RELATIVES of victims of President Duterte’s war against illegal drugs yesterday told the International Criminal Court (ICC) there is no “genuine” domestic investigation being conducted by the government to hold the perpetrators liable.
The relatives at the same time opposed the ICC’s decision to defer its investigation into the drug war killings on the request of the Philippine government.
“Families of the victims of extrajudicial killings register their strong support for the continuation of the investigation into the situation in the Philippines in relation to the crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC committed in the Philippines between November 1, 2011 and March 16, 2019 in the context of the so-called “war on drugs,” read the supplemental communication filed by the relatives.
The National Union of People’s Lawyers and the Rise Up for Life, which have been assisting some of the relatives of the drug war victim in their cases, sent the letter to ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan.
Last week, Khan said the ICC will ask the Philippine government to provide proof of genuine domestic investigation on the deaths and human rights violations associated with the bloody crackdown on the illegal drugs trade.
Khan said he will request that such information be provided promptly, in compliance with Article 18 of the Statute and as necessary to ensure that there is no impunity for crimes.
The submission of proof is the next step after Khan earlier agreed to defer the conduct of investigation on the bloody war on drugs upon the request of Manila.
The relatives told the ICC that contrary to the claim of the government, “there is no genuine domestic investigation much less prosecution being conducted into crimes against humanity in the context of the war on drugs campaign.”
They said the review conducted by the Department of Justice of the 52 alleged “nanlaban” cases submitted by the Philippine National Police, as well as the PNP internal investigation, “deliberately treat the crimes individually and separately, mischaracterize these crimes as isolated incidents involving a few errant police personnel, and described by the Duterte administration as just a few ‘bad apples.’”
“The proceedings described by the Philippine government in Ambassador Eduardo Malaya’s letter to the Office of the Prosecutor dated November 10, 2021 that there are investigations into alleged crimes against humanity committed during the war on drugs campaign are incorrect and misleading,” they said.
“It also conspicuously disregards the allegations and evidence concerning the foregoing matters. Consequently, they do not deal with the widespread and systematic nature of the crimes nor the state police that drive their commission,” they added.
