The Marcos administration warned yesterday all government officials and employees not to assist in any way the International Criminal Court (ICC) or participate in its ongoing investigation of alleged human rights violations in the Philippines.
Officials and employees who will coordinate with the International Criminal Court or participate in its investigation in the Philippines may be held liable, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said Thursday.
In a Palace press briefing, DOJ Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Mico Clavano said government officials and personnel may be charged with violation of Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees for going against a “government policy.”
“As mentioned by the Solicitor General, this is a government policy. So, when a government officer or official is coordinating with the ICC against the direction or the orders and the policy of the government, there may be accountability involved,” Clavano said.
He said uniformed service personnel are also covered by the liability.
“If there’s any law enforcement or government official that goes against the policies and orders of the authorities in position, then obviously there will be some sort of conflict of interest, there will be accountabilities and definitely liabilities that go with it,” he said.
Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV recently claimed that the ICC have “directly communicated” with over 50 active and former officials of the Philippines National Police (PNP) in relation to its investigation on the alleged crimes against humanity under the drug war of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
The government has repeatedly said the ICC has no jurisdiction over the country after it withdrew from the ICC's Rome Statute in 2019.
As to Trillanes’ remarks, Clavano said they have yet to receive information to support the former senator’s claims.
“We have not received the same information. So, just like everybody else, we only found out from Senator Trillanes about this supposed development,” he said.
“But, I think we’ve been consistent from the very start that we have a working justice system here in the Philippines evidenced by a lot of different cases and reforms that we have been undertaking – and the commitment has been stronger to prevent and to hold responsible and accountable those erring law enforcement officers who engaged in this heinous crime I would say of extrajudicial killings,” he added.
Firm on non-cooperation
On Wednesday, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said it would follow the government's non-cooperation stance on the ICC investigation into the drug war of the past administration.
“We have courts that can hear any cases of abuse or irregularities among the PNP ranks and we have proven that because some police officers have already been charged, imprisoned and convicted. That is what the PNP will do, we would submit to the Philippines' jurisdiction," PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said in Filipino in a Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum.
Fajardo's remarks came after former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), claimed that the ICC have “directly communicated” with over 50 active and former officials of the PNP in relation to its investigation on the alleged crimes against humanity or murder under the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
Trillanes was among the personalities who sought for the intervention of the ICC on Duterte's anti-drug campaign back in 2017.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier said the Philippines will not cooperate in the ongoing ICC probe, stressing that it has no jurisdiction over the country.
He said Manila would not recognize any warrant that would be sent by the ICC regarding the matter.
The Philippines officially cut ties with the ICC on March 17, 2019. PNA
Upholding human rights
The DOJ the other day assured that the government remains resolute in reforming law enforcement in the country to protect and promote human rights under the Bagong Pilipinas of the Marcos administration.
"We guarantee that reforms are in place to change the mindset and attitude of erring law enforcers and make them responsible for their actions. We are taking all the necessary steps to strengthen the criminal justice system and hold to account the perpetrators of these violations," Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said in a statement.
Remulla issued the statement following a report by the United States State Department that human rights abuses, including extra judicial killings (EJKs), continue to be a problem for the Philippines in 2023.
He added the DOJ always remind law enforcement agencies, and those in charge of the administration of justice that “there are no shortcuts in enforcing peace and order.”
“It is of primordial consideration that we, as responsible State enforcers, uphold the rule of law and resolve to protect and promote human rights. The DOJ, as the principal law agency and legal counsel of the government, remains deeply committed to the administration’s thrust towards a Bagong Pilipinas – one that is safe, peaceful, and just,” Remulla said.
In its 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the US State Department noted that while human rights issues continue to be a problem in the Philippines, the number of incidents of arbitrary and extrajudicial killings and of some other abuses by government agents decreased.
It also noted that the Marcos administration continued the antidrug campaign – which began under the Duterte administration – “albeit with a focus on treatment and rehabilitation, due process, and rule of law-based investigations.”
In its latest report on the Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP) in November last year, the European Union (EU) has cited the willingness of the Marcos administration “to engage the international community on the issue of human rights,” having actively participated in multiple mechanisms of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
It noted “several positive steps” taken by the government, including its "new focus" on prevention and rehabilitation in the campaign against drug and the visits of several UN Special Rapporteurs.
In February this year, visiting United Nations Special Rapporteur Irene Khan took note of the DOJ’s measures to strengthen the investigation and prosecution of violence against journalists and human rights defenders, and asked the government to further strengthen the agency’s Administrative Order (AO) 35.
AO 35 is a government mechanism that brings together various agencies of the government against impunity.
Last March 14, the DOJ and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) aimed at facilitating assistance to victims of human rights abuses, summary executions, torture and enforced disappearances, among others. PNA
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