It’s only a matter of time.
Sooner or later, the one or ones responsible for the killing of more than 6,000 persons – some say it’s as high as 30,000—in the war on drugs during the Duterte administration will be known and brought to justice. It’s a statement of optimism in a nation wanting a closure on the drug war that had cost so many lives.
That, of course, will depend on how good and effective the prosecutors of the International Criminal Court (ICC) are in getting the obstacles, legal and otherwise, out of the way to start probing the thousands of cases, only a few of which had reached the court six years after.
Apparently, the Marcos administration is not inclined to throw the culprit or culprits under the bus, so to speak. Those who are against the probe have publicly opposed the impending ICC move, which was suspended for a while following a request from the present administration.
Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla has said he will not cooperate because the probe is tantamount to an insult to Philippine sovereignty with foreigners poking their noses into what is purely a domestic matter. Presidential Legal Adviser Johnny Enrile is even more bullish, and has even threatened to cause the arrest of the ICC probers once they step into Philippine soil. President Bongbong himself is non-combative and more diplomatic in approach. He said the government will cooperate but has appealed for the latest ICC decision.
Both Remulla’s non-cooperation mindset and Enrile’s macho threat are legally untenable vis-à-vis
the Rome Statute which the Philippines signed, even if it had withdrawn from it, albeit precipitously following the ICC’s announcement that it would look into alleged crime against humanity in the drug war by the Duterte Administration. Liability remains after withdrawal, and more so if a crime is proven beyond any doubt. Any lawyer worth his or her salt knows what a snub or a threat will amount in the face of a determined international body like the ICC: all sound and fury that makes the world wonder why the lady protesteth too much when it’s still in the investigative stage.
We’re not hiding anything, says the pliant officer and gentleman Philippine National Police chief Rodolfo Azurin, Jr. who allowed the novel strategy of his boss, Secretary Benhur Abalos , to purge the PNP of ninja cops thru courtesy resignations of colonels and generals. No questions ask, just disappear into the night. Some think this is part of the strategy to keep generals involved in the drug war beyond the ICC’s long arm.
Duterte himself has said again and again that he will not sit in judgment before any courts other than his country’s . No way, Jose. The architect of his drug war, Sen. Bato Dela Rosa is more flexible: he will cooperate if the Marcos government does; he’s a part of it, anyway, so he claims. He’x more realistic about the near future. The Philippines doesn’t have much option in the face of the ICC mandate.
The Philippines is bound by its signing the ICC treaty. It can withdraw, to be sure, as it did during Duterte’s time. PBBM is in no mood to rejoin the body, obviously for political reason. But the treaty is clear: even after the withdrawal, the ICC can still run after the State if the crime was committed when it was still a member. The logic of such a rule in the Rome Statute was, wittingly or unwittingly, conceded by the Marcos government when it asked for a suspension of the probe, It did so on the ground that it will submit evidence that the Philippine judiciary is willing and able to do the job without any help or interference from foreign organizations like the ICC.
Hence, the government cannot not cooperate, much less order the arrest of ICC probers, without violating its own logic. And at its own peril by making itself a pariah in the rule-based concept of international relations. It will not look good on PBBM himself who had earlier vowed to support such a concept during his foreign trips to assure the world that the Philippines abide by its word in international transactions.
Any stepback in this direction will be counterproductive in the government’s efforts to convince the world, especially investors, that it sincerely means business this time around. PBBM’s attendance of an economic meeting in Davos, Switzerland with a huge entourage in tow was meant to deliver such message.
There is also the issue on the West Philippine Sea where our territorial claims had been recognized and validated by another international court versus the continuing claim by China. A repudiation of the ICC action compromises our belief on the ruling by the International Court Tribunal which gave us the victory over the bully in the South China Sea. Is it any wonder China continues to test our resolve in our claim by pushing its way around the area, even after PBBM’s state visit in the Middle Kingdom?
Fortunately, there is the West led by the United States standing in the way of hegemonic china from gobbling up the whole SCS. War experts believe China’s action is consistent with its plan to invade Taiwan between 2027-2030 under Xi JinPing’s rule. There is much sense in PBBM’s statement during a brief meeting US President Biden that he could not see the future without the US. The China card would be seen later in what seemed like old history stamped with a new friendly touch, except that there’s no end in the harassment of Pinoy fishermen in the SCS.
China may be keeping an eye ,too,on the delayed ICC probe on the Duterte’s infamous war’ on drugs. He’s a big fan in more ways than one. Like the rest of the world, it is probably interested in ICC’s search for unmasking the Ygor and Frankenstein during his (dark) watch.
For sanity sake, the ICC show must go on.
