ICC’S-DU30’S EJK | “SHUT UP!!” SIRANG PLAKA | DOJ chief: ICC probers to be barred from Philippines
HEADLINE
OSG wants to reply to ICC prosecutor
MANILA, Philippines — If prosecutors from the International Criminal Court (ICC) dare step on Philippine soil to interview drug war victims or gather evidence to support a possible case of crime against humanity against former president Rodrigo Duterte, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said he would personally force them onto “the first plane out” of the country.
Remulla made this clear to “The Chiefs” last night on Cignal TV’s One News, saying he would personally meet the ICC probers at the airport to block them and “accompany them on the trip back.”
The Office of the Solicitor General, on the other hand, has asked the ICC appeals chamber for leave to reply to ICC prosecutor Karim Khan’s latest response to the OSG’s appeal brief against the resumption of the probe.
Memento Maxima Digital MarketingIn the request dated April 11, government lawyers led by Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said the government “proposes to file a focused reply at a date to be determined by the Appeals Chamber.”
It argued that the Philippines “has not been afforded the same opportunities made available to other States at either the article 15 ot article 18 stage.”
“As a result, the material and submissions it has provided have often been overlooked or misrepresented despite the fact that this litigation goes towards preserving its sovereignty rights.”
Guevarra had previously told The Chiefs that the government would not stop ICC prosecutors from entering the Philippines.
Remulla, however, said, “My position (in that matter) is I will meet them so they can take the first plane out. I will tell them: go home! You will do nothing in this country. If you have complaints, file it with us.”
The justice secretary, who appears to be the most vocal critic of the ICC in the Marcos administration, maintained that allowing ICC prosecutors to investigate Duterte and other officials on Philippine soil would be an insult to the local justice system.
He made the pronouncements a day after ICC prosecutor Karim Khan’s court filing was made public.
In his submission before the ICC, Khan stressed that the alleged crimes, including the killings, are not of “marginal gravity” as claimed by the Philippine government and thus should be considered by the ICC Appeals Chamber in dismissing efforts to stop the investigation.
Remulla said Khan’s submission no longer merits a response, as “we’re not dealing with the ICC anymore.”
The Philippine government’s main appeal, which is its last resort to stop the ICC investigation, is still pending with the Appeals Chamber. The main appeal hinges largely on the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute as it claims that the ICC no longer has jurisdiction over the Philippines.
While Remulla underscored that civilians may speak to Khan and his team, doing so in the context of an investigation into the drug war would be considered “usurpation of authority” punishable in the Philippines under the Revised Penal Code.
The justice secretary is referring to what he earlier said could be a “takeover” of the Administrative Order 35 Task Force’s investigation into drug war killings – an undertaking already declared by the ICC last year as one that can’t match the investigation of its prosecutors.
AO 35 was issued by the DOJ in 2012 to address accusations against government and private actors who wreak political violence in the form of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture and other grave violations of the right to life, liberty and security of persons.
It also created an inter-agency task force headed by the DOJ that serves as the government’s institutional machinery to resolve unsolved cases of political violence, whether through EJKs, enforced disappearances, torture and other cases of human rights violation.
“Well, it will lead to nowhere. Walang pupuntahan yon. What legal system will they use when they try to talk to our people? They will use the Philippine legal system? As far as the Philippine legal system is concerned, they’re not the ones who are authorized to ask those questions… They will be committing usurpation of authority,” Remulla said.
In 2018, the Duterte administration initiated the withdrawal from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, after former prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced the start of a preliminary examination into the drug war. Under the statute, the international court retains jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed when the country was still a state party.
Aside from the drug war killings, the investigation also covers the killings in Davao area – allegedly by the so-called Davao death squad – between Nov. 1, 2011 and June 30, 2016 when Duterte was either the mayor or vice mayor of Davao City.
On June 24, 2022, Khan asked the ICC judges to authorize the resumption of the investigation, noting that the “deferral requested by the Philippines is not warranted.” His request was granted on Jan. 26, prompting the Marcos administration to file an appeal before the ICC Appeals Chamber.
Last March 27, the Appeals Chamber denied the Philippine government’s request for suspension of the investigation while the appeal is pending.
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