FILIPINO lawyers are accustomed to warrants of arrest being issued against an accused after the conclusion of a preliminary investigation.
After finding that the respondent is probably guilty of committing the crime alleged against him, the prosecutor files the criminal charge (called an Information) in court, and the judge, in case he agrees that probable cause does exist, issues a warrant of arrest to gain jurisdiction over the person of the accused.
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The International Criminal Court (ICC) has a different system. A warrant of arrest may be issued while the investigation is ongoing.
Once an investigation is initiated the ICC pre-trial chamber can issue a warrant of arrest against a person if it is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person has committed a crime within the jurisdiction of the ICC and the arrest of the person appears necessary.
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In September 2021 the ICC authorized its prosecutor to investigate the Philippine war on drugs.
The Philippines moved to defer because it wanted to present evidence that it was investigating the same issue and that the ICC should accede to the power and capacity of local courts to pass judgment on the crimes committed in the war on drugs.
The ICC prosecutor relented but later moved for a resumption of the investigation because the Philippines was unable to show that it is engaged in any meaningful investigation that can lead to a prosecution of crimes against humanity.
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This January the ICC decided to resume the investigation into the situation of the Philippines.
The Philippine government filed a notice to appeal that decision. The ICC appeals chamber gave the Philippines until March 13 to file its brief without, however, acting on the request that the investigation be suspended pending resolution of the appeal.
The prosecutor can therefore request the issuance of warrants of arrest or summons at any time when circumstances warrant.
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The ICC mentioned former President Rodrigo Duterte several times in its decision authorizing the resumption of investigation into the Philippine situation.
The ICC made a connection between the Davao Death Squad (DDS) and the war on drugs that was implemented when Duterte became president. According to the court, “there are similarities between the killings in the Davao area in 2011-2016 and the so-called ‘war on drugs campaign’ which merit further investigation.”
The ICC also observed that some of the persons involved appear to be the same, and that some police officers were transferred from Davao to Manila upon Duterte’s assumption of the presidency.
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That the ICC prosecutor is zeroing in on Duterte is more apparent than remote.
Also in the crosshairs is Sen. Ronald dela Rosa who is a former Davao City chief of police.
He was mentioned in the ICC decision as having declared that killing those involved in drugs was the intention in the war on drugs campaign.
The ballyhooed imminence of warrants of arrest or possibly summons against certain individuals has prompted some congressmen to express unequivocal support to Duterte.
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President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. must have been apprised of the Supreme Court decision that said that the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome statute does not discharge it from its obligations as a member.
Article 12 provides in clear terms that “a State which becomes a Party to this Statute thereby accepts the jurisdiction of the Court…”
Unlike the congressmen, the President has given himself some elbow room. In an interview he said that “until those questions of jurisdiction and the effects on the sovereignty of the republic are sufficiently answered, I cannot cooperate with them.”
Might the ruling of the ICC appeals chamber be the answer to those questions?/PN
