A senator who enforced ex-President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s deadly drug war on Tuesday as his national police chief rejected a plan to hand over the transcript of the Philippine Senate’s investigation into the crackdown to the International Criminal Court (ICC), said this would mean recognizing the tribunal’s jurisdiction to investigate crimes against humanity allegedly committed by the government.
“Giving to their request is tantamount to recognizing their jurisdiction over us,” Senator Ronald M. dela Rosa told a news briefing. “And our government has been very consistent in stating that the ICC has no jurisdiction over us, so I hope that, as an equal branch of the executive branch, we follow the same line.”
The Hague tribunal is investigating alleged crimes against humanity committed during the drug war, in which thousands of suspects were killed.
The government estimates that at least 6,117 people were killed in Duterte’s drug war between July 1, 2016 and May 31, 2022, but human rights groups say the death toll could be as high as 30,000.
Senate President Francis “Chiz” G. Escudero earlier said the Senate would be willing to submit to the ICC an official transcript of the recent Blue Ribbon Subcommittee hearing in which Mr. Duterte gave “no excuses, no excuses” for his war on drugs.
The tough-talking former president admitted that when he was mayor, he ordered police officers in his hometown Davao City to incite criminals to fight back during anti-illegal drug raids so that police have a reason to retaliate . team charged with eradicating crimes.
He also said his ex-police chiefs were “death squad commanders” as they took care of criminal syndicates, but denied ordering them to kill innocent people.
“We must also ask ourselves for what purpose we need to hand over a certified copy of the transcript?” Mr. Dela Rosa asked.
The former police chief previously said he is not concerned about the ICC amid the Senate investigation into the crackdown, adding that he would not recuse himself from the investigation.
Withdrawing from the investigation would be a “disservice to the Filipino people,” he said, citing the need to debunk lies and paint a true picture of the anti-illegal drug campaign.
The Philippines under Duterte withdrew from the ICC in March 2018 amid criticism that his government had systematically killed drug suspects during police raids. It came into effect a year later.
Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has ruled out cooperation with the ICC, citing the country’s functioning legal system.
“I’m not worried [about the ICC]”, said Mr Dela Rosa. “If Malacañang says we do not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC, then we should not recognize it as a country.”
Also Tuesday, members of Congress said Duterte should make good on his promise and attend a separate House of Representatives investigation into his anti-narcotics campaign.
Mr. Duterte had assured the House that he was prepared to attend the House of Representatives Quad Committee hearing on alleged extrajudicial killings during his administration, according to a letter his lawyer sent last month to Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace S. Barbers, who chaired the panel leads.
The House of Representatives Quad Committee will meet again on Thursday to continue its investigation.
“It would show that he is not afraid of responsibility, just as he showed in the Senate investigation, where during his administration he took responsibility and advocated for the victims of extrajudicial killings,” said Lanao del Sur representative Zia Alonto Adiong said in a statement.
Mr. Duterte should attend the committee hearing because there has been a “repeated demand for public accountability” over his drug war policies, Zambales Representative Jefferson F. Khonghun said in a separate statement. “Innocent lives have been lost in the name of the alleged war on illegal drugs.”
Duterte’s lawyers may advise him to skip the hearing in the House of Representatives to avoid further incriminating himself, La Union Rep. Francisco Paolo P. Ortega V said in a separate statement.
“I believe his legal team could adopt a ‘play it safe’ strategy of ‘less talk, fewer mistakes’, and they can best achieve this by advising Duterte not to attend the Quad Committee hearing live,” he said. “They won’t delve deeper until the former president speaks.”
Mr. Duterte told the Senate that he takes “full legal and moral responsibility” for the “mistakes and crimes” of his anti-drug campaign. — John Victor D. Ordoñez And Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio