MANILA — Human rights group Karapatan slammed Sen. Imee Marcos’ proposed measure called the President Rodrigo R. Duterte Act.
In a statement, Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay said that the bill is “thoroughly self-serving and is a slap in the face of the tens of thousands of victims of Duterte’s drug war as well as those who suffered other injustices committed under his regime.”
Marcos filed Senate Bill No. 557 or An Act Prohibiting the Extraordinary Rendition of Persons to Foreign Jurisdiction, also known as the “President Rodrigo R. Duterte Act, on July 14 in light of the arrest of the former president who is now detained at an International Criminal Court (ICC) facility in The Hague, Netherlands.
Duterte’s allies stressed that Duterte’s arrest is “illegal” because the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute took effect on March 17, 2019. However, the ICC retains jurisdiction over the alleged crimes that have occurred in the Philippines during the period when it was still a
State Party to the Statute which is from Nov. 1, 2011 to March 16, 2019.
“Imee Marcos wants to turn the country into a haven for Duterte’s co-conspirators in the drug war as well as other high-ranking political leaders and military officers who may be held liable in the future for crimes against humanity.”
Palabay said that among those that Marcos wants to shield are Sen. Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa who is reportedly on the verge of being arrested by the ICC.
Palabay said that if the bill is passed into law, Marcos’ brother President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, may also benefit “since he is already accountable for numerous war crimes perpetrated in the course of his brutal counter-insurgency war.”
“This bill plays into the myth of a competent and fully functioning justice system in the country, one that dispels any hint of impunity,” decried Palabay adding that no less than the Department of Justice has admitted that it could not prosecute suspects in the drug war killings because the police refused to cooperate and hand over evidence and necessary documents, among others.
“Facing a brick wall, the DOJ had to admit that it had no choice but to allow the ICC to pursue cases related to Duterte’s bloody war on drugs,” Palabay said.
Families of the victims of Duterte’s bloody campaign against illegal drugs have filed formal complaints before the ICC on Aug. 13, 2018.
Duterte submitted the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute a month after former ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced the opening of a preliminary examination in the Philippines that would look into the alleged crimes against humanity and Duterte’s possible criminal responsibility. (DAA)