duterte has offered no apologies for those killed during anti-drug operations during his term, adding that guilt is personal.
He also said he is ready to face any ICC investigation.
