Institutions, lawyers urged to cooperate with ICC investigation into drug war

A law professor on Wednesday urged national institutions and lawyers to cooperate with the investigation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) into the Duterte administration’s deadly campaign against illegal drugs.

Michael Tiu, an assistant professor at the University of the Philippines College of Law, said lawyers must help pursue justice in light of allegations of human rights abuses in the course of the campaign.

“If we are agents of the law and we help in the administration of justice, we want due process and justice to prevail,” Tiu said in an online forum on the ICC probe organized by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP).

The ICC last month authorized an investigation into possible crimes against humanity that have allegedly occurred on Philippine territory from November 1, 2011 to March 16, 2019.

In August, the tribunal said that the drug war victims "overwhelmingly" supported an investigation by the ICC prosecutor based on the representations submitted before it.

“One of the reasons why they are seeking justice [from] the ICC is that the victims feel that they cannot seek justice here,” Tiu said.

“They can choose to look away, there are other things that they can do as well, but this necessitates a reflection [on the part of] the ICC that if they don’t investigate the Philippines’ situation would it be saying ‘no’ to the 94% of the thousands who have submitted representations?” he added.

Malacañang has repeatedly said the Philippines is not required to cooperate with the investigation owing to its withdrawal from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, in 2019. 

The Rome Statute, however, provides that the exit “shall not affect any cooperation with the Court in connection with criminal investigations and proceedings in relation to which the withdrawing State had a duty to cooperate.”

On Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte said he would prepare for his defense even as he insisted that the ICC would never acquire jurisdiction over him.  — VBL, GMA News