DOJ task force eyes int’l humanitarian law case vs. Duterte

UNDER PROBE. Former president Rodrigo Duterte attends an inquiry on his administration’s war on drugs at the House of Representatives on Wednesday (Nov. 13, 2024). Malacañang said the Philippine government would respect Duterte’s decision to surrender to the International Criminal Court in the event that he is found guilty of alleged crimes against humanity committed during the implementation of his anti-drug campaign. (Screen grab via House of Representatives of the Philippines/Facebook)

By Benjamin Pulta, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – The task force created by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate the war on drugs of the previous administration will be looking into the admission of former President Rodrigo Duterte in a House probe as a possible violation of international humanitarian law (IHL).

DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the investigation will include the former president’s possible liability for the death of thousands of alleged drug personalities.

He said in a media interview that the task force probe is making “very good progress.”

“We just cannot give you a day-to-day blow-by-blow account but we are evaluating everything,” he said.

He confirmed Duterte is among those being investigated for possible liability under Republic Act (RA) 9851 RA 9851, or an “Act Defining and Penalizing Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and other Crimes Against Humanity.”

“IHL, International Humanitarian Law ang ating pinupuntirya ngayon (is what we are aiming at). It is the law that the ICC (International Criminal Court) is studying as well as the law that we have here. It’s the law of the ICC, actually. So, it’s RA 9851. So, that’s what we’re looking at right now,” he said.

RA 9851 carries a penalty of up to reclusion perpetua or 40 years and a fine of up to PHP1 million.

The probe on Duterte will include the entirety of what had been covered in the proceedings at the House of Representatives, saying the country may still try the case even outside the ICC jurisdiction.

“Even if we are not members of the ICC, the spirit of complementarity is still in place,” Remulla said.

Under complementarity, the ICC only has secondary jurisdiction when a state is able and competent to try the crime against humanity on its own.

“Lahat ng pwede sakupin. S’yempre (It will be all-encompassing .Of course), you are talking about several laws that will come into play,” he said.

Remulla, meanwhile, said the DOJ has asked immigration officers to possibly contact retired police officer Royina Garma, adding that her properties in the United States may be seized under that country’s Magnitsky Act.

Passed in 2012, the American law imposes visa bans and targeted sanctions on foreign individuals who have committed human rights abuses.

“I am asking the immigration people to do the formal work but anyway we have an MLAT, Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty. So we will work this out,” Remulla said on the possibility of Garma’s repatriation to the Philippines to face charges following her admission on alleged organized death squads during the Duterte administration.

Garma, who had been assigned in Davao when Duterte was then city mayor, testified before Congress about a system of incentives for persons who killed supposedly prominent drug figures during the war on drugs from 2016 to 2022.