Two Makabayan bloc members lauded on Thursday, Sept. 16 the decision of the International Criminal Court to authorize a full investigation into the bloody drug war under administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.
House Deputy Minority Leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate and Act Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro said they support the decision of the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber as a forward step in the search for justice for the over 6,000 victims of alleged extra-judicial killings in the country.
Zarate said the investigation is expected to cover all extrajudicial killings during the war on drugs launched by President Duterte from 2016 to 2019.
The ICC will also look into the murders allegedly committed by the Davao Death Squad from 2011 to 2016 in Davao City.
"A whiff of good news long awaited in the midst of this climate of impunity that is running amok in the country today. The time for reckoning and accountability is near. We hope the investigation would start in earnest, to stem the increasing and rampant killings in the country,”said Zarate.
"We laud the ICC pre-trial chamber in finding that it has been sufficiently established for the purpose of an authorisation to investigate that the contextual elements of crimes against humanity for murder under Article 7 of the Statute have been met. This is a clear warning to rights violators that impunity is not eternal, " he stated.
In a separate statement, Castro urged Filipinos to hold Duterte accountable for “his crimes against humanity.” Said Castro: “The time of reckoning is near.” “President Duterte and his minions cannot deny that state forces had a role in the killings of thousands of Filipinos. Its serious offenses against human rights in the so-called war against drugs have indeed reached the level of crimes against humanity, on par with those perpetrated by the most notorious dictators in history,” she said.