House lawmakers have urged their counterparts in the Senate to submit affidavits and recordings from the Senate’s investigation, in which former President Rodrigo Duterte openly admitted responsibility for the deaths of thousands of drug suspects during his administration, to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro stated that Duterte’s admission, where he encouraged police to provoke drug suspects to resist arrest as justification for lethal force, is a “clear violation of human rights and due process,” warranting ICC scrutiny.

"With Duterte's own admission of responsibility, there should be no more delays in pursuing justice,” Castro said. “His confession about maintaining a death squad and encouraging extrajudicial killings demands full cooperation with the ICC because as it is justice is still hard to come by in our country especially when one is dealing with the former president.”

During Monday's Senate hearing on the drug war, Duterte stated under oath that he “takes full, legal responsibility” for his anti-drug campaign, insisting police officers should be exempt from liability. He offered no apologies, reiterating his belief that his actions were necessary to combat illegal drugs in the country. Additionally, Duterte confirmed having a “death squad” composed of “gangsters” who targeted criminals during his decade-long tenure as Davao City mayor.

Although the Philippines withdrew from the ICC in March 2019, some lawmakers contend the court retains jurisdiction over alleged crimes against humanity committed during Duterte’s anti-drug operations.

Kabataan Representative Raoul Manuel said Duterte effectively “[dug] his own grave” by making such statements, which the ICC could use to hold him criminally accountable. “The evidence that can be used in the cases against him at the ICC is growing,” Manuel remarked.

No ICC Cooperation

House quad committee co-chair Bienvenido Abante Jr. noted that Duterte’s “honest” admissions could lead to prosecution under Republic Act 9851, which penalizes crimes against humanity. However, Abante stated he would not permit the ICC to use the panel’s proceedings as grounds for an investigation.

“I have always been true to my statement since we started the EJK (extrajudicial killings) hearing that I'm not going to allow the ICC to get our documents for that,” he told reporters in a briefing on Monday.

Senate President Francis Escudero suggested that Duterte’s under-oath testimony could potentially open him to criminal charges from other parties.

Continued Attendance Necessary

Notwithstanding his bombshell revelations in the Senate, Duterte's appearance in the quad comm hearing would still be necessary. Abante said there's no excuse for Duterte to skip anew their next hearing into his war on drugs given that "physically well" during the Senate probe.

"We expect the former president to show up in our next hearing. We have many questions to ask him about his war on drugs and the deaths that resulted from it. We believe his answers will give us a more complete picture of the EJKs," he pointed out. "There are many complaints against him and his drug war implementers, including his PNP chief, Sen. Bato dela Rosa. That's on the quad comm record, so we want to hear their side. That's the right process, not the defense that comes first in the complaint," the lawmaker added.

Duterte was a no-show at the quad comm's ninth investigation last week, citing sickness. His legal counsel, Martin Delgra III, however, assured lawmakers that Duterte is keen to participate in the subsequent probe and will show up before the committee in November. The quad comm is expected to continue its probe when Congress resumes session next week.