CHR: Transparency in probe, prosecution of slays to keep ICC away

The Commission on Human Rights on Friday called on law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and the courts to ensure the rule of law is followed in the probe and prosecution of cases in connection with alleged human rights violations.

In a statement, the CHR said that showing the international community that the justice system was working in the country as regards the alleged rights violations would make the involvement of the International Criminal Court unnecessary.

"The Commission is calling on the government especially the security sector, the prosecutors, and the judges to ensure that the rule of law still prevails and justice is dispensed with haste," the CHR said.

"Transparency, fairness, and due process must be paramount in the investigation and prosecution of cases. This will be for the benefit of the state as it will show the international community that the Philippine justice system can be depended on and is working," it added.

"Thus, there will be no reason for the ICC to step in," the CHR said.

The CHR issued the statement after President Rodrigo Duterte earlier this week ordered soldiers and police officers not to answer the questions of human rights investigators from abroad.

United Nations rapporteurs have sought to investigate the thousands of killings blamed on his war on drugs, and other alleged human rights violations under the Duterte administration.

According to the CHR, ICC could only investigate "if a state is genuinely unable or unwilling (emphasis added) to investigate or prosecute."

"As a court of 'last resort', the ICC can only exercise jurisdiction if the government fails to address the extrajudicial killings adequately, genuinely, and seriously," the CHR said.

The CHR, in its statement, said that the Philippines was a signatory to various treaties related to human rights and, thus, had the obligation to show transparency in the investigation of alleged rights violations.

"We are a nation of laws and we give primacy to the rule of law. As a signatory to various treaties, the challenge for the administration is to demonstrate its commitment and sincerity in fulfilling its treaty obligations and, in the course, show transparency in investigating human rights violations so that perpetrators are brought to justice and for the world to see that there is recourse for victims under our justice system," the CHR said. —NB, GMA News