Former Bayan Muna Representative Neri Colmenares said late November 30 that it is “highly possible” that the International Criminal Court (ICC) had already finished its investigation into alleged crimes against humanity related to the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, and could be moving on to a trial.
“The previous part of [the] investigation is documentary and interviews. Now they’re asking those who have sent their sworn statements or allowed themselves to be interviewed if they want to become a witness,” Colmenares told The Philippine Star. “Additionally, they’re probably encouraging those from the police ranks to testify as witnesses.”
Colmenares serves as legal counsel to the families of drug war victims and is accredited by the ICC. According to him, the court has “entered a new phase in the process of holding [former president Rodrigo] Duterte accountable for his crimes against humanity.”
That same day, the court launched its witness appeal website to gather more evidence and witnesses for the trial, which still does not have a date.
“The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating crimes committed in the Philippines as part of the ‘War on Drugs,’ between November 2011 and March 2019. The information you share will be reviewed and we will contact you if we have more questions,” the website reads. It also states that the ICC will not be able to respond to all submissions.
Article 7 of the Rome Statute defines crimes against humanity as acts “committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack.” This includes but is not limited to murder, extermination, imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty, and enforced disappearance of persons.
The quad-comm probe and jurisdiction conflicts
In October 2024, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee began its investigation of the extrajudicial killings that took place during Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency. The following month, he appeared at the House of Representatives quad-committee’s hearing, wherein retired police Colonel Royina Garma, former Duterte aide, revealed that police officers were rewarded for killing drug suspects. Duterte affirmed the allegations touted against him.
In the hearing, he also said, “I am asking the ICC to hurry up, and if possible, they can come here and start the investigation tomorrow. This issue has been left hanging for many years, baka mamatay ako, hindi na nila ako imbestiga.”
In 2018, the ICC announced that it would conduct an investigation into the drug war, prompting Duterte to pull the Philippines out of the Rome Statute and take the country out of the court’s jurisdiction. The withdrawal caused delays in the investigations, which resumed in 2023 at the request of the Office of the Prosecutor. The ICC notes that the alleged crimes happened when the Philippines was still in the court’s jurisdiction.
The national government has been inconsistent in its stance regarding cooperating with the ICC. Following Duterte’s remarks during the quad-comm hearing, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin stated that the government would not object to Duterte’s surrender if the ICC were to find him guilty of the drug war-related crimes. However, the quad-comm also expressed that it would not give the ICC access to transcripts of the drug war hearing. Similarly, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. maintained that the Philippine government would not cooperate with the ICC, but said that the government would not stop the ICC’s probe. Marcos also said that should the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) be brought in, the government is “obligated to cooperate.”
On the Marcos administration’s involvement with the ICC, Inquirer quotes Colmenares, saying the “government should stop obstructing justice and instead help facilitate the investigation. The victims’ families have waited far too long for accountability.”
