Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 22) — Talks on human rights between Philippine senators and their counterparts from the European Parliament on Wednesday turned “intense” after the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) probe into Manila’s bloody war on drugs was mentioned during the closed-door meeting.
\”The discussion was so intense that I couldn’t leave. I had to defend our sovereignty,\” Sen. Ronald \”Bato\” dela Rosa bared. \”You know these Europeans, they’re trying to impose their standards upon us.\”
Dela Rosa said Spanish lawmaker Miguel Urban Crespo questioned the resolution filed by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada seeking to defend former President Rodrigo Duterte from the ICC’s investigation.
READ: Senators file resolutions opposing ICC drug war probe, defending ex-President Duterte
According to the former Philippine National Police chief, the European Parliament member “slightly raised his voice,” but he rebutted him.
\”I told him, ‘You know, my good friend, honorable Spaniard, you know the Philippines was conquered, ruled, enslaved by the Spaniards for more than three centuries, for over 300 years. And now that we have gained our freedom, we have our own sovereignty as a nation, we hope that other countries will respect our sovereignty as a nation,’\” Dela Rosa said before leaving the meeting.
\”That is too much of tinkering with our internal affairs. Who is he to question that move by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada?\” he later told reporters in a chance interview.
But Senate committee on justice and human rights chairman Francis Tolentino — who presided over the meeting — clarified that the Spanish lawmaker only had to raise his voice for the sake of the interpreter.
Tolentino and the European delegation called the discussion \”fruitful\” and \”constructive,\” despite having different opinions about the ICC’s drug war probe.
“Hinihingi natin yung kanilang respeto sa ginagawa ng ating bansa at pamunuan bilang isang sovereign state. Hindi tayo kabilang sa ICC, ginagalang nila ‘yun at nagkaroon man ng dialogue na hindi naman mainitan, naipaliwanag natin ang ating posisyon,” the senator explained.
[Translation: We asked them to respect the country and the administration as a sovereign state. We are not part of the ICC, which they respect, and we had a dialogue that was not heated, where we explained our position.]
EXPLAINER: ICC and its authority
“We see right now prosecutions starting but being rather slow with at least 6,000 people killed in the war on drugs, only 20 cases filed and three people convicted,” said Hannah Neumann, vice chairperson of the European Parliament subcommittee on human rights.
‘International action to help, not harm domestic efforts’
The European delegation also invited Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros for a separate meeting, where they asked for clarification if extrajudicial killings continue under the Marcos administration.
Citing data from the UP Third World Studies Center, the senator said there were 152 drug-related killings under the new administration — with 46.7% committed by state operatives.
\”I wonder with your assessment, is it domestically feasible or should we insist or at least being very proactive on having ICC being part of the investigations?\” Neumann asked Hontiveros.
\”We are really waiting for the ICC process to ripen and we are really hoping that it will proceed to investigation,\” Hontiveros answered. \” Because international action against impunity and against extrajudicial killing can only help, not harm our own domestic efforts.\”
\”The work against impunity is already so large and we need and should appreciate all the help we can get,\” she added.
In a briefing, Hontiveros also said she sees the European Union’s respect for the Philippines, and hopes the government will also listen to the international community.
“Kaya lang naman tayo nakakapagmiyembro sa UN or dati sa ICC — sana maulit muli — or sa ano pa man bilang bansa dahil may soberanya tayo in the first place,” the opposition senator told reporters. “We presume na may mutual respect kaya nga hindi tayo pumapayag sa pambubully ng Tsina sa West Philippine Sea. Same principle, mutual respect.”
[Translation: We only become part of the UN, or in the past, the ICC and I hope we can return or in whatever group as a nation because we have sovereignty in the first place. We presume there is mutual respect that’s why we reject China’s bullying in the West Philippine Sea. Same principle, mutual respect.]
One of the alleged human rights victims under the previous Duterte administration is his staunch critic, detained former Sen. Leila de Lima. The European delegation plans to visit her on Thursday.
RELATED: Inter-Parliamentary Union ‘ever more convinced’ De Lima’s detention politically motivated
