Fatal Western blinders

“For Rody, the political nature of the examinations held by the ICC was too apparent as he said the international court merely focused on the killings of drug offenders.

Cornering President Rody Duterte into submitting to an investigation by a foreign body on his signature war on drugs has been thwarted by his resolute stand that only the local judiciary has jurisdiction over him.

Among the primary source of intrusive actions against Rody is the International Criminal Court (ICC) that his opponents wanted to use as platform for demonization.

The President said he has no plan of cooperating with the ICC in case it pursues investigations on the deaths of drug personalities.

The ICC had initiated preliminary examination of the crimes against humanity case filed by political opponents of the President and recently said that it will decide if it will move the investigations forward by next year.

Rody, unfazed, said he would never answer any “stupid” questions from the ICC. “I am responsible only to Filipinos,” he stressed.

“And if you hang me for all what I did, go ahead. It will be my pleasure, but never the ICC,” he boldly declared.

In its “Report on Preliminary Examination Activities 2019,” the ICC said it will conclude its initial review of the war on drugs by next year to determine the possibility of carrying out a full-blown investigation into the campaign.

The probe is being pursued despite the decision of Rody to withdraw from the Rome Statute that created the ICC.

As a result, the country had left the tribunal effective 17 March 2019, or exactly a year after the President’s notification.

The bailout came after the ICC launched in February 2018 a preliminary examination of Duterte’s crackdown on illegal drugs, based on a complaint of lawyer Jude Sabio who is a stooge of putschist Antonio Trillanes IV.

The debate on the validity of the bailout was settled by seasoned leader Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Bin Mohamad who said Rody as the Chief Executive has the right to withdraw the Philippines’ ratification of the treaty.

As Rody fired off the notice on the country’s exit, Malaysia became the 124th member of The Hague-based tribunal.

“I think he has the right to decide on his own according to what he perceives is happening in the Philippines as well as the rest of the world,” Mahathir said referring to Rody’s actions.

For Rody, the political nature of the examinations held by the ICC was too apparent as he said the international court merely focused on the killings of drug offenders, but not on the deaths of innocent people who died at the hands of suspected addicts and traffickers.

Rody’s angst is that the ICC which is being fed with information mainly by his opponents would take the pedestal of morality to check on the methods he employs in the war on drugs without a clear understanding of the real situation in the country.

The government has insisted that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the Philippines that is an independent state and has a working justice system.

Instead of lending a hand to nations which have deep social problems, the ICC even throws roadblocks by imposing Western standards that contribute little to making life better in the developing world.

Withdrawal from the tribunal, thus, makes perfect sense considering the welfare of Filipino nation.