Courtesy: Human Rights Watch
SOME lawmakers in the Lower House of Congress are open to using the results of the investigation on extrajudicial killings (EJK) during the peak of the war on drugs at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Aside from Sta. Rosa Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez, Deputy Speaker David Suarez, Assistant Majority Leader Ernesto Dionisio Jr., and Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers see no issue in utilizing the results of the investigation by the House committee on human rights at the ICC.
“I do concur with the position of Congressman Dan Fernandez that it can be used not only by the ICC, but anyone for that matter. For as long as it will seem valuable for whatever endeavor they might want to proceed with,” Suarez said.
Fernandez initially mentioned that the ICC could use the results of their investigation following Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa’s questioning of the committee’s rights led by Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. to investigate the war on drugs.
“We are an independent body, and we are discussing this thoroughly. It will be dependent on the chairman what to do with the committee report. And that can be used by anybody, particularly those victims of the (war on drugs),” Fernandez said. Dionisio also agreed, stating that not only Filipinos would have access to the investigation results but also the ICC, which they could use against the accused of crimes against humanity, including Dela Rosa.
“Our public hearings regarding the EJKs, all of that is documented. It’s open to the public. If it’s open to the public, it’s open to the ICC. And for sure, they can use it as a reference,” Dionisio said.
Former president Rodrigo Duterte is the primary accused in the ICC case because he is accused of being behind the killing of nearly 30,000 people in his war on drugs, including 7,000 killed by police in their anti-illegal drug operations because the victims allegedly fought back.
“Again, it is a public record, and anyone can access these records. If the ICC would like to access this and probably feels that it will help them in their investigation, they can access these anytime,” Barbers added.
