Filipino lawyer files complaint with ICC against president
A Filipino lawyer has filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against President Rodrigo Duterte, claiming that the outspoken leader was directly involved in extrajudicial killings of drug dealers and other crime suspects when he was mayor in the southern Philippines.
Lawyer Jude Sabio presented his 77-page file to the ICC prosecutors on Monday, saying the documents contained evidence of the alleged involvement of Duterte in the killings in the city of Davao, where he had allegedly led a controversial “death squad” against drug dealers and other suspects.
“It is a case for crimes against humanity against President Rodrigo Duterte and senior officials in his government,” Sabio said, adding that the allegations were filed based on the testimonies of two men, Edgardo Matobato and Arturo Lascanas, to a Philippine Senate inquiry.
According to the testimonies, Duterte was linked to hundreds of extrajudicial killings when he was mayor of Davao. One of the witnesses has said that he would be available to testify in domestic and international courts.
After coming to power in June last year, Duterte launched a controversial anti-drug campaign which has triggered international criticism. Thousands have been killed in the nationwide crackdown, with many claiming that the drug suspects were killed by police or security forces without access to any due judicial process.
Duterte has defended the campaign and claimed that he had ordered similar killings when he was mayor of Davao.
However, Duterte’s spokesman has lashed out at the filing, saying it was a ploy to tarnish the image of the Philippines as the nation prepared to host a summit of South Asian leaders this week.
“The intent of this filing in [the] ICC is clearly to embarrass and shame the president, and undermine the duly constituted government of the Philippines,” Ernie Abella said, adding that “the so-called extra-judicial killings are not state-sanctioned or state-sponsored."
The official said the filing would fail as the ICC requires the cases to exhaust all legal remedies in the country of origin before they are submitted to the last resort court.
Abella said the anti-drug operations in the Philippines were based on established procedures and that the government was harsh on violators.
The Philippines joined the ICC in 2011.
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