ICC should let PH do own drug war probe, SolGen says

The International Criminal Court (ICC) should let the Philippines do its own investigation on the controversial anti-drug campaign of the Duterte administration, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said Tuesday.

Guevarra said the ICC should be the one helping in the government's probe and "not the other way around."

"Ang sinasabi lang ng Philippine government ay huwag ninyo na kaming isama pa diyan, huwag ninyo na kaming asahan pang tumulong sa imbestigasyon ninyo kasi kami ay nag-iimbestiga on our own," he said on the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon news forum.

(What the Philippine government is saying is don't expect us to be involved in your investigation because we are doing our own probe.)

"Kung gusto ninyo, ito ngang posisyon ko ha, kung gusto ninyo na makatulong, kayo ang sumuporta sa investigation ng Philippine government, hindi kami ang tutulong sa inyo," Guevarra added. "Baligtarin natin, kayong ICC kung ano ang mayroon kayo, ibigay ninyo sa Philippine government para kami ang makapag-prosecute kung sino ang dapat i-prosecute, not the other way around."

(If you really want to help, my position is you should support the Philippine government's investigation instead of us being the one to help you. Let’s put it this way, whatever the ICC finds should be given to us so we can prosecute those who should be prosecuted and not the other way around.)

The Solicitor General said he was aware of reports of people from the ICC entering the country, but he noted that the Philippine government understands the mandate of the international court.

"Well, we have heard reports na in fact ay labas-pasok na dito ang mga taga-ICC 'no, pero wala namang kahit sino sa kanila na pinigilan ng immigration na pumasok dito dahil hindi naman natin pinagbabawalan, na kung iyan ang mandato ninyo na mag-imbestiga, mag-imbestiga kayo," said Guevarra.

(Well, we have heard reports of ICC people coming in and out of the country, but the immigration personnel have not barred them because we understand that it’s their mandate to investigate.)

Former President Rodrigo Duterte, who launched his war on drugs as a campaign policy to eradicate the drug menace, pulled the Philippines out of the Rome Statute in 2018. The withdrawal took effect in 2019, after the ICC began a preliminary probe into his administration's drug war.

A Supreme Court ruling in 2021 said the Philippines has the obligation to cooperate with the ICC despite its withdrawal from the Rome Statute. The high court cited the statute's provision that the exit does not affect criminal proceedings pertaining to acts that occurred when a country was still a state party.

However, Guevarra asserted that the country's withdrawal means that the government is not obligated to cooperate with the ICC.

"Kaya hindi kumibo, hindi nag-react ang Philippine government doon sa request na iyon for cooperation dahil nga iyon ang ating position. We have no legal duty to cooperate anymore," he said.

(The reason why the Philippine government did not move or react to the request for cooperation was because of our position. We have no legal duty to cooperate anymore.)

"Gusto ninyo, magpatuloy kayo kung anong gusto ninyong imbestigasyon na gawin on your own. Pero huwag ninyo nang hilingin pa na pati ang gobyerno ay tutulong sa inyo sa inyong imbestigasyon kasi we have our own system of investigation here," Guevarra said.

(If you want, you just continue with your investigation. But don't ask the government to help you because we have our own system of investigation here.)

Based on government records, over 6,000 drug suspects were killed during the Duterte administration’s anti-illegal drug operations. Human rights organizations, however, claim the number could reach 30,000 due to unreported related deaths.

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. previously said the government would not serve any arrest warrant from the ICC against Duterte. He also said he does not recognize the jurisdiction of ICC in the Philippines and considers the tribunal as a threat to the country's sovereignty.

However, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla last month told Reuters that the Philippines was open to talk to the ICC, signaling the country's softened stance towards tribunal. — VDV, GMA Integrated News