De Lima urges House panel to present drug war probe findings to ICC

MANILA, Philippines — While the House human rights committee chairperson remains closed to submitting the findings of the drug war inquiry he is leading to the International Criminal Court, for one lawmaker and a former senator, the answer is already clear. 

Former senator Leila de Lima and Rep. Dan Fernandez (Laguna) on Monday appeared to see eye-to-eye when the lawmaker suggested that the ICC be informed of any new information that surfaced during the House human rights committee's ongoing drug war probe.

However, Rep. Bienvenido Abante (Manila, 6th District), chair of the human rights committee, was quick to interject that Fernandez's statement was a "personal" one.

On Monday, De Lima appeared as a resource speaker for the House committee's fifth hearing into the extrajudicial killings during the Duterte administration's war on drugs. 

The drug war probe is the first of its kind in the House, De Lima pointed out, recalling that the lower chamber did not launch a counterpart inquiry when she opened an investigation on Duterte's drug war in 2016 as it was "busy on the Bilibid drug trade and my personal life."

However, for De Lima, the findings of the committee should eventually translate to a criminal case filed against the perpetrators of the drug war.

"We can't blame the ICC if they are continuing with their investigation because they can't see [a local investigation] involving higher-level officials, including the president," De Lima said.
 
"For this investigation, yes, we are hopeful that we can find evidence and highlight what happened. But if it just remains in the committee without being translated to criminal proceedings, this will not stop the ICC investigation," the former senator added.

Fernandez concurred with De Lima and said the outcome of the committee investigation can be used in "filing [cases] in different courts" and "can be used also as an evidence in the ICC."

"And that's the reason why what we wanted in this investigation is to fast track these different loopholes that can be helpful as well with the proceedings being undergone in the ICC," the lawmaker added.

De Lima said she was "struck" by Fernandez's statement and said the House was within its rights to act as an independent institution.

"I take it to mean that you are going against [...] the position of the executive department that they are not recognizing the jurisdiction of the ICC, that is why they are not cooperating," De Lima added.

Abante — who said during the committee's June 6 hearing that the committee will never allow the ICC to "meddle" with its probe — interjected: "That's a personal statement of Congressman Fernandez."

Fernandez said it will still be "depending on the chairman what to do with the committee report."

The lawmaker also added that the committee report "can be used by anybody, particularly those victims of the drug war (sic)."

"So whatever the report might be, can be used by the victims to be part of the ICC," added the House public order and safety chairperson.

During the same hearing, De Lima explicitly called Duterte the "mastermind" and "instigator" of the drug war and said he must be prosecuted, convicted and handed a life sentence.

The former senator and staunch Duterte critic was incarcerated for nearly seven years and granted bail in November 2023 based on charges that human rights groups said were politically motivated.

The ICC — considered the court of last resort for countries unwilling or unable to prosecute offenders — is investigating the alleged crimes against humanity committed under the drug war waged by Duterte during his term as president, and earlier, Davao City mayor. The probe covers the period from 2011 to 2019, when the Philippines was still a signatory to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC.

Official figures put deaths from Duterte's anti-narcotics campaign at more than 6,000, but estimates from human rights groups peg the actual number of fatalities at around 30,000.