Drug war victims to ICC: No justice under Marcos

MANILA, Philippines - For victims of the previous administration’s deadly campaign against illegal drugs, government inaction continues and there is no prospect of genuine investigations and prosecutions under the current leadership.

Hundreds of drug war victims and their families have urged the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to uphold an earlier decision that allowed the ICC prosecutor to resume investigation into the Philippine situation.

A redacted version of the overview of five representations made in behalf of the victims was made public on Tuesday.

Submitted by the ICC Registry’s Division of Judicial Services, the filing outlined the views and concerns raised by 350 individual victims and 165 families regarding the Philippine government’s appeal to the Jan. 26 decision that allowed the resumption of the probe.

“In the words of the victims, ‘justice and accountability in the Philippines remain largely elusive and victims and victims’ families face enormous difficulties in seeking accountability using available domestic legal remedies.’ Therefore, all victims represented support an ICC investigation into the c

rimes committed,” read the 20-page document.

Like in previous submissions, the victims stressed the need for a genuine investigation by an impartial international court, the identification of the perpetrators and bringing these individuals to justice and ending impunity.

No action

Despite the change in government leaders, the victims maintained that there is no prospect of genuine investigations and prosecutions in the country, citing their experience with the local justice system.

“The situation in the Philippines has not materially improved for the victims represented. If any, gains have been isolated and marginal… Cases against the perpetrators of the crimes have not been forthcoming. Even attempts to obtain recognition that the killings were extra-legal have, unfortunately, been met with resistance from state institutions,” read a portion of a representation made in behalf of the victims.

“There is no substantial, effective and comprehensive investigation into the killings and abuses committed in the Philippines under the pretext of Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’ at present,” it added.

The victims claimed that the present administration is “unwilling to investigate” the drug war killings, noting that the police still go to their areas to continue operations similar to “Oplan Tokhang.” – Emmanuel Tupas