‘Only as good as press release,' Lacson says of ICC's report on Duterte's drug war

The opinion of the International Criminal Court's Office of the Prosecutor that there is reasonable basis to believe crimes against humanity had been committed under the Duterte administration's war on drugs does not hold water for now, Senator Panfilo Lacson said on Tuesday.

"In the realm of possibilities to prosecute the president for crimes against humanity, the statement of Prosecutor [Fatou] Bensouda may only be good as a press release and nothing more, at least at this point in time," Lacson said in a statement.

The senator said he is not sure about what the prosecutor meant when she said there was "reasonable basis to believe."

"Under the ICC statute, reasonable grounds to believe is considered as an 'unreasonably unclear evidentiary threshold,'" Lacson said.

Proving that the criminal justice system in the Philippines is "not functioning or at least has fallen short in prosecuting law enforcement agents who have allegedly committed the crimes against humanity in relation to the bloody drug war initiated by the President" is another thing that the ICC prosecutor must hurdle, he added.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III also believes that not all subscribe to the ICC prosecutor's opinion.

"That’s what she believes. Some believe otherwise," he said in a message to reporters.

The ICC's Office of the Prosecutor stated in its latest report that there is "a reasonable basis to believe that the crimes against humanity of murder, torture, and the infliction of serious physical injury and mental harm as other inhumane acts were committed on the territory of the Philippines between at least July 1, 2016 and March 16, 2019" in connection to the drug war launched by President Rodrigo Duterte.

A long time coming

Opposition senators, on the other hand, were not surprised that the ICC arrived at the said conclusion.

"It doesn't come as a surprise. It is a bit troubling though that it took them over four years of daily killings to find 'reasonable basis'. Perhaps if they acted sooner, thousands of lives could have been saved," Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan said in a separate message.

Senator Risa Hontiveros also found "reasonable basis" as an understatement, considering the drug-related killings that transpired under the administration.

"Still, I strongly hope the recent findings of the International Criminal Court finally bring justice to the victims of this administration's brutal war on drugs," she said.

"This report offers new hope for justice and humanity, as we continue to commemorate all those felled by bloody 'tokhang.' Exacting accountability for these extrajudicial killings has been a long time coming," she added.

Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, a staunch critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, said judgement day for the latter is at hand.

"The time for reckoning is near for Mr. Duterte and his cohorts. 'Di niya malulusutan 'yan," he said in a separate message.

The ICC's Office of the Prosecutor is eyeing to finish its preliminary examination on the Philippine situation in the first half of 2021. Only then would it decide whether to seek authorization to launch an investigation into alleged extrajudicial killings linked to the country's campaign against illegal drugs.

Latest data from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency indicated that 5,942 suspected drug personalities were killed since the drug war started —  a number way lower than the more or less 27,000 given by local and international human rights groups.—AOL, GMA News