By John Victor D. Ordoñez, Reporter
THE PHILIPPINE government has asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to reject separate pleas by the families of drug war victims and the ICC’s Office of Public Counsel for Victims (OPCV) to testify in court.
The public counsel’s motion and the anonymous request from the victims “fall foul however of procedural and substantive requirements, which are necessary in these proceedings before the Appeals Chamber,” state lawyers including Solicitor General Menardo I. Guevarra said in an eight-page pleading dated March 2.
He said the ICC office did not have a role in the collection of views and concerns of victims of the government’s anti-illegal drug campaign.
“The OPCV does not aver that it has been in contact with any victim in relation to the situation in the Republic of the Philippines and it fails to establish which specific victims the OPCV seeks to advance the views of,” he said.
The move came after 90 anonymous relatives of drug war victims objected to a state appeal to halt the ICC’s probe of ex-President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s war on drugs.
“As the appellant, the Philippine government cannot effectively exercise its rights if it is precluded from scrutinizing the submissions of all other participants,” the solicitor general said.
In January, the ICC pre-trial chamber reopened its investigation into killings and so-called crimes against humanity under Mr. Duterte’s drug war. The Hague-based tribunal said it was not satisfied with Philippine efforts to probe the deaths.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has called the ICC’s probe a threat to the country’s sovereignty, saying the court does not have jurisdiction over the Philippines.
He said the country’s justice system could punish erring officials.
Neri J. Colmenares, chairman of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) and a lawyer for families of drug war victims, accused the government of delaying the case.
“The government should now face the music and submit evidence rather than delaying proceedings through attempts to deny the victims their opportunity to answer them during the investigation and demand accountability for their crimes,” he said in a Viber message.
Citing the treaty that created the ICC, Mr. Colmenares said it is “hypocritical” for the government to claim that the participation of the victims in the ICC proceedings violated its rights, saying the Rome Statute gives Mr. Duterte and other government agents the right to defend themselves.
“In the same manner that they have undermined, gaslit, generalized and name-called victims of the war on drugs, it is characteristic of the Philippine government to oppose the participation of the victims in the proceedings before the ICC,” Maria Kristina C. Conti, secretary general of the NUPL in Metro Manila and legal counsel for several victims of the drug war, said in an e-mail.
She said the ICC would likely allow the victims’ families to participate in the lawsuit, describing it as a “victim-centered” court that adheres to international criminal laws.
The Philippines will not tolerate “external interference” by the ICC because it does not have the power to probe the country’s anti-illegal drug campaign, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla told the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council on March 1.
“We draw the line, as any sovereign state must, when an international institution overreaches and departs from the boundaries of its creation,” he said in a speech before the UN in Geneva, according to a video posted on the UN website.
‘DESPERATE DEMAND’
The tribunal, which tries people charged with crimes against humanity, genocide, war crimes and aggression, suspended its probe of Mr. Duterte’s deadly war on drugs in 2021 upon the Philippine government’s request.
It was also set to probe vigilante-style killings in Davao City when Mr. Duterte was still its vice mayor and mayor.
Lawmakers from the European Union (EU) have urged the Philippine government to rejoin the ICC to show its commitment to human rights.
“We’d be very happy to see the Philippines rejoin the Rome Statute of the ICC as it would clearly reinforce the government’s commitment to fighting impunity,” Hannah Neumann, a vice chairperson of the European Parliament subcommittee on human rights, told a news briefing in Manila last month.
Philippine police arrested 8,183 drug suspects in 6,044 illegal drug operations from the start of the year to Feb. 11, national police chief General Rodolfo S. Azurin, Jr. said on Feb. 13.
Human rights abuses continued under the first six months of the Marcos government, Human Rights Watch said in a report on Jan. 12.
The Philippine government estimates that at least 6,117 suspected drug dealers had been killed in police operations. Human rights groups say as many as 30,000 suspects died.
The UN Human Rights Committee has said the Philippines should comply with international human rights mechanisms and cooperate with the ICC’s drug war probe.
The Commission on Human Rights has said the Duterte government had encouraged a culture of impunity by impeding independent probes and failing to prosecute rogue cops.
Ex-President Duterte and the current administration are losing the ICC case as shown by their belated and desperate demand for the ouster of the victims from the ICC proceedings,” Mr. Colmenares said.