Palace dismisses International People's Tribunal as 'sham proceeding'

MANILA, Philippines — A sultan from Marawi and the daughters of detained National Democratic Front of the Philippines peace consultants will testify on alleged rights violations of the Duterte administration before the International People’s Tribunal in Brussels, Belgium.

The IPT is a global court convened by lawyers and human rights groups from across the world. The court’s verdict will be submitted to the International Criminal Court, the European Parliament and the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Asked to respond to the potential testimonies at the IPT, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said: "Nothing, because that's not the official proceeding. That's a propaganda proceeding of the Left."

Roque said the tribunal is "a sham proceeding... for propaganda purposes."

President Rodrigo Duterte in March announced that the Philippines is leaving the International Criminal Court because of "the baseless, unprecedented and outrageous attacks on my person as well as against my administration, engineered by the officials of the United Nations."

According to the International League of Peoples' Struggle, which endorsed the event, organizations convening the tribuna include the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights, Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, International Association of Democratic Lawyers, IBON International, and the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines.

Karapatan, BAYAN to raise incidents of abuse

Sultan Hamidullah Atar, one of the traditional leaders in Marawi City, will testify about the alleged human rights violations committed by state forces during the five-month siege in the city and during the imposition of martial law in Mindanao, which has been extended until the end of the year.

Suara Bangsamoro chairperson Jerome Succor Aba will, meanwhile, bring up the religious discrimination and torture committed against him by agents of US Department of Homeland Security and US Customs and Border Patrol last April, as well as the killing of seven Tausug youths in Patikul, Sulu over the weekend.

The military has dismissed the killings as part of a legitimate operation against the Abu Sayyaf in Patikul. The Western Mindanao Command said the allegation is fabricated and is meant to discredit the military.

The daughters of NDFP peace consultants Rafael Baylosis and Ferdinand Castillo, meanwhile, will raise the arbitrary arrests of government critics.

Various local organizations led by rights group Karapatan and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan will raise 21 cases or incidents of abuse before the IPT, which will be held from September 18 to 19.

Karapatan: Tribunal to raise awareness of situation on ground

Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay said that the global court will help raise awareness of the real situation on the ground.

“We are maximizing all platforms to exact accountability from this murderous regime. If Duterte is hell-bent on continuing his crimes against the Filipino people, primarily through his counterinsurgency drive and war on drugs campaign, then so are we in pursuing justice,” Palabay said.

She added: “We will hound the Duterte regime and break down all of its lies—in every avenue that is available to us.”