By Arjay L. Balinbin

MALACAÑANG ANNOUNCED on Thursday, Feb. 8, that the International Criminal Court (ICC) is set to begin its “preliminary examination” into a complaint filed by the camp of opposition senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV alleging that President Rodrigo R. Duterte has committed “crimes against humanity” in his nationwide war on drugs.

In a press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Herminio Harry L. Roque, Jr. said the Philippine mission was informed by the Office of Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court about the complaint. He noted in part: “The Office of the Prosecutor is merely exercising his mandate to determine whether there is reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation into a situation pursuant to criteria in the Rome statute, namely, jurisdiction, admissibility, and interest of justice, lest the opposition (already claims) victory.”

“The office of the preliminary examination is only to determine if there is reasonable basis to proceed to a preliminary investigation. After a preliminary investigation, the prosecutor would have to go to the pre-trial chamber of the Court for confirmation of charges before the charges can even be filed in the Court,” Mr. Roque clarified further.

He also said the examination of the complaint was “a waste of the Court’s time and resources,” adding that Mr. Duterte is “sick and tired of being accused” and “wants to be in court and put the prosecutor on the stand.”

Mr. Roque, a former congressman and international law expert, also noted: “Again as a matter of sovereign consent, we gave our consent to be a member of the ICC subject to, number one: The court being a court of last resort; and that, secondly, subject to the principle of complementarity; and number three, that not all crimes can be cognizable by the court because only crimes which are of the gravest nature, (of the) greatest affront against the international community, should be subject to the jurisdiction of the Court.”

For his part, Mr. Trillanes said: “I welcome the ICC’s decision to conduct (a) preliminary examination on Duterte’s crimes against humanity.”

“This development should jolt Duterte into realizing that he is not above the law. More importantly, this is the first step for the victims’ families’ quest for justice,” the opposition senator added.

It was in April last year when lawyer Jude Josue L. Sabio filed a complaint before the ICC against Mr. Duterte and his senior officials. Mr. Sabio serves as counsel for Edgar B. Matobato, who had testified in the Senate that he was part of a hit squad that operated on Mr. Duterte’s orders.

In a statement, Mr. Sabio said: “I am elated and vindicated. At last, Mr. Duterte and his cohorts will face preliminary examination by the ICC prosecutor as a prelude to formal criminal investigation.”

“I am confident that, based on my communication, as well as that of Sen. Trillanes’ and Rep. Alejano’s, we will hurdle this first big step, and hopefully a warrant of arrest will be issued soon by the ICC against Duterte and his cohorts. His system of death squad killings, which started through the Davao death squad and was continued on a national scale through the war on drugs, will now be investigated by the ICC and justice will be done,” the lawyer added.

In his statement, opposition Senator Paolo Benigno A. Aquino IV said in part, “This should be a welcome opportunity for the administration to make their case to an unbiased and globally respected tribunal.” — with a report by Reuters

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