Lawyers note human rights missing in Sona
Human rights and international law experts said President Marcos lacked a concrete human rights agenda in his fifth State of the Nation Address (Sona), which they said could have touched on the continuing attacks on civil society, Red-tagging, and rejoining the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Lawyer Romel Bagares, also a lecturer in international law, told the Inquirer the President had “no clear policy statement on human rights,” as he has yet to “make a clear stance” that it does not want to take part in the continuing violations such as Red-tagging.
Bagares also noted that the Marcos administration has yet to send “a more solid message” to the international community that it is serious with its obligations and that it recognizes international justice, despite facilitating the arrest last year of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
“And we can do that by saying we want to be part of the ICC,” he said in an interview.
Duterte remains detained in The Hague, the Netherlands, while awaiting his trial for crimes against humanity in connection with the drug war killings during his presidency.
The latest data from the “Dahas Project” of the University of the Philippines’ Third World Studies Center showed that 1,291 drug-related killings were recorded since the start of Mr. Marcos’ presidency, of which 131 were recorded from January to June this year.
Separate monitoring by human rights group Karapatan noted that 147 cases of extrajudicial killings were documented during the Marcos administration.
Human rights lawyer Neri Colmenares, chair of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), said he was “frustrated” that the President did not mention considering returning to the ICC fold.
“Membership in the ICC could lessen human rights abuses in the Philippines as it serves as a warning to human rights violators that they may be held to account for human rights atrocities just like Duterte,” Colmenares told the Inquirer in a message.
For Colmenares, who has been among the lawyers giving assistance to the families left behind by those killed in Duterte’s drug war, Mr. Marcos should have at least directed putting into motion discussions on rejoining the ICC, instead of adopting the stance of his successor.
The Philippines left the Rome Statute, the founding framework of the ICC, in March 2018 upon Duterte’s directive. This took effect a year later, but investigation into the drug war continued as the killings happened when the country was still a member.
Colmenares said the President should have also urged fugitive Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa to surrender to authorities in the face of an arrest warrant from the ICC for his alleged role as chief implementer of the drug war.
“Impunity will never be quelled by the deafening silence of the Marcos government on pressing human rights concerns and issues,” said the human rights lawyer.
Gilbert Andres, one of the ICC-accredited lawyers who also represents the victims in the Duterte case, said the common legal representatives of victims (CLRVs) are “disappointed” that the President did not explicitly state in his SONA that his administration would actively help drug war victims seek justice and accountability.
“Had the President himself made such declaration, that would have meant a lot to the families of the victims,” he told the Inquirer.
Andres said he was also disappointed that Mr. Marcos did not explicitly state any human rights agenda or reiterate that his administration “respects human rights and will find accountability for gross human rights violations.”
