The Philippine government said on Friday (January 27) that it intended to appeal to an International Criminal Court to reopen an inquiry into its brutal anti-drug campaign, which killed thousands of people. The appeal comes a day after the ICC announced the probe’s resumption and said its pre-trial chamber was “not satisfied that the Philippines is undertaking relevant investigations that would warrant a deferral of the court’s investigations,” news agency AFP reported.
Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, who had initiated the drug war, had pulled his country out of the ICC in 2019, a year after the court had started a preliminary investigation into the crackdown. In September 2021, the ICC launched a formal inquiry. However, it was suspended after two months after Manila said it was re-examining several hundred cases of drug operations.
On Thursday, Menardo Guevarra, the Solicitor General for current President Ferdinand Marcos’ government, told AFP, “It is our intention to exhaust our legal remedies, more particularly elevating the matter to the ICC appeals chamber.”
Guevarra and Philippines Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla said that Manila, instead of the ICC, should have jurisdiction over alleged drug war crimes. Speaking to reporters, “They are insulting us. I will not stand for any of these antics that will tend to question our sovereignty, our status as a sovereign country.”
Meanwhile, the rights groups welcomed the ICC’s announcement. National Union of People’s Lawyers chairman Edre Olalia told the news agency that the court’s announcement “validates” the assertions of the slain suspects’ families that “there are no adequate and effective measures to achieve concrete justice for them on the ground… despite official claims to the contrary”.
Human Rights Watch Asia deputy director Phil Robertson said that the ICC’s probe in the Philippines is the only credible avenue for justice for the victims and their families.
According to official data, as many as 6,181 people were killed in the ”war on drugs” during former President Duterte’s tenure. However, rights groups said the death toll might be up to 30,000 which includes some innocent victims. President Marcos vowed to continue the war on drugs but with a focus on prevention and rehabilitation. While welcoming the ICC’s announcement, the rights groups also alleged killings were continuing under Marcos.
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