Duterte under DoJ probe for int’l humanitarian law violations

THE Department of Justice (DoJ) is now investigating former President Rodrigo R. Duterte for possible violations of international humanitarian laws, Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla said on Monday.

“We are currently focusing on International Humanitarian Law because it is the law being studied by the International Criminal Court (ICC), as well as the law we have here in the country,” he told reporters in a chance interview in mixed English and Filipino.

“The ICC is actually using this law, which is the International Humanitarian Law under Republic Act 9851.”

The DoJ earlier this month created the task force to probe extrajudicial killings instigated during Mr. Duterte’s reign as Davao City mayor and eventually as the Philippine president from 2016 to 2022.

According to Mr. Remulla, the scope of the investigation will cover “everything possible,” including the Revised Penal Code, RA 9851, the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity, and other special laws.

“If overlaps occur with the ICC, we’ll need to make a choice. We want the charges filed here and those filed by the ICC, if possible, to remain distinct and not overlap,” he added, noting the “spirit of complementarity” will still be observed despite the Philippines’ withdrawal from the ICC.

Mr. Duterte unilaterally withdrew the Philippines from the ICC in March 2018 after it opened a preliminary examination of drug killings. The court has said its prosecutors have jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed before the withdrawal. 

Mr. Duterte’s lawyer and former spokesman Salvador S. Panelo did not immediately respond to a Viber message seeking comments.

Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. last week said his government would not stand in the way if Mr. Duterte wanted to surrender to the ICC and would be obliged to comply if his arrest was sought over his deadly war on drugs.

This was the first time the Philippine government has suggested it would cooperate with the ICC, which last year cleared the way for an investigation into the bloody campaign that defined Mr. Duterte’s 2016-2022 presidency.

This followed Mr. Duterte’s statement in a marathon congressional hearing, during which he said he has “nothing to hide.”

The DoJ also said earlier that it will uphold the Philippines’ sovereign obligations with other countries, should the ICC seek help from the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to gain jurisdiction over Mr. Duterte.

The government estimated that at least 6,117 people died in Mr. Duterte’s drug war between July 1, 2016, and May 31, 2022, but human rights groups said the death toll could be as high as 30,000.

The tough-talking former President admitted having ordered police officers in his hometown of Davao City when he was its mayor to goad criminals to fight back during anti-illegal drug raids so cops would have a reason to retaliate, adding that he had a hit-squad tasked to eradicate crimes.

‘POLITICAL DRAMA’
Meanwhile, Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon D. Alvarez dismissed House investigations on Mr. Duterte’s deadly drug war as mere “political drama,” amid the widening rift between the Marcoses and Dutertes.

“The hearing concluded without any new revelations, no significant new information, and no basis for any case to be filed. Everything President Duterte said, he had already stated before, and he even promised back in 2016,” Mr. Alvarez, who was a former House speaker during Mr. Duterte’s presidency, said in a statement in Filipino.

“If there’s a case, then file it. But there isn’t. What’s happening is just political theatrics,” he added.

Mr. Marcos and Vice President Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio ran under the UniTeam Alliance in 2022, a political alliance that delivered landslide wins and led to them both receiving more than half of all votes casted during the elections. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana and Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio