Council for People’s Development and Governance applauds the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC) authorizing the continuity of investigation on human rights violations which took place under the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
“Following a careful analysis of the materials provided by the Philippines, the Chamber is not satisfied that the Philippines is undertaking relevant investigations that would warrant a deferral of the Court’s investigations on the basis of the complementarity principle,” the ICC said.
On the other hand, the Philippine government will draft an appeal to counter this decision. Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said that the Philippine domestic investigative and judicial processes “should take precedence” noting that on August 2022, President Marcos Jr. expressed that under his leadership, the country has no intention of rejoining the ICC.
The continuation of ICC-PTC is a one-step closer in achieving justice denied by the past administration on the victims of the bloody war on drugs.