DFA finds ICC prosecutor's request to probe killings 'deeply regrettable'

The Philippine government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), on Tuesday said it found the International Criminal Court prosecutor’s request to probe the drug war killings in the country “deeply regrettable.”

In a statement, the DFA said that an inter-agency panel has been created to review anti-drug operations involved in fatalities.

“The Philippine government has taken concrete and progressive steps to address the concerns in the condition of the anti-illegal drugs campaign and has recently finalized with the UN a Joint Program on Human Rights,” it said.

Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda on Monday said in a statement that she has requested judicial authorization to proceed with the investigation on the drug war killings in the Philippines as the preliminary has concluded.

According to the Human Rights Watch, 7,884 individuals have been killed from July 1, 2016 to August 1, 2020, citing police records.

The DFA, however, said “the ICC is a court of last resort.”

“The State Parties to the Rome Statute envisioned a court with a complementary, not primary, jurisdiction for the prosecution of the persons most responsible for the most serious crimes of international concern,” it said.

The DFA said the Rome Statute and the Office of the Prosecutor must defer to the primary criminal jurisdiction of the country while proceedings are ongoing.

“The precipitate move of the Prosecutor is a blatant violation of the principle of complementarity, which is a bedrock principle of the Rome Statute,” it said.

Malacañang, meanwhile, said President Rodrigo Duterte will never cooperate with any investigation that may be launched by the ICC as the country is no longer a member of the Rome Statute.

The Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, in March 2019.

In late May, the Philippine National Police has granted the Department of Justice (DOJ) access to the records of drug war deaths as part of an inter-agency panel review of the controversial campaign. —KBK, GMA News