ICC probe into Duterte's co-perpetrators ongoing, says spox

The investigation into former president Rodrigo Duterte’s co-perpetrators in the crime against humanity he is facing before the International Criminal Court (ICC) is ongoing, the tribunal’s mouthpiece confirmed, though he declined to name them yet for the purpose of confidentiality.

In an interview on Wednesday, court spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah disclosed that the prosecution is continuing to scrutinize Duterte’s case, gathering additional evidence to present before the judges to issue another arrest warrant for other key personalities involved in the implementation of the summary killings waged by the Duterte administration.

“The ICC prosecutor and his office are continuing to investigate and if they have sufficient evidence, they will present it to the judges, and then the judges will decide whether to issue…arrest warrants or to decline the requests,” he said.

The Lebanese lawyer added, “But Investigations are ongoing and confidentiality is a key element to ensure the success of the investigation so we cannot actually give more details on that.”

An ICC document dated 13 March showed that the former president has nine co-perpetrators in the case, whose names were redacted by the court.

Earlier, Duterte’s former spokesperson Harry Roque insinuated that Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, the chief architect of the bloody anti-drug campaign, might be one of the co-accused in the case, along with four former Philippine National Police (PNP).

Dela Rosa was Duterte’s PNP chief from 2016 to mid-2018 and was succeeded by Oscar Albayalde, who allegedly continued carrying out the brutal war on drugs that saw thousands killed, mostly from poor communities.

Both ex-police chiefs have acknowledged the possibility that they could be the next target of the ICC following the arrest of their former boss, Duterte, on 11 March.

Albayalde vowed that he would not resist arrest if the government enforced such an order, while Dela Rosa openly announced plans to seek refuge or temporary protection from the Senate to delay or evade a potential arrest from the ICC.

More cases?

The arrest warrant against Duterte only pertains to murder, or equivalent to a single charge. But Abdallah explained that it could still be augmented if the prosecution presented an additional set of evidence for other charges, such as rape and torture, which were included in their initial complaint.

“Whether the prosecutor wants to request again, present additional evidence, or request other charges, it will have to be presented to the judges, and then the judges will decide on that,” Abdallah averred.

Article 7 of the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, outlines the criminal offenses that constitute crimes against humanity. This includes murder, torture, rape, enforced disappearance of persons, and other inhumane acts intentionally causing great suffering or serious injury to the body, among others.

According to Abdallah, it’s necessary to prove there was a widespread or systematic attack against the civilian population in order to classify these illegal conducts as crimes against humanity.

At present, Duterte faces a single charge for crimes against humanity, specifically murder, allegedly committed between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019, including those executed by the Davao Death Squad—a notorious group that he said, formerly included Dela Rosa.

The senator denied his erstwhile boss’ allegations.