ICC okays probe into Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’

The International Criminal Court on Wednesday,September 15, approved the conduct of a full investigation into crimes against humanity during the Philippines’ so-called “war on drugs” under Philipine President Rodrigo Duterte.

In a statement, the ICC said its judges “found there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation, noting the specific element of the crime against humanity of murder.”

Set up in 2002, the ICC is a so-called court of last resort and only becomes involved in probing the world’s worst crimes if its member states are unable or unwilling to do so.

The ICC handed down its decision even as Manila left the court in 2019 following a preliminary probe into Duterte’s crackdown claimed by human rights groups to have killed thousands of civilians.

But the judges said that even though the Philippines had withdrawn as a state party to the court, the alleged crimes took place while Manila was still a signature to the court’s Rome Statute, so it could still probe them. The probe will cover the period from 2011 to 2019.

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Duterte dares ICC: Hang me

Will even be the one to put the rope around his neck

If the International Criminal Court (ICC) will declare him guilty of crimes against humanity due to the series of drug-related killings, President Rodrigo Duterte said he would be “glad to go” and will even be the one to put the rope around his neck.

Speaking before Isabela officials and villagers during the campaign rally of PDP-Laban senatorial candidates at the Francisco L. Dy Memorial Coliseum on Wednesday evening in Cauayan City, Duterte said, “For all the things that I have said, ordered and done, I am willing to put (the rope around) my neck about this”.

Duterte, who said last year that he would be ready to die by firing squad, had earlier ordered the withdrawal of the Philippines’ membership in the ICC. The withdrawal will take effect on March 17.

Reiterating his stand that the ICC has no jurisdiction over him, Duterte claimed that the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, is not enforceable in the country because it was not published in a government publication or any newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines. (PNA)