Makabayan: Not rejoining ICC a slap against drug war victims, families

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr.'s ruling out the Philippines' rejoining the International Criminal Court (ICC) is a slap in the face of the victims of the Duterte administration's anti-drug war and the families they left behind, the Makabayan bloc lawmakers on Thursday.

Representatives Arlene Brosas of Gabriela, France Castro of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers, and Raoul Manuel of Kabataan made the response to Marcos' remark on Wednesday that the country has "no intention" to rejoin the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC.

Then-President Rodrigo Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the Rome Statute in 2018, when the ICC announced it would start a preliminary examination of the killings in his drug war.

"Marcos Jr.'s decision to not rejoin International Criminal Court (ICC) is a manifestation that this administration has no plans to provide justice to the victims of Duterte's bloody war on drugs. Bagamat dinadahilan ng Pangulo na kesyo may imbestigasyon naman dito sa Pilipinas, lumalabas sa initial na report ng ICC na wala iyong ini-imbestigahan ay nasa 50 plus lamang na kaso, na napakalayo sa bilang ng mga drug war killings," Brosas said in a virtual press conference.

(While the President is arguing that we have local investigation here, the ICC already said in its initial report that such investigation hardly covered the entirety of drug war killings.)

"Sampal ito sa mga biktima ng human rights violations at mga pamilyang namatayan dahil sa Oplan Tokhang. Ito rin ay signal ito hindi magbabago ang patakaran ng gobyerno: Patuloy na mamayani ang impunity at call to action ito para sa ating lahat,"  Manuel added.

(This is a slap in the face of the victims and their families who lost their loved ones to Oplan Tokhang. This is also a signal that the government is not changing its policy on allowing impunity, and such is a call to action for us.)

Being a part of the ICC, the Makabayan lawmakers said, would ensure that justice is done, and that the country's justice system has always worked against the poor who have limited resources.

"DOJ is saying the justice system is working, pero para kanino? Para sa kanila, hindi sa mahihirap na hirap makakuha ng abogado na magtatanggol sa kanila," Castro said, referring to the Department of Justice.

(They say the justice system is working, but for whom? For them, not the poor people who have a tough time looking for lawyers who will take their case in court.)

"Ibig sabihin nito magpapatuloy ang impunity, at lack of accountability. Failure ito ng state to hold former President Duterte accountable over the 6,000 extrajudicial killings which is a government estimate. It is even as high as 30,000 according to the victims," Castro added.

(It just means impunity will go on, as well as lack of accountability. This is a failure on the part of the state to hold President Duterte accountable. )

GMA News Online has reached out the Palace for comment on the Makabayan bloc's sentiments.

Marcos had made the statement after discussing the matter with members of his administration's legal team.

"Eh sinasabi naman namin may imbestigasyon naman dito at patuloy rin naman ang imbestigasyon, bakit magkakaroon ng ganoon?" he said.

(We have our own investigation in the Philippines, why is there a need to reopen the ICC probe?)

On Wednesday, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said that the administration is not closing the door on the possibility of rejoining the ICC, but that it remains Marcos's decision.

Court of last resort

The ICC, the court of last resort that can exercise jurisdiction if states are unable or unwilling to investigate crimes, marked its 20th anniversary as one of the permanent pillars of the international legal system last July 1.

The ICC probe into the Duterte administration's drug war was suspended in November 2021 on the request of the Philippine government, largely on the argument that local prosecutors are already investigating drug war deaths in police operations. 

But in July, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan asked the ICC to resume the probe, saying that the Philippine government had not demonstrated that it investigated or was investigating its nationals or others in connection with the series of killings attributed to the anti-drug campaign. 

“The Philippine government does not appear to be investigating whether any of the alleged crimes were committed pursuant to a policy or occurred systemically, or whether any person in the higher echelons of the police or government may be criminally responsible. For these reasons alone, the Court should not defer to the  Philippine government’s investigation,” Khan said. — BM, GMA News