Detained Senator Leila De Lima dared President Rodrigo Duterte to allow the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) to investigate the alleged “crimes against humanity” committed in Duterte’s drug war.
“If there is nothing to hide, why not cooperate with the ICC and pledge to offer your support if needed? Why threaten those who want to investigate the killings in the country? Kunwari pa kasing wala silang pakialam, eh halata namang takot at binabangungot na sila sa mga ganap sa ICC,” she said.
De Lima welcomed the (ICC) Office of the Prosecutor opinion that there is “reasonable basis to believe that crimes against humanity” in Duterte’s war on drugs.
“This is why Duterte is now trying very hard to backpedal on his statements regarding human rights, to make it appear that they are doing everything to address the issue of EJKs and other grave human rights violations,” she said in a statement.
“But the blood of the thousands of EJK victims are already in Duterte and his enablers’ hands. They will never be able to wash it with empty rhetorics, lies, and repeated denials that EJKs are not state-sponsored, while insisting on their ‘nanlaban’ narrative,” she added.
De Lima dares Duterte to allow ICC probe on drug war
The ICC said that “The Office is satisfied that information available provides a reasonable basis to believe that the crimes against humanity of murder (Article 7(1)(a)), torture (article 7(1)(f)) and the infliction of serious physical injury and mental harm as other inhumane Acts (article 7(1)(k)) were committed on the territory of the Philippines between at least 1 July 2016 and 16 March 2019, in connection to the WoD campaign launched throughout the country.”
Meanwhile, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque earlier said ICC Prosecutor’s statement was “legally erroneous.”
“Mayroon na pong desisyon ang ICC, na hindi sasayangin ng ICC ang panahon ng kanyang mga opisyales sa mga kaso na hindi naman po uusad dahil walang kooperasyon,” Roque said. “Sayang lang ang pera at ang oras.”
De Lima slammed Roque for his remarks, calling him “Duterte Sycophant Spokesperson,” who “never fails to show us just how low he has sunk for the sake of power and ambition.”
“He refuses to understand or simply ignores the fact that it will never be a waste of time and money to unearth the truth and prosecute a mass murderer.”