Palace unfazed; says the communication “does not mean anything”
(Eagle News) — Relatives of drug suspects killed in police operations have filed a communication against President Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court.
In filing the communication before the ICC on Tuesday, Aug. 28, Rise Up for Life and Rights, which includes critics of Duterte’s drug war, said the President violated Article 7 of the Rome Statute for “widespread and systematic attacks in the form of murder of thousands of civilians.”
The group, which filed the communication assisted by the National Union of People’s Lawyers, alleged “crimes are being committed in the Philippines, on a daily basis” since Duterte took office in 2016.
It said the President should be held responsible as he was the commander in chief of the military and the police.
“It is our hope, that with the Court taking jurisdiction of herein Complaint, it may force President Duterte to reexamine, if not abandon, his distorted notion of mass murder to solve the country‘s drug and crime problem. The intervention of the ICC will save thousands more from slaughter,” the group said.
Palace unfazed
But the Palace remained unfazed over the filing, noting that the communication “does not mean anything.”
“That’s not a complaint. That’s a communication because it’s still to be acted upon by the ICC. Procedure is different. Anyone can file a communication,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said.
According to Roque, he believes the communication “will not prosper dahil nga po doon sa konsepto ng complementarity.”
“Hindi po dapat gumalaw ang ICC, unless local courts have proven to be unable or unwilling to exercise jurisdiction on these complaints,” he said.