The ICC prosecutor said the submission of proof is needed to support the request.
“Such information must consist of tangible evidence, of probative value and a sufficient degree of specificity, demonstrating that concrete and progressive investigative steps have been or are currently being undertaken,” the statement posted on Tuesday read.
“Any domestic proceedings must be conducted genuinely as required by the Statute,” it added.
Malacañang, for its part, said it has yet to receive a formal request on the matter.
It reiterated the administration’s position that the ICC has no jurisdiction to probe the controversial anti-drug campaign.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 24)— The Duterte administration must submit concrete proof that it is conducting an investigation into the war on drugs after the International Criminal Court (ICC) deferred its probe upon the request of the Philippine government, prosecutor Karim Khan said.
The ICC announced the deferral of the drug war review on Nov. 18 after the Philippines said local authorities are already conducting investigations of all reported deaths during anti-drug operations.
Philippine Ambassador to the Netherlands Eduardo Malaya wrote Khan that Manila’s Department of Justice (DOJ) has already referred to the National Bureau of Investigation its review of 52 cases, where administrative liability was found on the part of law enforcers.
Groups of lawyers, such as the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers and the Free Legal Assistance Group, have called on the ICC to resume its probe into the Duterte administration’s bloody drug war. They said the DOJ is only looking into 52 drug war deaths “out of tens of thousands as an indicator that domestic mechanisms are working.” They added this is just the government’s attempt at “white-washing” its anti-drug campaign.
In September, the ICC’s pre-trial chamber authorized the start of the investigation into the Duterte administration’s controversial drug war, as well as alleged extrajudicial killings involving the so-called Davao Death Squad.
