Rights group urge ICC to issue warrants against Duterte’s co-perpetrators
Rights groups have reaffirmed their calls to hold former and current government officials allegedly accountable for the murders committed during the antidrug campaign of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is set to face trial for crimes against humanity.
“We all know that former President Duterte did not personally kill tens of thousands of Filipino civilians. The ICC (International Criminal Court) has information about many other officials of his administration who implemented these illegal, deadly programs,” said Peter Murphy, chair of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP).
Speaking during a press conference, Murphy urged the ICC “to issue warrants for the arrest of other perpetrators of these crimes against humanity under Duterte.”
He alleged that these included past officials of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac), such as retired Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. and former National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., who served as the agency’s spokesperson and vice chair, respectively.
Murphy also pointed to Duterte’s cabinet officials, former Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and former Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, who is now National Security Adviser under President Marcos.
Chief implementer
He also specified Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, the head of the Philippine National Police during the previous administration, as the “chief implementer of the war on drugs.”
“The arrest of Duterte is a critical first step, but justice must not stop here. Those responsible for Duterte’s murderous war on drugs, war on dissent, as well as the ongoing repression under Marcos, must face international accountability,” Murphy said.
The group also pushed for the repeal of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 that was signed into law by Duterte, and the abolition of the NTF-Elcac, which was established by the former President through Executive Order No. 70.
Former Australian Sen. Janet Rice, a member of the ICHRP, said “these mechanisms served as a foundation for the weaponization of the courts against dissent” and were used by the police and military to “bypass courts” and “violate rights.”
Karapatan also criticized Senate President Francis Escudero on Tuesday for saying that Dela Rosa would be allowed to take shelter within the Senate premises if the ICC issues an arrest warrant against him.
The rights group said that Dela Rosa was “presumed” to be among Duterte’s co-perpetrators in the warrant of arrest issued by the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I, whose names have been redacted in the document.
“He is expected to be on the next set of warrants to be issued by the chamber of the international court,” the group said.
For Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay, providing protection for Dela Rosa could delay his transfer to the ICC’s jurisdiction and “is likely to be considered as a form of obstruction of justice.”
“Delaying or preventing his delivery to the ICC is an added injustice for the victims of extrajudicial killings under Duterte who have already waited for so many years to get this chance at exacting accountability,” she said.
