“At last, the Pre-Trial Chamber has decided that the ICC has jurisdiction in the pending case against Pres. Rodrigo Duterte for crime against humanity. Let the trial begin! The next step is the issuance of arrest warrants for Duterte subordinates like Ronald dela Rosa. We are glad that the ICC has finally laid to rest this oft repeated issue of jurisdiction. The fundamental principle of the Rome Statute of the ICC is that criminals who committed crimes at the time that his country is a member of the ICC must be made accountable. It’s the simple implementation of the rule that, you did the crime, then you do the time. Baliktad ito sa sinasabi ni Duterte na kahit inutos niya ang EJK at iba pang krimen, hindi siya pwedeng parusahan kasi pinag withdraw niya ang Pilipinas sa ICC. Hindi hustisya yan!” said Neri Colmenares co-counsel for the families of EJK victims.
“The recent decision practically destroyed the claim of the Dutertes that he was kidnapped because the ICC has no jurisdiction. We ask Pres. Duterte to stop employing delaying tactics and instead allow the confirmation of charges and trial to push through. The families of the victims have long yearned for the justice which they were deprived of by Pres. Duterte. It is about time that the victims are allowed to submit their evidence and the stories of how their loved ones were mercilessly and brutally killed in the war on drugs. We believe that Pres. Duterte is delaying the trial because he knows that he has no evidence to prove that he has nothing to do with the war on drugs. We wait with bated breath what he will present in the ICC trial to escape from being the first Asian convicted in the ICC”, he said
Colmenares reiterated his long-held position that Art. 127 declares that the ICC has jurisdiction even if the Philippines withdrew from the ICC.
“The Philippines signed the Rome Statute which contains a provision in Art. 127 that any withdrawal ‘shall not xxx prejudice the continued consideration of any matter which was already under consideration by the Court prior to the date on which the withdrawal became effective’. We filed the Rise Up case for Crimes against Humanity in 2018 and the ICC Prosecutor has announced the holding of a preliminary examination of Duterte’s crimes in 2018. Since the matter is already “under consideration” by the Court before the Philippines effectively withdrew from the ICC in 2019, the ICC’s investigation and therefore, jurisdiction, had already set in. Otherwise, the ICC will be toothless if Presidents and Prime Ministers charged in the ICC can simply escape by withdrawing from the ICC. If Duterte won his argument, then his case will be a blue print for dictators around the world on how to escape justice and accountability,” said Colmenares.
“Simple lang ang hinihingi ng mga kaanak ng biktima—hayaang magkaroon ng trial para mailahad din nila ang kuwento kung paanong walang awang pinatay ang kanilang mahal sa buhay. Sila ang kawawa, hindi ang nag-aastang kawawa na si Rodrigo Duterte. We ask the public, it does not matter what side of the political fence you’re sitting in—whether you are pro-Duterte, pro-Marcos or pro-oposisyon, hayaan na ang paglilitis nang malaman natin ang katotohanan noong drug war at makakita rin ng aninag ng hustisya ang mga kaanak ng mga biktima ni Duterte,” he added
“This decision is very important but this is just the first step in the long road for justice. Now, we demand from the ICC to hold the confirmation of charges soon, so we can go to trial. We also urge the ICC to issue arrest warrants for Duterte’s co-perpetrators in that monstrosity he called the war on drugs,” Colmenares concluded. #
