📷House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro
House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro strongly criticized President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for his recent statement suggesting that former Sen. Leila de Lima’s acquittal proves the Philippines does not need the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the Duterte administration’s drug war.
“President Marcos Jr.’s attempt to use Sen. De Lima’s case as a shield against ICC intervention is not only misguided but also a grave insult to the thousands of victims of the brutal drug war,” Rep. Castro declared. “Sen. De Lima’s case is just one out of thousands of drug-related cases during Duterte’s bogus drug war, most of which resulted in the death of the supposed suspects. Even if we add de Lima’s case to the 52 cases that the PNP and the Department of Justice (DOJ) probed, it’s not even 1 percent of the 6,000 drug war deaths based on government figures, even less so when we use data from human rights organizations.”
The lawmaker emphasized the stark contrast between the handful of cases being investigated and the massive scale of human rights violations during the previous administration’s drug war campaign.
“Napakababa naman ng standards ng pangulo hinggil sa katarungan at karapatang pantao kapag ganyan. Kaya di nakapagtataka na patuloy ang pandarahas ng mga militar at pulis sa kanayunan na ang target ay mga magsasaka at katutubo na nagtatanggol lamang sa kanilang karapatan sa lupa,” she added.
Rep. Castro urged the Marcos administration to allow the ICC to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the drug war killings, emphasizing that true justice and accountability cannot be achieved through selective and limited local probes.
“The Filipino people deserve a comprehensive investigation that addresses the full scope of human rights violations committed during the drug war. The ICC’s involvement is crucial to ensure that all perpetrators, regardless of their position or influence, are held accountable for their actions,” Rep. Castro concluded.
