Philippines challenges ICC, says unapproved probe into killings unacceptable
- Justice secretary says The Hague-based court does not have jurisdiction to allow a suspended investigation to resume
- He argued Duterte government was already looking into the deaths of suspects during an anti-drug crackdown under the former president
The Philippine justice secretary said on Friday that any investigation violating the country’s sovereignty by the International Criminal Court into the widespread killings of suspects during an anti-drug crackdown under former President Rodrigo Duterte would be “totally unacceptable”.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla spoke in reaction to a decision on Thursday by judges in The Hague-based court allowing Prosecutor Karim Khan to resume an investigation that was suspended in late 2021 after the Duterte government said it was already looking into the killings and argued that the ICC, a court of last resort, did not have jurisdiction.
The ICC decision was welcomed by human rights groups and by relatives of mostly poor suspects killed in Duterte’s police-enforced crackdown.
“The various domestic initiatives and proceedings, assessed collectively, do not amount to tangible, concrete and progressive investigative steps in a way that would sufficiently mirror the court’s investigation,” a panel of ICC judges said in their ruling on Thursday after examining information from the Philippine government and Khan, and weighing comments from victims.
Remulla rejected any ICC investigation that violates the country’s sovereignty and the independence of its judicial system.