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Thursday, November 14, 2024
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Philippines says it will cooperate if ICC seeks Duterte's custody over drug killings

publish time

13/11/2024

publish time

13/11/2024

XAF108
Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, (center), smiles as he is greeted by his daughter Vice President Sara Duterte, second from left, as he sits beside former senator Leila de Lima, (second from right), during a joint committee hearing of the House of Representatives investigating the war on drugs during his administration in Quezon City, Philippines on Nov 13. (AP)

MANILA, Philippines, Nov 13, (AP): The Philippine government said Wednesday its law enforcement agencies will be bound to cooperate if the International Criminal Court seeks the custody of former President Rodrigo Duterte as part of an investigation into thousands of deaths during his crackdown on illegal drugs. The Hague-based court has been investigating the widespread killings that took place while Duterte was mayor of the southern Philippine city of Davao and later as president from 2016 to 2020, as a possible crime against humanity. Human rights groups estimate the deaths could exceed 20,000 during Duterte’s presidency alone.

The bloody campaign alarmed Western governments and led to complaints that sparked the investigation by the ICC, a court of last resort for crimes that countries are unwilling or unable to prosecute themselves. Under intense grilling in a televised congressional inquiry Wednesday, the brash-speaking Duterte gave conflicting statements whether he would submit himself to the global court for investigation.

"The ICC does not scare me a bit. They can come here anytime,” Duterte told members of the House of Representatives conducting the inquiry. "I’m asking the ICC to hurry up and come here and start the investigation tomorrow.” "This issue has been hanging for many years and I may already die,” the 79-year-old said. "If I’m found guilty, I can go to prison and rot there for all time.”

Duterte, however, said later that he would physically kick any ICC investigator who would face him. Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, the most senior Cabinet member, said if Duterte "desires to surrender himself to the jurisdiction of the ICC, the government will neither object to it nor move to block the fulfillment of his desire." "But if the ICC refers the process to Interpol, which may then transmit a red notice to the Philippine authorities, the government will feel obliged to consider the red notice as a request to be honored,” Bersamin said. "In which case, the domestic law enforcement agencies shall be bound to accord full cooperation to the Interpol pursuant to established protocols.”