Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 17) — Advocacy groups have spoken out against the call of several lawmakers to defend former president Rodrigo Duterte against the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) probe into his bloody war on drugs.
\”Contrary to its intention, the push for an ‘unequivocal defense’ of Duterte by the Philippine House of Representatives only emphasizes the need for an investigation by the ICC. Providing a blanket of protection only points that there can be no fair, comprehensive, and objective inquiry into the thousands of deaths resulting from Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’ in the Philippines,\” Rise Up and the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) said in a joint statement Friday.
A group of 19 lawmakers led by Deputy Speaker and former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo filed a resolution urging the House to back Duterte against the ICC investigation.
READ: Arroyo, 18 lawmakers want House to declare ‘unequivocal defense’ for Duterte against ICC probe
\”This reiterates that our government is unwilling and unable to investigate, and that the executive and legislative branches of government verily make justice inaccessible,\” Rise Up and NUPL said. \”In fact, it reminds us that there is no domestic investigation into acts and omissions of key officials, underway today, at all.\”
The groups also described the call to defend Duterte as \”suspiciously\” premature, as the ICC has yet to indict or convict anyone.
\”The politicization of judicial processes, marked by an assiduous resistance to fact-finding, eerily harks back to Arroyo’s own time as a president when cases of extrajudicial killings, desaparecidos and torture also heavily occurred,\” they added.
For her part, Arroyo stood her ground and defended the resolution.
\”Ang taumbayan, Pilipino sila ang maghuhusga. Yung ICC naman hindi na tayo miyembro e at hindi lang naman tayo ang hindi miyembro eh pati US hindi na miyembro eh,\” the former president told reporters on Friday.
[Translation: Let Filipinos be the judge. We are no longer a member of the ICC and it’s not just us, even the US is no longer a member.]
\”Yung problema ng illegal drugs, iyan ay problema ng bansa. Kaya ang bansa ang maghahanap ng solusyon. Yun nga ang sinabi ni [Justice] Sec. [Boying] Remulla, okay magdialogue sa ICC pero hindi pwede na sila ang maghuhusga, hindi sila pwede ang magdidikta,\” Arroyo added.
[Translation: The problem of illegal drugs is a problem of the Philippines, which is why the country will find a solution to it. That’s what Justice Sec. Remulla said, it’s okay to have a dialogue with the ICC, but the ICC won’t be the judge.]
READ: PH gov’t open to dialogue with ICC, but won’t accept ‘impositions’ – DOJ chief
