CHR open to cooperating with ICC on Duterte case

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Wednesday said it is open to cooperating with the investigation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the case of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

"Kasama sa mandate namin actually yun eh, pero it depends actually on the nature of the request and the cooperation being requested. Basta, in accordance with our mandate, pwede," CHR Chairperson Richard Palpal-latoc told GMA News Online.

(It is actually part of our mandate, but it depends actually on the nature of the request and the cooperation being requested. As long as it is in accordance with our mandate, it’s possible.)

The former president was arrested in the Philippines by local authorities on March 11 on charges of crimes against humanity for his deadly war on drugs when he was mayor of Davao City and when he was president of the Philippines.

He is currently detained in the Scheveningen Prison in The Hague.

Government records showed that there were over 6,000 drug suspects killed in police operations during the previous administration's drug war, but Human rights organizations reported that the death toll may have reached 30,000 due to unreported incidents.

CHR, PNP collaboration

CHR is currently investigating the Duterte administration’s war on drugs to make recommendations regarding who should be held accountable.

At CHR’s budget hearing at the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Palpal-latoc said they plan to come up with an initial report covering 400 cases in November, but "[the timeline on finishing our work] depends on the availability of evidence."

Police officers had invoked a policy established by the previous administration to withhold information about deaths linked to the drug war.

“Yun pa rin ginagamit na excuse ng iba pero, suprisingly, may nag-open up pero di pa lahat,” Palpal-latoc said.

(Some use that excuse but, surprisingly, some open up)

“We’re hoping na mapirmahan ang MOA with PNP and CHR para magkaroon ng data sharing between agencies, makakasolve sana yun. Kaya lang hindi pa na-pirmahan,” he added.

(We’re hoping that the memorandum of agreement between the Philippine National Police (PNP) and CHR will be signed to enable data sharing between the agencies, which could help solve the issue. However, it hasn't been signed yet.)

Palpal-latoc shared that the agreement is a collaboration between the two agencies, which include date sharing, cooperation, and trainings.

“Hindi siya specific doon sa mga [drug war victims] but eventually, of course, dahil magiging part ng agreement yung case investigation, eventually masasama siya,” he said.

(It’s not specifically for the [drug war victims], but eventually, since case investigations will be part of the agreement, they will be included as well.)

Palpal-latoc hoped that the agreement will be signed this year.

“Actually dapat mapipirmahan na siya pero biglang nagkaroon ng changes sa leadership ng PNP. Of course we understand magkaroon ng change in direction sa priorities ng leadership. At least we'll continue working with the PNP,” he said.

(It was actually supposed to be signed already, but there was a sudden change in the PNP leadership. Of course, we understand that a change in leadership could also mean a shift in priorities. Still, we will continue to work with the PNP.) —VAL, GMA Integrated News