(We yield this space to the statement of human rights group Panay Alliance Karapatan due to its timeliness. – Ed.)
WE JOIN the families of victims and the whole Filipino people in a feeling of relief as the International Criminal Court (ICC) proceeds to the formal investigation into the crimes against humanity accused of President Rodrigo Duterte, other high government officials and the “DDS” in the duration of the “war on drugs”.
On Sept. 15, 2021, the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber authorized the investigation within the period from November 1, 2011 to March 16, 2019, from the time Duterte was mayor and vice mayor of Davao City up to the Philippines’ withdrawal from the international tribunal.
Making Duterte et al. answer gives us a big hope of putting an end to impunity in the abuses by government agents.
We call on the families of victims and those who were witnesses to the abuses to be active participants in the proceedings by providing the needed testimonies and evidence to ensure a successful prosecution.
We call on upright government officials to take measures to reinstate the Philippines’ membership in the Rome Statute to ensure accountability in governance and restore the country’s reputation in the community of nations.
Putting an end to the regime will provide a much-needed respite from long-running officially sanctioned hoodlumism, massive corruption, gross ineptness in the face of the pandemic and willful disregard of the people’s plight and suffering that have engulfed our nation.
While our hopes for justice are kindled by the action of the international court, it would still lie in our hands to keep the flames alive by taking a courageous stand against killings and all forms of atrocities committed by a barbaric regime against the citizens.
