Nanawagan ang mga biktima ng kampanya kontra-droga sa International Criminal Court (ICC) na agad nang simulan ang paglilitis sa dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte.
“At last, the Pre-Trial Chamber has decided that the ICC has jurisdiction in the pending case against president Rodrigo Duterte for crimes against humanity. Let the trial begin,” pahayag ni Atty. Neri Colmenares, abogado ng mga pamilya ng mga biktima ng extrajudicial killings.
Dagdag pa ni Colmenares, panahon na upang mapanagot hindi lamang si Duterte kundi pati ang kaniyang mga opisyal.
“The next step is the issuance of arrest warrants for Duterte subordinates like Ronald dela Rosa. We are glad that the ICC has finally laid to rest this oft repeated issue of jurisdiction. The fundamental principle of the Rome Statute of the ICC is that criminals who committed crimes at the time that his country is a member of the ICC must be made accountable,” aniya.
Binigyang-diin din ni Colmenares na hindi makaliligtas si Duterte sa pananagutan sa pamamagitan ng pag-atras ng Pilipinas sa ICC.
“It’s the simple implementation of the rule that, you did the crime, then you do the time. This is contrary to Duterte’s claims that even if he ordered the EJK and other crimes, he cannot be punished because he withdrew the Philippines from the ICC. That is not justice,” ayon pa sa abogado.
Hinimok din niya si Duterte na itigil na ang umano’y mga taktika ng pagpapabagal sa proseso ng ICC.
“The recent decision practically destroyed the claim of the Dutertes that he was kidnapped because the ICC has no jurisdiction. We ask president Duterte to stop employing delaying tactics and instead allow the confirmation of charges and trial to push through,” sabi ni Colmenares.
Dagdag pa niya, matagal nang inaasam ng mga pamilya ng biktima ang hustisya.
“It is about time that the victims are allowed to submit their evidence and the stories of how their loved ones were mercilessly and brutally killed in the war on drugs. We believe that president Duterte is delaying the trial because he knows that he has no evidence to prove that he has nothing to do with the war on drugs. We wait with bated breath what he will present in the ICC trial to escape from being the first Asian convicted in the ICC,” ani Colmenares.
Ipinaliwanag din ng abogado na nananatili ang hurisdiksyon ng ICC kahit umatras ang Pilipinas sa Rome Statute.
“The Philippines signed the Rome Statute which contains a provision in Art. 127 that any withdrawal ‘shall not xxx prejudice the continued consideration of any matter which was already under consideration by the Court prior to the date on which the withdrawal became effective’... Since the matter is already ‘under consideration’ by the Court before the Philippines effectively withdrew from the ICC in 2019, the ICC’s investigation and therefore, jurisdiction, had already set in,” paliwanag ni Colmenares.
“Otherwise, the ICC will be toothless if presidents and prime ministers charged in the ICC can simply escape by withdrawing from the ICC. If Duterte won his argument, then his case will be a blueprint for dictators around the world on how to escape justice and accountability,” dagdag pa niya.
via Reejay De Jesus
