Lawyers for ‘drug war’ victims tell ICC prosecutor to continue probe

MANILA, Philippines — Lawyers for families of those killed during the course of President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody “war on drugs” are earnestly asking the International Criminal Court prosecutor to continue its investigation into the campaign against illegal drugs.

This, after ICC prosecutor Karim Khan announced that they are temporarily suspending their probe into the “drug war” following a request by the Philippines through its Ambassador to the Netherlands, Eduardo Malaya, who said that the government is thoroughly investigating all reported deaths during anti-narcotic operations in the country.

But for the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, which represents the kin of “drug war” victims, these domestic remedies are “utterly ineffective” as drug-related killings, imprisonment of poor Filipinos on “questionable” charges, and human rights violations supposedly continue.

“We ask the ICC not to allow itself to be swayed by the claims now being made by the Duterte administration,” the NUPL said in a statement. “These are so contrary to what is happening on the ground and should never be taken at face value.”

In his six-page letter to Khan dated November 10 and released Friday night, Malaya cited the latest review of the Department of Justice, including the release of an information matrix on 52 cases where administrative liability was found on the part of law enforcement.

The NUPL, however, pointed out that these 52 cases are only a handful out of “tens of thousands” of drug-related killings and should not be considered as an indicator that domestic mechanisms are working.

“This belated action on the part of the Philippine government is nothing but an attempt at white-washing its blood-soaked flagship program,” it said.

It also said that the Philippines’ request to the ICC prosecutor excludes the possibility of investigating Duterte and other high-ranking officials over the alleged crimes against humanity committed during the course of the “drug war.”

The lawyers’ group added that the Philippine justice system is “extremely slow and unavailing” to the poor and is being “manipulated” to shield alleged perpetrators from liability.

“The families of the victims of thousands of extra-judicial killings left uninvestigated for years cannot, now, expect to find justice from a system designed specifically to protect those responsible,” the NUPL said.

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The ICC prosecutor secured last September permission from the pre-trial chamber to pursue an investigation on the alleged crimes against humanity committed in the Philippines in connection with the Duterte administration’s flagship “war on drugs.”

The investigation will also cover the killings in the Davao area between Nov. 1, 2011 to June 30, 2016, when Duterte was occupying local posts in Davao City.

The Duterte administration and the president himself have repeatedly said they will not cooperate in the ICC’s investigation. — Xave Gregorio with reports from Kristine Joy Patag/Philstar.com and Janvic Mateo/The STAR