Liberal Party (LP) President Albay 1st district Rep. Edcel Lagman is unimpressed with House Resolution (HR) No.780, who some of his congressman-colleagues are using to shield former president Rodrigo Duterte from a looming International Criminal Court (ICC) probe.

Former president Rodrigo Duterte (left) and Albay 1st district Rep. Edcel Lagman (Malacañang, Facebook)

"The alleged crimes against humanity of former President Rodrigo Duterte and his cohorts cannot be cleansed in the laundromat of the House of Representatives," Lagman, a self-described independent minority solon, said in a statement Friday afternoon, Feb. 17.

"Although the verbiage of No. 780 urges the House of Representatives to defend Duterte against the resumption of the investigation of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) prosecutors, it does not deny that from 6,000 to 30,000 alleged drug suspects, mostly from the marginalized sectors, have been summarily killed in the wake of Duterte’s murderous campaign against illegal drugs," he said.

Lagman said that while the justice system in the Philippines is functioning, "the fact is not a single case has been filed and prosecuted against Duterte for his alleged crimes against humanity".

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"Considering the default of the Philippine justice system in favor of Duterte, the proper forum now is the ICC which has jurisdiction over covered crimes committed before the Philippines conveniently withdrew from the Rome Statute at the behest of Duterte himself," he further said.

A good number of the 312 House members in the current 19th Congress are allies of the previous Duterte administration.

The Philippines withdrew its membership from the ICC in 2019, or halfway through Duterte’s tenure in Malacañang.

#crimes against humanity

Lagman pooh-poohs House resolution defending Duterte