The failure of the “war on drugs” has proven that punitive measures do not work in addressing drug-related crimes. Harsh punishments can only make the problem worse as these do not consider the many possible reasons behind a person’s drug use.
Solving the drug problem with violence also prevents drug users from reintegrating to society. The stigma created by the “war on drugs” makes it hard for individuals to seek medical health for their drug addiction.
The war of drugs’ failure has proven that punitive measures do not work in solving the drug crime. Harsh punishments can only make the problem worse, as it does not consider the many possible reasons behind a person’s drug use.
Solving the drug problem with violence also prevents drug users from reintegrating to society. The stigma created by the war on drugs makes it hard for individuals to seek medical health for their drug addiction.
The drug problem is not a crime problem. It is a medical issue. It is a socioeconomic problem. And it must be treated as such — not with punishment or death.
The government, under its Drug Dependency Examination, has a different classification for drug users based on the level of their drug use — from a social recreational user to a drug dependent. Sadly, the government’s anti-crime campaign does not reflect this, treating all drug users as criminals when they shouldn’t be, when they aren’t.
There is a reason behind a person’s drug use. And the best way to solve the country’s drug problem is to understand what these reasons are.
The current “war on drugs” confronts the problem as a moral failure: a user is instantly a criminal after using the drug. But this is not the reality of drug use.
According to Dr. Lee Yarcia, a drug policy reform advocate, many Filipinos use illegal drugs to help them perform their grueling daily tasks — usually physical, mostly work-related. These users don’t see drug use as a moral issue but an economic one; using illegal drugs helps them do their jobs to earn money.
Medical anthropologist Gideon Lasco, in his research, said he had met young, functioning methamphetamine users who use the drug due to heavy workload, confidence issues, or economic problems. They know the risks of illegal drugs. For them, the benefits outweigh these risks. Some drug users, Lasco said, managed to stop using the illegal substance eventually.
Many, however, couldn’t — even if they wanted to — due to lack of education and support.
Imagining the Philippines as a country without the killings starts by acknowledging the undeniable truth: that drug-related killings do not solve the drug problem.
The killings have continued — and have intensified — even during the COVID-19 pandemic. And yet, the drug problem persists.
An anti-drug campaign that anchors its programs on violence and punishment does not eliminate the root of the problem.
Imagining the Philippines as a country without the killings starts by acknowledging the undeniable truth: that drug-related killings do not solve the drug problem.
The killings have continued—and have intensified—even during the COVID-19 pandemic. And yet, the drug problem persists.
An anti-drug campaign that anchors its programs on violence and punishment does not eliminate the root of the problem.
To start reimagining the Philippines as a country without drug-related killings, the country must first veer away from seeing all drug users as criminals. According to Regina Hechanova, head of the Task Force on Drug Recovery of the Psychology Association of the Philippines, this belief makes the country 20 to 30 years behind in terms of understanding the nuances of drug use.
This understanding is like how the United States and other countries understood drug use in the 1970s. Our outdated methods were bound to fail — just like how the “war on drugs” of the US failed three decades ago.
To reimagine the Philippines without the killings is to see the Philippines as a country that sees drug users not automatically as criminals that should be punished or killed, but as Filipinos in need of medical, societal, and economic help.
Given how entrenched the violence has been in our consciousness due to the incessant killings the past five years, it can be difficult to see any other solution for the country’s drug problem — or, specifically, for its citizens who are using illegal substances.
But many countries have used non-violent practices in dealing with drug crimes and drug users — including decriminalizing small-time offenses, drug-substitution therapy, and route-transition interventions.
These methods adhere to the principle of harm reduction, which aims to reduce the harm associated with the use of psychoactive drugs in people unable to stop. They focus on change, helping people without the usual judgment and discrimination usually connected with drug use.
These humane, non-violent methods — which have been used in countries such as Portugal, Malaysia, and Switzerland, among others — allow drug users to easily participate and contribute to society again once their issues have been successfully addressed.
These humane, non-violent methods—which have been used in countries such as Portugal, Malaysia, and Switzerland, among others—allow drug users to easily participate and contribute to society again once their issues have been successfully addressed.
Miguel was a drug user who has been in and out of rehabilitation centers before trying a center that operated on the philosophy of harm reduction.
He considers his time at the rehabilitation centers as “one of my most terrible experiences in life.”
Miguel was a drug user who has been in and out of rehabilitation centers before trying a center that operated on the philosophy of harm reduction.
He considers his time at the rehabilitation centers as “one of my most terrible experiences in life.”
The centers, Miguel said, used punishment as a learning tool. He was asked to clean the porch with a toothbrush, for instance, and wash dishes for 50 people. “It’s a lot of screaming. It’s a lot of, ‘there’s something inherently wrong with you, you’re broken.’ And it’s called tough love,” he said.
While acknowledging that this method may have helped other people, Miguel said it didn’t work for him. How can cleaning a garage with a toothbrush treat drug addiction? “It didn’t teach me anything. But it built up resentment… and made me hate the people who put me in there.”
In the harm reduction center, Miguel found a breakthrough because, in his words, he was “treated well as a person.”
There are no punishments or yellings. Only solutions.
There, the treatment methods are individualized based on the person’s specific goals and needs. The facilitators got to know Miguel first before they gave him strategies. More importantly, he wasn’t treated like a prisoner or a perpetrator with a crime he has to pay for.
“They helped draw things out of you instead of yelling it in your face. Whatever you wanted to fix, they helped you out. They encouraged making it realistic, but stretch yourself,” Miguel said. He added, “I got lucky! I’m now doing something about my life. Not because I’m forced to, but because I deserve it.”
Recovery is not a linear journey and harm reduction addresses this as it sees the drug problem realistically, contextualized on how it works in a real-world scenario. Miguel admitted he has relapsed twice since his time at the center. But harm reduction gave Miguel the tools to know what to do to keep himself from harm’s way. “And after relapse, which was a lot shorter, I went right back to work,” he said.
It saved his life, Miguel said, because he was treated as a person during his recovery. “By treating a person as a person, he becomes one,” he said.
True change can begin if we view the drug problem as an opportunity for healing instead of a continuation of the country’s cycle of violence and impunity.
The failure of the “war on drugs” — as well as the culture of violence and disregard for human rights it has been creating — only highlights the need for a great alternative in solving the Philippines’ drug crisis.
The Philippines needs to make a jump for the great alternative in solving the drug crisis — a better way that is humane and encourages change and hope, not abuse and death.
The failure of the war on drugs—as well as the culture of violence and disregard for human rights it has been creating—only highlights the need for a great alternative in solving the Philippines’ drug crisis.
The Philippines needs to make a jump for the great alternative in solving the drug crisis—a better way that is humane and encourages change and hope—not abuse and death.
In the Philippines, people usually see drug users as criminals because the country’s laws criminalize the use of drugs. This perspective has resulted in death, torture, incarceration, execution — human rights abuses that are allegedly committed in the name of public order.
But because drug use is rooted not in what’s right or wrong but in a person’s social, mental, and even financial status, what these violent methods achieve is take away the suspected drug criminals’ human rights — robbing them of their human rights, their right to due process, and even their lives. A disregard of human rights only creates risky, problematic communities for members of marginalized groups, one that may further encourage drug use.
A violent approach to the drug problem will only result in more drug use, making it a never-ending cycle of abuse. Harm reduction is the great alternative that can help end this cycle.
Harm reduction refers to programs, policies, and strategies that are aimed towards reducing the harm connected to certain behaviors. In this case, it is directed to minimize the legal, medical, and social impact usually associated with drug use and drug laws.
The goal of harm reduction is to create positive change by working with and helping people without the judgment that they usually encounter in a society that’s accustomed to treating drug users as criminals or “bad people.” It treats drug problems as a health and social issue. It is a method that’s facilitative; it asks the drug users what kind of help they need and what they want to achieve in the program, rather than assigning a prescriptive goal that may not suit everyone’s personal needs.
Harm reduction uses an array of health and social services. But whatever method is used, harm reduction adheres to these basics: respecting the rights of people who use drugs; using methods that are proven to be practical, effective, and safe regardless of the person’s social and economic background; and a commitment to accepting drug users as they are, without stigma.
A push for harm reduction means a push for methods that put the needs of people who use drugs at the forefront.
The Philippines’ current drug policies focus on “neutralizing” drug use and drug users because its focus is on crime and public order. It is a failed program that has only encouraged violence and abuse.
The goal of harm reduction is to keep people alive. This is done by protecting the health of drug users and aiming to encourage positive change in their lives. In effect, harm reduction also aims to improve national policies and laws relating to drugs and drug use. Current laws in the Philippines increase the risks and danger of drug use; the stigma connected with illegal drugs cut drug users off from the support they need. Harm reduction aims to challenge these laws, encouraging the country to come up with humane, more effective methods to end drug use.
The core of harm reduction is to treat drug users as people, not criminals. People who use drugs are given respect.
But more importantly, they are given what they need — such as healthcare and livelihood — without the barrier of discrimination.
In short: people who use drugs should not lose their rights.
The core of harm reduction is to treat drug users as people, not criminals. People who use drugs are given respect.
But more importantly, they are given what they need—such as healthcare and livelihood—without the barrier of discrimination. In short: people who use drugs should not lose their rights.
Another aim of harm reduction is to protect human rights. In the Philippines, drug users are illegally arrested, tortured, and even killed, as if they are subhuman. But being tagged as a “drug criminal” does not equate to the forfeiture of human rights. People who use drugs are entitled to all the rights everyone else has — the right to life, the right to healthcare, the right to due process, and the right to social services.
Because harm reduction is focused on creating positive change, it allows people who use drugs to participate and contribute again to society. They can return to their lives and function in society because they are treated humanely, with compassion. The cycle of abuse can be broken by respecting human rights.
In order to move forward, the Philippines has to see harm reduction as the better way towards beating the drug crisis.
It is a steep crime for the country, especially as the government continues to implement its “war on drugs” operations. Still, the country is making headway, bit by bit.
In order to move forward, the Philippines has to see harm reduction as the better way towards beating the drug crisis.
It is a steep crime for the country, especially as the government continues to implement its war on drugs operations. Still, the country is making headway, bit by bit.
For instance a House bill seeking to establish an inter-agency council for harm reduction in the Philippines was filed in the 18th Congress. The bill is pending at the committee level.
Institutions and groups such as the Harm Reduction Alliances of the Philippines continue to sponsor and organize meetings and conferences where leading experts discuss and exchange harm reduction policies and methods that have been successfully implemented nationally and around the world. Research on and success stories of harm reduction are easily available online thanks to these groups and initiatives.
Of course, there are several factors that challenge the implementation of harm reduction in the country. Locally, research on harm reduction could be improved. Studies on harm reduction are also usually male-focused, despite one-third of the 275 million who use drugs globally being women.
There is progress. But there is also a lot of work to do.
Harm reduction is the better way forward. There is no one way to define it. But at its core, harm reduction puts the needs of those who need help first by focusing on what they need in the most humane, compassionate way.
Advance the push of its implementation in the country.
Let us amplify the people’s call towards healing. If you want to collaborate in expanding this page, email us at support@stopthekillings.ph
We are a safe space for learning. We are home to different information and stories, gathered from credible sources, about harm reduction.
We are stronger and louder as a community. Contribute your voice and stories here. Help amplify the call to stop the killings.
We are listening. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. Leave a message and we’ll get in touch with you.
We are a safe space for learning. We are home to different information and stories, gathered from credible sources, about harm reduction.
We are stronger and louder as a community. Contribute your voice and stories here. Help amplify the call to stop the killings.
We are listening. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. Leave a message and we’ll get in touch with you.
#StopTheKillingsPH #EndImpunity #NotoEJK #StartTheHealing
#StopTheKillingsPH #EndImpunity #NotoEJK #StartTheHealing
Stop the Killings PH is a call to action advocating for harm reduction policies, amplifying demand for accountability, and humanize the stories of the victims affected by the “war on drugs.”
Stop the Killings PH is a call to action advocating for harm reduction policies, amplifying demand for accountability, and humanize the stories of the victims affected by the “war on drugs.”
The ICC appeals chamber allows victims and their families to submit comments before the court, rejecting the Philippine government’s move to block this effort. In its decision, the chamber says it “considers it appropriate for victims to be involved in these appeals proceedings.”
The chamber instructs the Victims Participation and Reparations Section (VPRS) to “collect and transmit…representations from any interested victims and victim groups” and include these in a report to be submitted by May 22, 2023.
Then-ICC prosecutor Bensouda says she aims to finalize her preliminary examination by 2020 so her office can “reach a decision on whether to seek [authorization] to open an investigation into the situation in the Philippines.”
In a report, Bensouda says her office “significantly advanced its assessment” since 2018, adding that they continue to monitor the situation, including reports of threats and harassment against human rights defenders.
The ICC’s pre-trial chamber greenlights the investigation into Duterte’s war on drugs and killings in Davao City between 2011 and 2016.
In the decision, ICC judges conclude that “there is a reasonable basis for the Prosecutor to proceed with an investigation, in the sense that the crime against humanity of murder appears to have been committed.”
The chamber also observes that “it is also apparent” that killings took place “pursuant or in furtherance of a state policy.”
Then-ICC prosecutor Bensouda applies for authorization with the pre-trial chamber to open an investigation into the killings committed during the war on drugs and in Davao City from 2011 to 2016.
Bensouda, in a report, says “extrajudicial killings, perpetrated across the Philippines, appear to have been committed pursuant to an official State policy of the Philippine government.”
This move comes a day before Bensouda, who has been publicly threatened by Duterte, retires from the ICC on June 15. She is replaced by Karim Khan, who has extensive experience working in international criminal tribunals.
Families of drug war victims earlier call on Bensouda to “issue a warrant of arrest against President Rodrigo Duterte and hold him while trial is ongoing.”
The Supreme Court junks a petition questioning the validity of Duterte’s withdrawal from the ICC, including whether he is legally required to get the concurrence of the Senate in doing such act.
The High Court, voting unanimously, dismisses the petition because it has become moot and academic.
It, however, says the government is obliged to cooperate with the ICC even if it has already withdrawn, according to the full document released months after on July 21, 2021. Despite this, Malacañang remains firm in its decision not to cooperate.
Families of drug war victims call on the ICC to hold Duterte accountable for allegedly impeding justice, including instances when he repeatedly threatened Bensouda and the court.
In a supplemental pleading submitted to Bensouda, mothers represented by the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers say Duterte “should be held accountable for his blatant attempt to pervert the course of justice by intimidating and retaliating against the officials of the [ICC].”
Bensouda says there is “reasonable basis to believe that crimes against humanity” were committed in the Philippines in connection with Duterte’s war on drugs. These incidents, she points out in a report, occurred at least between July 1, 2016 to March 16, 2019 – a day before the Philippines’ withdrawal from the ICC took effect.
Her office, however, is yet to reach a decision on whether to seek permission to open a formal investigation, given the challenges brought about by restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Arturo Lascañas, former Davao City top cop and self-confessed DDS hitman, signs a Third Agreement on Limited Use of Information with the ICC. The document shows that the ICC Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) will not use as evidence against Lascañas his confessions about carrying out killings ordered by Duterte himself.
This is unprecedented and considered a first in Philippine history. International human rights lawyer Ruben Carranza says this move is a form of use immunity, while former ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo says the document means that the OTP is treating the witness as an insider, although he could also be a suspect.
The Philippines officially ceases to be a member-state of the ICC, a year after the Duterte government first gave notice of its withdrawal as signatory to the Rome Statute.
While withdrawing does not hinder the ICC from moving forward with possible proceedings, it will most likely make things difficult for investigators, especially in terms of getting cooperation from the Philippine government.
New ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan, who succeeded Bensouda, urges the Duterte government to cooperate with his office in the conduct of an investigation into the killings under the war on drugs, as well as those committed in Davao City between 2011 and 2016.
In a statement, Khan says he remains “willing to constructively engage with national authorities in accordance with the principle of complementarity and our obligations under the Statute.”
The investigation, he adds, seeks “to uncover the truth and aims to ensure accountability,” as well as focus their efforts to ensure a “successful, independent, and impartial investigation.”
Families of drug war victims, through another submitted communication, urge then-ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to indict and eventually convict Duterte.
The families, convened under the Rise Up for Life and for Rights network, “call for an end to madness and for [Duterte], who has likened himself to one of the most evil men in history, to be brought before the ICC and be held to account for crimes against humanity.”
The human rights abuses under his administration “threaten the core principles of humanity itself, subsuming individual victim experiences, and even state borders,” the families add.
The Philippine government formally submits to the United Nations its written notice of withdrawal from the ICC. In the letter, the government says its decision to withdraw reflects the country’s “principled stand against those who politicize and weaponize human rights.”
The transmission of the letter officially triggers the one-year waiting period before the withdrawal takes effect.
Duterte announces that the Philippines will withdraw as a member-state of the ICC. In a written statement, the President says he is “withdrawing [the country’s] ratification of the Rome Statute effective immediately.”
But the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding document, explicitly states that withdrawal shall only take effect “one year after the date of receipt of the notification.” Ceasing to be a member-state will also not affect criminal investigations and proceedings that have been started before the withdrawal came into effect.
The ICC Office of the Prosecutor announces that it has initiated a preliminary examination to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to establish that the case falls under the court’s jurisdiction.
In a statement, Bensouda says her office has decided to pursue this move “following a careful, independent, and impartial review of communications and reports documenting alleged crimes.”
Then-presidential spokesperson Harry Roque says Duterte welcomes this move “because he is sick and tired of being accused of the commission of crimes against humanity.”
Then-senator Antonio Trillanes IV and Magdalo representative Gary Alejano file supplemental communication before the ICC urging Bensouda to initiate a preliminary examination “to provide a glimmer of hope for the thousands of victims that Duterte’s impunity would soon end.”
The 45-page document the two submitted highlights Duterte’s violent rhetoric, including various pronouncements in which he ordered the killings of suspected drug personalities.
Filipino lawyer Jude Sabio files a communication before the ICC over Duterte’s undertaking of mass murder “repeatedly, unchangingly, and continuously”.
He requests the court to “commit [Duterte] and his senior government officials to the Trial Chamber for trial and that the Trial Chamber in turn, after trial, convict them and sentence them to corresponding prison sentence or life imprisonment.”
Sabio was the lawyer of self-confessed Davao Death Squad (DDS) member Edgar Matobato, who was the first to publicly come out to accuse Duterte of being behind the killings in Davao City as mayor.
In the documents filed, Sabio says he has “direct proof beyond reasonable doubt” that Duterte continued these killings at the national level.
Sabio would later “withdraw” his communication in January 2020, but experts point out this will not affect the ongoing proceedings. He died on April 12, 2021due to cardiac arrest.
Duterte threatens to withdraw the Philippines from being a member-state of the ICC.
He calls the international court useless, saying it really is unable to help small countries. This would be the first of many instances when the President would publicly threaten and insult the ICC and its officials.
New ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan, who succeeded Bensouda, urges the Duterte government to cooperate with his office in the conduct of an investigation into the killings under the war on drugs, as well as those committed in Davao City between 2011 and 2016.
In a statement, Khan says he remains “willing to constructively engage with national authorities in accordance with the principle of complementarity and our obligations under the Statute.”
The investigation, he adds, seeks “to uncover the truth and aims to ensure accountability,” as well as focus their efforts to ensure a “successful, independent, and impartial investigation.”
The Duterte government formally requests the ICC to stop the ongoing investigation into the Philippine situation.
Through a letter signed by Philippine Ambassador to the Netherlands J. Eduardo Malaya, the government avails of an option available under the Rome Statute which allows it to ask the Prosecutor to defer the probe and recognize working domestic mechanisms.
The ICC’s appeals chamber permits the Philippine government to respond to Karim Khan’s argument filed on April 4th.
The principal counsel of the ICC’s Office of Public Counsel for Victims files a request to appear before the appeals chamber to represent the victims’ comments on the Philippine government’s appeal. The office says “the issues on appeal fundamentally affect the general interest of the victims” and that stopping the probe may jeopardize the victims’ rights to “truth, justice, and reparations.”
Justice Secretary Remulla had anticipated arguing with the European Parliament’s delegates who were in the Philippines about the state of the nation’s human rights, but he left saying his conversation with them regarding the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) impending investigation was “not argumentative.”
The ICC Office of Public Counsel for Victims rejects the bid of the Philippine government to stop the investigation into Duterte’s war on drugs, saying that the Philippines failed to demonstrate that the pre-trial chamber committed any error in making the decision or establish a law error that “materially affected the decision.”
In a document submitted before the appeals chamber, principal counsel Paolina Massidda said that halting the investigation will jeopardize the victims’ rights to “truth, justice, and reparations.”
“Depending on their resolution, victims may be denied the opportunity to uncover the truth, present their views and concerns throughout the proceedings, ensure that those responsible are held accountable, and ultimately claim reparation,” she said.
Prosecutor Khan says the points that the Philippine government wants to respond to are “not new” and that it “could reasonably have anticipated them.”
The Philippine government asks the appeals chamber for a leave to file a brief reply to Khan’s response.
Khan urged the ICC to reject the Philippine’s March 13 appeal brief.
According to the prosecutor, the government “failed to show any error” in the decision of the court to roll out the probe.
The ICC appeals chamber dismisses the Philippine government’s motion to suspend the ongoing investigation during appeals proceedings. In its decision, the chamber highlights the “absence of persuasive reasons in support of ordering suspensive effect” that the Marcos administration sought against a court ruling that allowed the probe to continue.
This means that ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan is free to continue his office’s investigation into the violent war on drugs, a move that the ICC pre-trial chamber authorized in January 2023.
The Philippine government’s OSG submits its appeal brief to the ICC, reiterating that the prosecution’s continuation of the probe into the drug war killings lacks legal foundation and “would encroach on the sovereignty of the Republic of the Philippines.”
The government also requests the suspension of the ongoing investigation until its appeal is decided on by the chamber.
The Philippine government files its motion to block the request of families to be included in the proceedings.
ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan asks the court’s appeals chamber to deny the Philippine government’s request to suspend the probe. He argues that the Philippines “has not provided any argument substantiating its request for suspensive effect, nor shown that implementation of the decision would create an irreversible situation or one that would be very difficult to correct or that could potentially defeat the purpose of the appeal.”
President Marcos Jr. says ICC probe into Duterte’s drug war is a “threat to sovereignty” and the Philippines “do not need any assistance from any outside entity.”
ICC Prosecutor Khan announces that his office will temporarily suspend its investigation into the drug war killings in the Philippines but assures the public they will “continue its analysis of information already in its possession as well as new information it may receive.” This move to pause the probe is a matter of procedure.
The Philippine government, represented by Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, files its notice of appeal, asking the ICC to suspend its decision to resume its probe into the killings.
The ICC pre-trial chamber reopens the investigation into the drug war killings. The chamber says it’s “not satisfied that the Philippines is undertaking relevant investigations that would warrant a deferral of the Court’s investigations on the basis of the complementarity principle.”
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla says Khan is doing the court a “disservice” for challenging the Philippine system. The ICC, he insists, “cannot run roughshod over our system and say you’re a lousy country.”
ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan reiterates his office’s request to resume an investigation, adding that the deferral requested by the Philippine government is “not warranted.”
In response, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra says he respects Khan’s view but that “he should have waited for our efforts to bear some fruit.”
He added: “An investigation of this magnitude and complexity cannot be finished in a few months.”
Khan files a request before the ICC pre-trial chamber seeking to resume his office’s investigation into the killings under Duterte’s war on drugs and those committed in Davao City between 2011 and 2016. In a 53-page document, Khan says information collated by his office “does not demonstrate that concrete and progressive steps have been taken or are being taken by the competent national authorities.”
He adds that the government failed to show that any individual has been probed “for ordering, planning, or instigating” the killings. He also says there is no indication that “domestic authorities are investigating the alleged systematic nature of these and other killings.”
Khan also says the inter-agency drug war review panel “does not appear to possess powers or authority independent of the [Department of Justice] or have any specific investigative function.” What the DOJ-led panel did appears to be a mere “desk review” that “by itself does not constitute investigative activity.”
ICC Prosecutor Khan says they will ask the Duterte administration for proof that it is genuinely investigating the killings under the violent war on drugs.
In a statement, he says that “such information must consist of tangible evidence, of probative value and a sufficient degree of specificity, demonstrating that concrete and progressive investigative steps have been or are currently being undertaken to ascertain the responsibility of persons for alleged conduct falling within the scope of the authorized ICC investigation.”
Then-ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda says her office is keeping an eye on the incidents in the Philippines as the number of deaths in drug war operations continues to rise almost four months into the Duterte administration.
In a statement, she says her office “will be closely following the developments… and record any instance of incitement or resort to violence with a view to assessing whether a preliminary examination into the situation of the Philippines needs to be opened.”
Without naming any official, Bensouda also warns that “any person in the Philippines who incites or engages in acts of mass violence including by ordering, requesting, encouraging or contributing, in any other manner, to the commission of crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC is potentially liable to prosecution before the Court.”