Report threats to police, Palace tells lawyer who brought case vs. Duterte to ICC

Malacañang on Monday advised the lawyer who accused President Rodrigo Duterte of crimes against humanity in an international court to report the supposed threats to his life to the police.

At a press briefing, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the government had no "ill will" against Jude Sabio, the lawyer who filed a complaint against Duterte at The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) in March last year.

"Let’s make sure that if there’s a threat and he should report it to the police, if there’s a threat go file a [petition for] writ of amparo [in court]. That’s the remedy," Roque, also a lawyer, said.

A writ of amparo is available to a person whose right to life, liberty, and security is violated or threatened with violation by an unlawful act or omission of a public official or employee, or of a private individual or entity.

Sabio, the lawyer for self-confessed former "Davao Death Squad" hitman Edgar Matobato, said over the weekend that he always assumes that his life is in danger, adding that Duterte has "tentacles everywhere and they are killers."

The ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor said last week that it would begin its preliminary examination into the extrajudicial killings associated with the government’s intensified anti-illegal drugs campaign, which kicked off when Duterte assumed office on June 30, 2016.

But the Palace clarified that a preliminary examination does not equate to a formal preliminary investigation, but is merely a procedure conducted by the ICC to determine whether the case falls under its jurisdiction.

A former professor of international law, Roque said that in order to exercise jurisdiction, the ICC has to establish the admissibility of the case, consider interest of justice, and the principle of complementarity should be implemented.

This means that the ICC can only investigate criminal cases if the domestic courts are unable or unwilling to do so, which Roque said does not apply to the Philippines' situation.

"We know it will not proceed beyond preliminary examination," Roque said. — BM, GMA News