Former Senator Leila de Lima doubts former President Rodrigo Duterte was serious in his dare to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to come immediately and begin its probe into the deadly drug war under his administration.
De Lima, who came face-to-face with Duterte at the House Quad Committee hearing on Wednesday, said this was clearly evident by the “inconsistencies” in Duterte’s statements during the course of the nearly 14-hour grueling inquiry.
“On one hand he said he is just waiting for the ICC. He said it is very slow, it could come today. But then after that, he said he does not recognize [the ICC] or [it] has no jurisdiction over [the Philippines],” De Lima said in the vernacular in an interview on Thursday.
“That’s his style, to deviate. So you don’t know if he is serious or not,” the ex-senator added.
In his first appearance before the mega-panel following numerous no-shows, Duterte said he may die before the ICC starts investigating the alleged crimes against humanity during his war on drugs.
He challenged The Hague-based court to come to the Philippines “if possible, tomorrow.”
“They can come here anytime. You know, we’re not hiding…If I am found guilty, I will go to prison and rot there for all time,” Duterte bluntly remarked.
If he had the means, Duterte, a lawyer, said he would personally go to the ICC and investigate himself.
The Philippines officially cut ties with the Rome Statute in March 2019 pursuant to Duterte’s orders.
However, the tribunal asserted that it still retained jurisdiction over any potential crimes against humanity when the country was still a party to the Statute or before its withdrawal. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is the treaty that established the ICC.
The former chief executive reiterated before the Quadcomm that he was solely responsible for the massive killings during his term — whether legal or illegal — and the police must be spared from criminal liability.
But like De Lima, Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro said Duterte’s refusal to take accountability for the deaths of some local officials, including mayors, during his drug war showed otherwise.
“Which one is he referring to that he’s taking full responsibility for when he’s denying accountability for these individual incidents,” Luistro said in an interview.
“…Nagkakaroon ng (There are) inconsistencies. I just don’t know kung ito ay sinasadya niya (if he’s intentionally doing it) or it is natural from his end,” she added.