Take ICC probe gravely, Manila told after arrest order on Putin

By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza and John Victor D. Ordoñez,  Reporters

THE INTERNATIONAL Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin shows it is serious about punishing war criminals, according to human rights groups.

“The arrest order shows the seriousness of the intention of the ICC to exact international justice, notwithstanding the geopolitical challenges to this process,” Judy Pasimio, spokeswoman of In Defense of Human Rights (iDefend), said in a Facebook Messenger chat on Monday. “It is unprecedented given that his country is one of the most powerful in the world and he is the highest official so far to be issued such.”

Last week, the tribunal ordered the arrest or Mr. Putin and Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova for the war crime of illegally deporting children from Ukraine. 

The United Nations-backed court said it found reasonable grounds for Mr. Putin to bear criminal responsibility for the crimes. He committed the crimes either directly or in cooperation with others, or failed to stop authorities under his watch, it added.

The ICC move will oblige the court’s 123 states to arrest Mr. Putin and transfer him to the Hague for trial if he sets foot into their territory. About 16,221 Ukrainian children were forcibly taken to Russia.

In January, the court’s pre-trial chamber reopened its investigation into killings under former President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s bloody war on drugs, angering the Philippine Justice department and his allies in Congress. The tribunal said it was not satisfied with Philippine efforts to probe the human rights abuses during the period.

IDefend said the latest ICC move boosts their campaign for justice and accountability in the Philippines. “It encourages our fight against naked power and tyranny, as we await the process to reach Duterte and the perpetrators of crimes against humanity under the war on drugs.”

In 2016, Russia withdrew from the Rome Statute, which set up the international criminal court in 2002.

The Philippines under Mr. Duterte also withdrew from the ICC  in March 2018, a month after the court started an inquiry into his drug war that killed thousands of suspects.

In a statement, the Gabriela Women’s Party said Mr. Putin’s case showed that even if a country has withdrawn from the ICC, the court could still exercise jurisdiction over cases of crimes against humanity.

“This development also affirms the possibility of a similar arrest warrant against Duterte, upon the completion of ICC’s legal proceedings,” it added.

The ICC arrest warrant is a “major exercise of global governance,” the party said, adding that it would have mixed implications on the Russia-Ukraine war. “In the end, we hope that this will be a step toward peace.”

Gabriela said the ICC should “deny with finality all appeals by the Marcos administration to derail the investigation of Duterte’s drug war,” citing “baseless” arguments raised by the government.

“In the interest of upholding international law and according justice to all the victims of the Duterte regime, jail time must be imposed by the international court on the former president.”

“The fact that the ICC issued the arrest order is a signal that responsible officials and the government should take the investigation seriously,” Neri J. Colmenares, a former congressman and chairman of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, told BusinessWorld.

“No amount of bravado on the part of former President Duterte could stop a warrant of arrest the moment it is issued.”

‘FEAR’
Herminio L. Roque, Jr., Mr. Duterte’s lawyer, and Justice spokesman Jose Dominic Clavano IV did not immediately reply to separate Facebook Messenger and Viber messages seeking comments.

Last week, the Philippines asked the ICC Appeals Chamber to suspend its probe of the previous administration’s anti-illegal drug campaign, saying it does not have jurisdiction over it.

“It puts the fear in government because the interesting thing is that Russia is not even a member of the ICC,” Roberto Eugenio T. Cadiz, a former commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and convenor of Manananggol Laban sa EJKs, told BusinessWorld. “If the ICC can issue an international arrest to an incumbent president, then it can surely put out a similar order to a former president of the Philippines.”

Mr. Duterte canceled Philippine membership in the ICC in 2018. His successor President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has said the Philippines would not rejoin the international tribunal.

ICC prosecutor Ahmad A. Khan on Feb. 16 told the international court the Philippines had not raised new arguments to justify halting the probe.

The ICC, which tries individuals charged with crimes against humanity, genocide, war crimes and aggression, suspended its probe of the previous administration’s deadly drug war in 2021 upon the Philippine government’s request.

It was also set to probe vigilante-style killings in Davao City when Mr. Duterte was still its vice mayor and mayor.

“The ICC will intervene only in the absence of genuine national proceedings and efforts in regard to the human rights abuses during the drug war,” Ray Paolo J. Santiago, executive director of the Ateneo de Manila University’s Human Rights Center, told a news briefing.

“It seems that no real investigation is being done and we should be asking how many of the over 6,000 drug war cases have been investigated.”

European Union lawmakers have urged the Philippine government to rejoin the ICC to reinforce its commitment to human rights.

Last month, Hannah Neumann, vice chairwoman of the European Parliament subcommittee on human rights, said the human rights situation is better than it was under Mr. Duterte since officials are more willing to talk about it.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla earlier told the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council the Philippine government could investigate human rights abuses without the ICC’s help.

The Philippine government estimates that at least 6,117 suspected drug dealers had been killed in police operations. Human rights groups say as many as 30,000 suspects died.

The UN Human Rights Committee has said the Philippines should comply with international human rights mechanisms and cooperate with the ICC’s drug war probe.

The Commission on Human Rights has said the Duterte government had encouraged a culture of impunity by impeding independent probes and failing to prosecute rogue cops.

“The government should seriously consider the ICC’s investigation and prosecution those responsible because if a warrant is issued against an erring official, it would put the Marcos administration in a quandary,” Mr. Colmenares said.