It’s Duterte’s administrator’s fault: lawyer responds to claims ‘unilateral’ ICC report

MANILA – Bayan Muna President Neri Colmenares on Friday refuted claims that the recent International Criminal Court (ICC) report on alleged crimes against humanity in the Philippines linked to the administration’s war on drugs was unilateral.

Interviewed on ANC “Issues of Fact”, the human rights lawyer, who helped draw up one of the complaints filed with the Hague-based court, said the Duterte administration has no one to blame other than to herself.

“The ICC really made sure that all the available evidence is there before the report. So it took some time for this report to be finalized,” Colmenares said.

“All the processes were respected. It’s just the fact that the president [Rodrigo Duterte] I did not want to answer. Now, he claims it is one-sided. It is actually his fault because he did not present any evidence. “

Colmenares is part of the legal counsel for Rise Up for Life and for Rights, a coalition of families affected by drug-related murders.

The Philippine Drug Control Agency (PDEA), in response to the ICC report that found “reasonable grounds” to believe that crimes against humanity were committed in the bloody war on drugs, said it was “extremely unfair and one-sided “.

The drug agency said the international court relied on “open source information” and could have waited for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to finish its investigation into the incidents.

However, Colmenares said the ICC Prosecutor’s Office also used Philippine National Police (PNP) records on how many were killed in the years-long “cruel” anti-drug campaign.

“The ICC, in fact, also gathered evidence from the government side, even if the government did not send it through their official pronouncements, and of course, human rights organizations, by monitoring the media, etc. one thing one-sided, “he said.

While the Philippines withdrew from the international tribunal in March 2019, Colmenares said the Philippine government could not afford not to participate in the proceedings.

Under court rules, any country’s withdrawal from the ICC will only take effect one year later, he said.

“Why did the Rome Statute put that in place? To avoid a situation where the president is indicted before the ICC and tomorrow he or she will withdraw to the detriment of the ICC because otherwise the accused Of the ICC will say that we will withdraw tomorrow, “added Colmenares.

The Philippines moved to resign after the ICC launched a preliminary examination in 2018 on Duterte’s drug crackdown that has killed thousands and sparked international censorship.

If the ICC prosecutor wishes to carry out a full investigation into the incidents, Colmenares said he would seek the protection of witnesses and possible reparation for the families of the victims.

“We expect threats from the accused against us … Hopefully, the ICC will take cognizance of those sentences,” he said.

In response to the ICC report, Duterte’s aides accused the body of playing politics in “an attempt to tarnish the reputation and popularity” of the president.

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