Marcos urged to cooperate with ICC
THE Nagkaisa Labor Coalition renewed its appeal to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to allow the International Criminal Court (ICC) into the country to conduct an investigation on human rights violations committed during the drug war of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
Duterte, in a recent Senate hearing, admitted under oath to encouraging police officers to provoke drug suspects into retaliating to justify the use of lethal force.
Such provocation, if orchestrated by authorities, eliminates any legal grounds for self-defense, rendering the involved officers liable and Duterte potentially culpable as an instigator.
Nagkaisa Chairman Sonny Matula. TMT file photoNagkaisa Chairman Sonny Matula said cooperation with international human rights investigations was allowed under the law.
«Under Philippine law — specifically, Republic Act 985 — our authorities can defer to the jurisdiction of international tribunals, such as the ICC, when necessary to uphold justice,» Matula said, adding that Section 17 of Republic Act 9851 even empowers Philippine authorities to extradite suspects under certain conditions.
Matula said the Marcos administration should implement Section 17, Paragraph 2 of Republic Act 9851 that would allow the Philippines to defer to the ICC in cases involving severe human rights violations.
AdvertisementMatula added that given the scale of alleged abuses committed during Duterte's drug war, the government should defer to international standards to deliver justice.
«Thousands of lives have been lost, including innocent children and defenseless citizens. It is our duty to demand justice and accountability as we honor the lives of the departed,» he said.
Duterte's drug war, which began in 2016, has led to thousands of deaths.
Government records showed the casualties were over 6,000, though human rights groups estimated the actual number could reach 30,000.
AdvertisementWhile Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC in 2018, Matula said it does not absolve the country from honoring its commitments to justice.
Philippine law, he said, recognizes the ICC's jurisdiction over crimes against humanity committed before the withdrawal.
In 2021, the Supreme Court
