By Paula Valero
Former President Rodrigo Duterte could serve time due to crimes against humanity under a 15-year-old law over his alleged involvement in the extrajudicial killings (EJKs) during his administration's controversial war on drugs, said former Sen. Leila De Lima on Tuesday.
On the ninth hearing of the House Quad Committee looking into the supposed EJKs in connection to the infamous anti-drug campaign of Duterte, De Lima highlights Republic Act (RA) 9851. This RA defines and punishes crimes against international humanitarian law, genocide, and other crimes against humanity.
“The crime of EJKs carried out by state security forces and their agents in the implementation of the war on drugs falls under the general category of ‘other crimes against humanity’ under Section 6, which consists of acts ‘committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack,’” De Lima said.
De Lima quotes the law and points out that under RA 9851, “These laws include willful killing, extermination, torture, and enforced disappearance, among others.” She also stresses that those crimes are non-bailable under this law and could be punished by reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment.
She adds that this law holds those who lead and order others to commit the crimes and not just those who perform the crime. This law does not grant immunity to government officials, even the head of the state, from being held responsible for the crime.
“According to Section 8, a person who orders, solicits or merely induces the systematic attack on the civilian population and which after that occurs or is attempted is liable as a principal,” De Lima explained.
“The same applies to anyone who contributes to the commission of the crime by a group of persons acting with a common purpose,” she added.
“Section 9 provides that ‘official capacity as a head of state or government shall in no case exempt a person from criminal responsibility under this Act, nor shall it, in and of itself, constitute a ground for sentence reduction,’” De Lima said.
She explains that crimes under RA 9851 are not subjected to prescription, meaning that those guilty of this law can be prosecuted at any time.
The former senator said that the Philippines sees the authority of international courts such as the International Criminal Court (ICC) to institute legal proceedings of crimes against humanity.
“Through this law, we have recognized the jurisdiction of the ICC over crimes against humanity committed in the Philippines even before we ratified the Rome Statute as a binding treaty,” De Lima said.
She brought up Duterte's decision in 2018, wherein he withdrew the country from the ICC. She believes it is a strategic move to escape the laws for human rights abuses under his administration.
“Even before we became a member of the ICC, our law already allowed for the surrender or extradition of individuals involved in crimes against humanity to international courts like the ICC,” she said.
“To say we no longer have to cooperate with the ICC, we must first nullify this law. Until then, we are still bound by it,” De Lima adds.
De Lima has always been vocal about her opposition to Duterte and his infamous war on drugs. She was vocal before, during, and after her 6-year incarceration that happened in 2017 when she was arrested on drug charges but was acquitted in all three cases.
Comments