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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 27) — The Philippine government is still open to holding a dialogue with the International Criminal Court (ICC) following the pre-trial chamber’s decision to resume the probe into the controversial anti-drug campaign, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said Friday.
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“We’re willing to open dialogue with them, we’re not closing the doors to dialogue,” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla told a media briefing hours after the ICC greenlighted the investigation.
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Remulla, however, said the government will not be accepting any “impositions” – stressing that the tribunal no longer has jurisdiction over the country.
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“If they want data from us, we will provide them the data. We will provide them with the course of action that we’re taking, that’s okay with us,” Remulla said. “But to impose themselves on us, that is totally unacceptable.”
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Launched by former President Rodrigo Duterte in 2016, the bloody war on drugs had earned the spotlight in the global human rights community – with advocates lamenting the thousands of lives claimed during the conduct of police operations.
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‘ICC has capacity to resume probe’
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The ICC previously said it retains jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed while the country was still a member of the tribunal. The Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute, the treaty that governs the ICC, formally took effect in March 2019.
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For Human Rights Watch (HRW), the ICC can still pursue the probe despite the government’s unwillingness to cooperate.
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“The fact that the justice secretary is unhappy and saying that he’s not going to cooperate doesn’t mean that there won’t be an investigation going forward,” HRW Deputy Asia Director Phil Robertson told CNN Philippines’ The Final Word.
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“We’ve seen many times that the ICC is not permitted into areas where they are conducting investigations, but those investigations are capable of going forward, nonetheless,” he added.
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The watchdog said the ICC can conduct the probe in “a number of different ways” and “through various means” if investigators are prevented from entering the country.
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RELATED: After ICC’s move, ex-Pres. Duterte reiterates stand to only face local courts
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Meanwhile, Remulla said he will be speaking to Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra with regard to the government’s next steps on the matter.
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“Definitely, I do not welcome this move of theirs. I will not welcome them [to] the Philippine unless they make clear that they will respect us in this regard,” he maintained.
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Guevarra earlier said the current administration will exhaust legal remedies to counter the probe, including elevating the matter to the ICC appeals chamber.
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An avenue for justice
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Rights groups lauded the ICC’s latest move, labeling it as the “only credible avenue for justice” for drug war victims.
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“As the court’s judges agreed, Philippine authorities are not undertaking relevant investigations into these crimes or making a real or genuine effort to carry these investigations out. The ICC offers a path forward to fill the accountability vacuum,” New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a statement.
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Karapatan likewise welcomed the development, and expressed hope that it would help end the “culture of impunity” in the country.
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Remulla, for his part, said the government is “doing what it takes to fix the system.”
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