THE INTERNATIONAL Criminal Court (ICC) would probably prosecute President Rodrigo R. Duterte and his agents as soon as it resumes its investigation of the government’s deadly war on drugs, according to political analysts.
“Duterte and former national police chief Ronald M. dela Rosa will surely be charged,” Antonio Gabriel M. La Viña, a human rights lawyer and former dean of the Ateneo de Manila University’s School of Government, said in a Facebook Messenger chat.
ICC Prosecutor Karim Ahmed Khan at the weekend asked the international tribunal’s pre-trial chamber in a 53-page filing to reopen the probe months after it was halted upon the Philippine government’s request. Filipino lawyers have been calling on the ICC to resume its probe of the anti-drug campaign, saying the Department of Justice was only looking at 52 deaths out of the tens of thousands killed.
“This could be one of the litmus tests on the sincerity of the incoming administration of President-elect Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., with his campaign promise of making the government more transparent and accountable for the war on drugs not just domestically but internationally,” he added.Incoming Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla has said he would look into the DoJ’s initial review of the anti-illegal drug campaign.
Mr. Guevarra earlier said Mr. Duterte’s war on drugs was largely successful despite “excesses” committed by rogue cops. “We do not expect it to be cordial in any way, especially since the presence of incoming Vice-President Sarah Duterte-Carpio is presumably for that kind of continuity.“