REP. France Castro (PL, ACT) yesterday warned Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla that the Marcos administration could be accused of a “cover-up” if it blocks the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation into “Oplan” Tokhang,” the bloody and violent war on drugs of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
“The justice secretary should realize this and not hinder the ICC investigation, as this may be construed that they are covering up for someone or hiding something,” Castro said in a statement after Remulla over the weekend said that he “will not welcome them (ICC prosecutors) to the Philippines” to look into the alleged extrajudicial killings related to the Duterte drug war.
“I will not stand for any of these antics that will tend to question our sovereignty or our status as a sovereign country. We will not accept that,” Remulla said.
Remulla made the statements in a press conference as he reacted to reports that the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber 1 has authorized Special Prosecutor Karim Khan to resume his investigation into the reported killings that supposedly took place from November 1, 2011 to March 16, 2019. The Duterte administration withdrew the country’s membership from the international court after the EJK complaint was filed.
Castro said Remulla should not treat the ICC probe as an intrusion or meddling into Philippine affairs but “should look at it as supplementary to the shortcomings of the Philippine justice system.”
She said people’s organizations and cause-oriented groups can help the ICC investigators by cooperating with them and giving them the data they need to complete their case.
“The decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to authorize the reopening of an inquiry into the fake drug war killings in the country is good news,” Castro said. “I, along with other Makabayan bloc members, urge the Marcos administration to change its mind on the probe and rejoin the ICC, as this will also bolter President Marcos’ Jr.’s bid to convince investors to come here.”
Castro said the Philippines “should not have withdrawn from the ICC in the first place, as it is a crucial institution for seeking justice for victims of human rights abuses.
“We must ensure that the rule of law prevails, and that justice is served for all. It is imperative that those responsible for these crimes are held accountable for their actions and it would be best that President Marcos Jr. return to the ICC,” she said.
DOJ assistant secretary Mico Clavano insisted the ICC should let the Philippines “on its own” investigate and resolve issues related to the Duterte anti-illegal drugs campaign.
During the Kapihan sa Dapo organized by the Presidential Communications Office, Clavano echoed Remulla’s statement and reiterated that the Philippines has a well-functioning justice system and that the country is no longer under the ICC jurisdiction.
Clavano said that despite this, the Philippines has been cooperating with the ICC and on September 8, 2022, even reported the progress of its current investigations on the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
He admitted that documents, case records, and investigative files submitted by the Philippine government to the ICC were found inadequate by the court’s evaluators.
“That was a pile of papers about six-feet tall of documents, case records, investigative files, and it was up to the ICC to determine if that was official or not. Unfortunately, in their eyes hindi daw sapat. But who’s to really say, ‘no? It becomes a ‘he said/she said’ type of situation na sinasabi nila hindi natin ginagawa ang investigation. Ang sinasabi natin, ginagawa natin (That was a pile of papers about six-feet tall of documents, case records, investigative files, and it was up to the ICC to determine if that was official or not.
Unfortunately, in their eyes it is not enough. But who’s to really say, ‘no? It becomes a ‘he said/she said’ type of situation where they say we did not do the investigation. Then we say we were doing it),” Clavano said.
Clavano said that if and when the ICC is allowed to proceed with its probe, it should only complement ongoing investigations in the country. “What we’re trying to say is we are doing a genuine investigation on the killings from 2016 up to 2019 or even up to the end, 2022. If there’s a working justice system, then the ICC cannot come in and supplant or substitute our working justice system with their own,” he said.
He said the DOJ is conducting a full-blown investigation on the past administration’s war on drugs, collecting the right evidence, obtaining the witnesses, and properly screening all the facts of the cases.
Clavano said the investigations, however, will take time, and conviction will not be immediate – although it’s the administration’s ultimate goal.
“So, we want to express to the ICC and to the Special Prosecutor, Mr. Khan just to give us time to conduct our own investigation, and on the basis of the complementarity principle to respect our sovereignty, and to respect our judicial system here in the Philippines,” he said.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) has previously acknowledged that more than 6,000 individuals linked to illegal drug activities were killed during the Duterte government’s “Oplan: Tokhang” war on drugs. — With Jocelyn Montemayor
