EDITORIAL - Silencing witnesses

 In Philippine elections, harassment and murder have become favored tools for eliminating rivals and undermining the people’s will.

In criminal prosecution, cases have been lost due to the harassment and murder of key witnesses and even prosecutors and judges.

So authorities cannot take lightly the complaint of relatives of those killed in the war on drugs during the Duterte administration, that they are being harassed online and in person and threatened with physical violence. Also facing similar harassment and threats is one of their lawyers, Kristina Conti, who is an International Criminal Court assistant to counsel.

The targets of harassment are relatives of the victims in the 43 representative cases filed against former president Rodrigo Duterte before the ICC for possible crimes against humanity. Last week, Conti and several of the victims’ relatives, who are among the complainants in the ICC case, formally sought the help of the National Bureau of Investigation in stopping the harassment.

Their concern for their safety cannot be shrugged off. The  principal suspect in this case is a former president who still enjoys a measure of public support. The chief enforcer of Duterte’s drug war is now a sitting senator. The suspected perpetrators are members of the Philippine National Police, many of whom are still in the active service. If they readily went along with the order to kill, they would not hesitate to permanently silence anyone whose testimony could send them to prison for extrajudicial killings.

Being PNP members, they have the capacity to commit murder and cover it up. Murderers are assured of protection, such as police superintendent Rafael Dumlao III, who was convicted of kidnapping South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo in the guise of a drug bust and then executing him inside PNP headquarters at Camp Crame. Dumlao’s wife is herself part of law enforcement.

The ICC provides protection to witnesses in cases pending before the court, but its resources for this are limited. The Philippine government has withdrawn from the Rome Statute and has not indicted Duterte for offenses related to his bloody crackdown on the drug menace.

Authorities, however, are investigating other officials of the Duterte administration for possible domestic prosecution in connection with killings carried out in the war on drugs. These include those tagged in the cases that were tackled during the hearings of the quad committee at the House of Representatives. 

If the current administration wants to build a tight case against those responsible for the thousands of drug killings, it will need witnesses. And it must show that testifying to achieve justice will not lead to harassment and violent attacks that could lead to the loss of more lives.