INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines鈥擳here is 鈥渘o genuine domestic investigation鈥� of crimes allegedly committed by the government in the conduct of Rodrigo Duterte鈥檚 campaign against illegal drugs.
This was stressed by victims鈥� relatives last year as they asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor to resume its investigation on the government鈥檚 controversial anti-drug crackdown.
It was on Nov. 10, 2021 when the then Duterte administration, through its ambassador to The Netherlands, requested that the ICC defer its investigation of crimes related to the 鈥渨ar on drugs鈥� that were allegedly committed from 2011 to 2019.
The government had stressed that this was to give way to domestic investigations, saying that the Philippines was investigating or has investigated individuals involved in alleged crimes against humanity committed in the course of the anti-drug campaign.
READ: PH asks ICC to defer its probe on Duterte鈥檚 drug war
But while ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan initially suspended the investigation on Nov. 18, 2021 to assess the government鈥檚 request, he formally asked the ICC鈥檚 Pre-Trial Chamber on June 24 for permission to resume it.
Last Sept. 8, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said his office, which represents the Philippines in the proceedings, asked the ICC to deny Khan鈥檚 request, stressing that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the Philippines.
Last Aug. 1, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the Philippines would not take part in the ICC process: 鈥淲e鈥檙e saying that there is already an investigation going on here and it鈥檚 continuing, so why would there be one like that [in the ICC]?鈥�
Recently, as he stressed that there was no need for ICC investigators to come, he said the only way for them to be welcome would be 鈥渋f the whole system collapses鈥� or 鈥渋f we have a war here鈥�.
READ: Marcos: ICC welcome only if 鈥榮ystem collapses鈥� or 鈥榳e have war鈥�
Gov鈥檛 not doing enough
This, even if the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said the government should do more in its investigations, especially on crimes allegedly committed in the campaign against illegal drugs.
The UN rights office said that while the Philippine government took initiatives to advance accountability for rights violations, 鈥渁ccess to justice for victims [鈥 remained very limited鈥�.
It stressed that institutional and structural lapses, like limited oversight of human rights investigations and inadequate investigation capacity and of inter-agency cooperation, have yet to be addressed.
RELATED STORY: 鈥業 don鈥檛 care about human rights鈥�: Duterte and the failure to see human rights鈥� role in progress
GRAPHIC Ed Lustan
Limited forensic capacity and protracted judicial processes should also be addressed, the OHCHR said. Inadequate victim and witness support and protection and fear of reprisals also affected victims鈥� engagement.
The office released its report on Tuesday (Sept. 13) as mandated by a UN Human Rights Council Resolution that offered technical cooperation and capacity building for the protection and promotion of human rights in the Philippines.
To recall, the council, through that resolution, encouraged the government to address issues raised in a High Commissioner鈥檚 report and the remaining challenges related to human rights in the Philippines.
Still elusive
Based on data from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), 6,252 individuals had been killed in Duterte鈥檚 anti-drug campaign between July 2016 and May 2022, saying that there had been a decline in the killings resulting from police operations.
It said 448 persons had been killed in 2020, 214 in 2021, and 27 from Jan. 1 to May 31 this year. Likewise, the 239,218 police operations that were conducted in the past six years resulted in the arrest of 345,216 individuals.
But rights groups had stressed that the death count could be higher, saying that since 2016, the year Duterte won the presidential election, over 30,000 had already been killed in police operations and vigilante-style killings.
The OHCHR noted that while the government took initial steps toward investigating some of the killings in the context of the police crackdown on illegal drugs, 鈥渢hese steps did not result in convictions.鈥�
It was in June 2020, when Guevarra, who was still then the secretary of justice, announced the establishment of an Inter-agency Review Panel (IRP) to review 5,655 deaths.
GRAPHIC Ed Lustan
The UN rights office, however, said the DOJ 鈥渆ncountered obstacles to its review, including the availability of and access to relevant records鈥�. Last month, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the DOJ will get case files from the police.
READ: DOJ to get 鈥榙rug war鈥� case files from PNP 鈥� Remulla
The DOJ had reviewed some cases as the Philippine National Police, which initially committed to releasing more than 60 case files, only provided 52. The findings were handed to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for criminal investigation.
No convictions yet
Last Aug. 3, the government said 250 new cases related to the deaths, which resulted from police operations in Central Luzon, were reviewed by the IRP and that the findings were also handed to the NBI.
Then on Aug. 17, the OHCHR said Remulla informed diplomats that seven cases had been filed for prosecution involving 25 police officers鈥攖wo of these cases are now pending in court where nine have been indicted.
Likewise, last year on Aug. 25, seven police officers of the San Jose del Monte police station in Bulacan province were charged with the arbitrary detention and murder of six men in the course of a police operation in 2020.
GRAPHIC Ed Lustan
The six were said to have been detained as they passed by the house of a suspect and were subsequently killed. While police claimed they resisted arrest, the investigation revealed a photo of the six in the police station, with their hands tied behind their backs.
But despite this, the OHCHR stressed that as of the end of July 2022, none of the initial 52 cases that have been reviewed last year, had resulted in convictions, saying that transparency and public scrutiny in investigative processes remain a challenge.
To address concerns, it recommended that the IRP, which was established by the DOJ, 鈥渟hould accelerate its review of all killings related to the government鈥檚 war against illegal drugs.鈥�
The panel, the UN rights office said, should also make certain that relevant findings are acted on promptly and efficiently, including through internal administrative and criminal processes.
This, as the OHCHR noted in its report that the government said 67.69 percent of the drug cases filed from July 2016 to July 2022 all over the Philippines are yet to be resolved.
鈥楴o intent to solve鈥�
Last April, Dr. Raquel Fortun, a well-respected forensic pathologist, said the then Duterte administration had 鈥渘o intent鈥� to solve the deaths that resulted from its bloody crackdown on illegal drugs.
This, as her forensic investigation of the remains of some of the victims of the controversial war revealed irregularities, saying that falsifications in the death certificates of the victims were committed.
The forensic examination, which involved victims who died from 2016 to 2017, was made possible through Fr. Flavie Villanueva鈥檚 鈥淧roject Arise鈥� that was initiated to assist relatives in their struggle for justice.
Fortun had said she examined the remains of 46 people killed in the campaign against illegal drugs and found that the cause of death of some had been falsified to show they died of 鈥渘atural causes鈥�.
GRAPHIC Ed Lustan
The death certificates of seven of the victims, who had multiple gunshot wounds, indicated they had died of hypertension, sepsis, pneumonia or heart attack. Out of the 46 bodies, 24 to 32 bore gunshot wounds in the head.
Guevarra had said the alleged falsification of death certificates as a possible coverup was part of the DOJ review and that 鈥渢he original problem that we encountered was the absence of a copy of the death certificate in some records or files that we reviewed鈥�.
War on poor
Fortun had concluded that based on the economic backgrounds of the victims, the government鈥檚 controversial crackdown against illegal drugs targeted 鈥渢he poorest of the poor鈥�.
Based on a survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) in 2017, most Filipinos agreed that rich drug suspects get to live while the poor die. Only 23 percent disagreed, and 17 percent were not certain of their view.
Then in 2020, results of a survey by the SWS said 76 percent of Filipinos believed that 鈥渕any鈥� violations were committed in the drug war鈥�33 percent said there were 鈥渧ery many鈥� and 42 percent said 鈥渟omewhat many鈥�.
Last Sept. 8, the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it has found 鈥渘o compelling evidence鈥� to show that the state is thoroughly investigating the crimes against humanity allegedly committed by the previous administration.
鈥淪ince the Philippines first sought a halt to the prosecutor鈥檚 investigation last November, HRW has monitored the situation and found no compelling evidence that the government was seriously investigating these cases, let alone prosecuting those responsible,鈥� said HRW senior researcher, Carlos Conde.
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He stressed that the 鈥渒illings are continuing and impunity for police officers and others implicated in these abuses by all accounts remains intact鈥�.
Review policies
The OHCHR called on the government to revise drug legislation and policies in line with human rights standards and international guidelines on human rights and drug policy.
It said the government should also revisit the mandatory penalties for drug offenses and to consider the decriminalization of drug possession for personal use.
The report also recommended the passage of proposed legislation on human rights defenders, and implement measures to protect civic space for them to be able to play their legitimate role securely and without reprisals.
This, as it noted that it continued to receive reports of killings, arbitrary detention, and physical and legal intimidation against human and environmental defenders, journalists, lawyers, labor activists and humanitarian workers.
鈥淭hey are often targets of 鈥榬ed-tagging,鈥� a tactic deployed to accuse individuals of fronting for the [Communist Party of the Philippines-New People鈥檚 Army]. This continued to put human rights defenders at risk, hampering legitimate human rights activities while eroding trust between the government and civil society actors,鈥� it said.
鈥淐ritically, it calls on the government to take all necessary steps to ensure the continued independence of the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines, including through a transparent and consultative appointment process for Commissioners in line with the Paris Principles.鈥�