President Rodrigo Roa Duterte talks to the people after holding a meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) core members at the Malacañan Palace on December 28, 2020. KING RODRIGUEZ/ PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO
MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday night lambasted the International Criminal Court (ICC) anew for wanting to investigate his administration’s crackdown on illegal drugs.
In a taped speech, Duterte defended the anti-illegal drugs campaign, saying he was elected precisely to eliminate the narcotics trade as part of his campaign promise.
“I did what I am bound to do. That’s my election promise. Pag ‘yan ang suwerte inabutan ko (If that’s my fate), so be it. ‘Yun na ‘yun (That’s it),” he said.
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THE Philippine Star last week ran a front-page story headlined “ICC sees crimes against humanity in Philippines drug war.” Its lead read: “The International Criminal Court has found ‘reasonable basis’ to believe that crimes against humanity were committed in President Duterte’s war on drugs, which has reportedly killed over 20,000 people since 2016.” The next day, Duterte’s critics were ecstatic over the report, with the Philippine Daily Inquirer banner story screaming: “Drug War Critics on ICC Report: Reckoning Near.”
These are outright lies.
They are “journalism” of the most despicable kind: They spread false, fake news. (The Star article even used the “20,000” figure, which has been proven to be totally without basis, with the government’s figure of about 6,000 fatalities accepted by most.)
By DONA MAGSINO, GMA News
Published December 17, 2020 11:22am Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Thursday said he and former Magdalo congressman Gary Alejano sought the intervention of the International Criminal Court in connection with the Duterte administration s war on drugs ahead of other groups, including the Reds. In a statement, Trillanes said the communication they filed in June 2017 adopted and supplemented the one earlier filed by lawyer Jude Sabio in April of the same year. Together, these two communications formed the primary basis for the ICC’s initiation of its preliminary examination in February 2018, he said. He claimed that leftist groups and lawyer Rommel Bagares filed theirs only around mid- to late 2018.
By VIRGIL LOPEZ, GMA News
Published December 15, 2020 3:17pm
Updated December 15, 2020 4:40pm Speaking at a news conference, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque described ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda’s appreciation of the incidents linked to the drug war as “legally erroneous.” “We do not agree with her. It’s legally erroneous dahil mayroon po tayong minimum gravity na required. Hindi po lahat ng krimen ay nililitis sa ICC,” said Roque, a former law professor. “Bahala sila kung anong gusto nilang gawin. Hindi po natin kinikilala ang hurisdiksyon ng ICC.” Malacañang has repeatedly cited the principle of complementarity in which the ICC can only investigate allegations of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes if the domestic courts are unable or unwilling to do so.
Bayan Muna: ICC prosecutor finding basis for crimes vs humanity under Duterte a vindication inquirer.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from inquirer.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.