The International Criminal Court (CPI) approved the request of the Prosecutor’s Office to reopen the investigation into the bloody war on drugs launched during the tenure of the former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (2016-2022), which was temporarily suspended in November 2021.
A statement released by the ICC ensures that the decision responds to the fact that The court is “not satisfied” with the investigations carried out in the Philippines.
“After having examined the material sent by the Government of the Philippines, the Prosecutor of the ICC, as well as having analyzed the observations of the victims, this court concludes that domestic initiatives do not result in concrete or tangible steps”, says the court.
The investigation had been temporarily suspended in November 2021, responding to a request from the Philippine government, then led by Rodrigo Duterteto defer it while the country carried out its own inquiries.
Again, already with the president Ferdinand Marcos Jr.. at the controls, Manila asked the ICC last September to reject the prosecutor’s request, Karim Khanto restart it, claiming to have sent the court a “report on the progress” of the investigations.
Now, Marcos Jr.who assumed power last June and governs in tandem with the daughter of the former president and current vice president, Sarah Dutertewill have to decide whether or not to collaborate with the ICC investigation, having initially been reluctant to do so.
In August, the leader, the son of the late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, announced that “has no intention” to reinstate the Philippines to the ICC, from which Duterte took the country in 2019, following the start of the “preliminary analyzes” to determine if he was investigating possible crimes committed during his tenure.
Marcos Jr. has denied entry to the country to the ICC and has defended that the Philippine Justice has the capacity to investigate on its own.
In December, the Philippine Intelligence Bureau announced that it will investigate the death certificates of the victims anti-drug operations, for which thousands of people were killed during police raids, deaths that were often recorded as natural deathsaccording to forensic analysis.
Since Duterte came to power in June 2016, the anti-drug operations protected by their Government, claimed the lives of some 30,000 peopleaccording to several organizations, which could constitute Crimes against humanitythe focus of investigations by the court in The Hague.
For his part, Philippine Police only acknowledge 6,200 deaths.
Although the Philippines is no longer part of the ICC, the body has jurisdiction to investigate alleged crimes against humanity provided that the investigated country was part of the court when the events occurred, as is the case in this case.
phil robertsondeputy director for Asia of Human Rights Watch, considered this Friday the resumption of the ICC investigation, which in theory implies that the prosecutor seeks incriminating evidence against those allegedly responsible for the crimes, such as the “only credible way to bring justice to the victims and their families”.
(With information from EFE)
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Source-www.infobae.com